Location Deconstruction: 28 Days Later

Location Deconstruction: 28 Days Later

http://megashare.info/watch-28-days-later-online-TlRReE5BPT0

Point 1: London

Camera Angles

• An establishing shot is used allowing the audience to see the location in which the film is set. In this case the shot exhibits the famous landmarks of London, such as the London Eye allowing the audience to obtain the setting.
• This is also a point of view shot as this is what the character is able to see.
• The shot is also in our direct sight so it is neither a low or high shot. 

Editing

• An eye-line match is used as this is exactly what the character can see from his point of view. 
• Montage editing is used to combine all transitions of the shots of London together.

Sound

• There is hardly any diegetic sound as there is no dialogue used at all apart from the character shouting "Hello?" alongside his footsteps. 
• This scene opens with no non diegetic sound but as it comes to an end a fast paced song begins to play. The notes are played detached and the drum and bass line plays a large role as in combination they both provide a sense of anticipation for the audience suggesting that the character is on a mission. 
• As the sound is placed at the end of the montage editing of all the shots of the London landmarks, it works as a sound barrier between the last shot and the first shot of the new scene. 

Mise En Scene

• Although London is usually illustrated as an iconic place, in these shots they subvert this idea entirely.
• The colours are all washed out and appear very unappealing to the audience giving off a lonely and possibly abandoned area.
• The colour values are played with especially within the sky as the only colours that we can see are yellow/orange, grey/blue.  Additionally the second shot shows the sky as having dispatched blotches of the yellowness highlighting the possible corruption.

Point 2: Big Ben

Camera Angles

• An over the shoulder shot is used of Big Ben, as it blurs into focus. Once in focus the camera zooms out of it and we are able to see the character fully at a medium shot as we only see his waist up.
• Additionally, it is a long shot as there is more than just Big Ben in focus, however it is not a full shot as we are unable to see the whole of Big Ben and the rest of this surroundings. 
• Also, by choosing not to use a full shot it gives off the impression that Big Ben was not intended to be in the shot and that it just happened to be there as the character wanders along. It could also symbolise how the streets of London had been abandoned so no one was seeing as London how it wanted to be seen. 
• A low angle shot is used, as only the characters feet are in shot as they are filmed trampling over the broken souvenirs of Big Ben and Union Jack flags. 

Editing

• Continuity editing is used as the character continues to wander around London giving off the effect of time moving forward and him getting closer to where he is trying to be. 

Sound

• There is hardly any sound used within these shots. There's only a minor amount of diegetic sound od the characters footsteps and the rattling of the souvenirs as they are knocked across the pavement in result of being kicked around.

Mise En Scene

• The character is the dominant of the shot due to him being staged in the middle of the shot.
• However Big Ben really should be as the lighting illustrates it as being golden and this is emphasised through the grey sky and this is reiterated through the shot of the souvenirs on the ground. Again this highlights on the idea that the perception of how we are supposed to see London is subverted.
• The character is dressed in blue, blue usually promotes a calmness however it can also connote a clinical feel as the character is dressed in hospital gowns.

Point 3: Outer London

Camera Angles

• Unlike the two points above, the shots opposite are filmed on the outskirts of London or not in London at all. We are able to see Canary Wharf however we can tell that it is not in walking distance from the location in which the shot is being taken from.
• The fist shot uses an aerial shot in which the dominant is the top of the building due to the array of different colours. 
• Additionally the camera is at an angle as it's neither straight and films the buildings to be on a tilt, showing the use of canted framing. 
• The shot below is a low angle shot of the two females on a sofa. In terms of location, their surroundings do not connote any sign of danger. 

Editing

• Hardly any editing is used as this is a continuos shot.

Sound

• Additionally, no sound is used for the first half of the first shot as it is just establishing. However, there is soon dialogue heard between the two characters as they engage in conversation, this is diegetic sound. No non-diegetic sound is used.
• The second shot also uses diegetic sound of footsteps and gun shots, soon the two females engage in conversation about a sleeping pill in which results to the younger girl conforming to minor actions in which the antagonists carry out. There is also no non-diegetic sound used as the silence is used to emphasise on the horror element and increase on the scare factor. 

Mise En Scene

• The first shot uses canted framing therefore this gives off a sense of corruption within the story line. 
• Blacks, browns and greys are still used in the first shot and these colours appear as a trend throughout the film. The use of dark colours within a set connote death and the possible darkness of the storyline. 
• The colours of the first shot highlight the confusion and corruption that the majority of the population faced within the film. 
• The second shot shows two females in a dark room, the darkness too connotes death. They are also seated on a mould green chair, within horrors the mouldy green colour connotes an sense of eeriness. 
• Unusually, for a horror the protagonist is female and here she is dressed in red to emphasise that she at times can mean danger. The girl beside her is very young and is perhaps aged around 14/15 although within this scene her character shows traits in which seem to be dangerous. 
• In terms of this film, the setting of this scene is extremely odd as the characters are in a dangerous environment however the setting does not suggest so due to the gold outline of the sofa and the big portrait hanging behind them.   

 

Point 4: Safety

Camera Angles

• An aerial shot is used as the characters are overhead to the camera so we have a birds eye view of them. 
• This is also a high angle shot as at this point this is a point of view shot from those in the aeroplane looking down in them. 

Editing

• Tracking is used as the camera follows the plane as it moves closer to the characters. 

Sound

• The sound used us diegetic as we can hear the whirring/roaring of the aeroplane as it approches the house. 
• We can also hear the shrieks of excitement of the characters and their pants as they jump up and down in reaction to seeing the plane approaching them. 
• There is not any non-diegetic sound used at this point however once the plane has flown past we see the three characters come together as one family. In most films we would expect non-diegetic sound to be playing however in this case this is subverted as the unity of all three shows the finality of the film.

Mise En Scene

• Unlike the reset of the shots there is a clear colour being depicted. The green colour connotes nature and balance. As this is the end of the film everything has been restored and this is a better point in the characters life so by using green it connotes the balance and nature being restored.
• In terms of location, within a psychological horror we are use to seeing many dark colours within a desolate area however now that we have colour in an area that we know the characters are safe our minds are at rest. Therefore this suggests that the use of a natural/meadow green within a psychological horror connotes the restoration within the characters life. 

From this deconstruction of 28 days later, it's easier to see the impact the choice of location has on  a film. Although the director chose to use London city as his location he had to make many decisions to fit the story. With a limited budget I would not be able to close off a road in central London in order to film so if i wanted to film in the city i would definitely have to think about whether the appearance of the public would impact. If so, i would have to consider filming somewhere else with a similar view of the city or think about how i could edit it to make it seem appealing.