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Jonathon Stephenson
Post Apocalyptic Timeline
Mise en scene in post apocalyptic cinema is usually focused
on survival, items such as weapons, petrol canisters, and
food supplies. The vast majority of the items that are placed
in the films are in a way part of the scenery, so items like
abandoned cars, technology etc are all left just lying,
inanimate and dead, as a kind of reminder of where all of
this came from and what things used to be like, such as with
the scene from The Day After Tomorrow, with the frozen
The locations used in post apocalyptic cinema can vary
statue of liberty (below).
greatly, dependent on how long ago the apocalypse
happened, how it happened, and what infrastructure wasn’t
destroyed. They usually use harsh, disparate landscapes, with
very few or no people left to inhabit them. One common
theme among all post apocalyptic landscapes is that they are
challening to survive in, whether it be because of creatures
attacking (top right), or because of other survivers trying to
kill, steal from you (bottom right).
The camerawork for fast paced, exciting parts of the narrative, is in some ways similar to the action scenes in
social realism films. In post apocalyptic film it is popular t use shaky hand held like camerawork for the tense, fast
paced parts of the film. This is because it gives the impression of panic and confusion, which is usually just what
the director wants the viewer to be feeling at these points in the narrative. With post apocalyptic cinema it is also
commonplace to observe very wide angled long shots in the less high octane sections of the film, and this is used
in order to give a very clear idea of the surroundings, and the scale of the destruction that has taken place. An
example of this would be in the 2002 post apocalyptic film 28 Days Later (below), where the main character is
walking through the deserted streets of London.
The lighting used, like with many social
realism films, is often quite low key, and the
colour is commonly very washed out and de
saturated. It gives a dull lifeless style to the
shot, which perfectly matches the desired
effect. The colour is very often tinged with a
green, or yellowish colour, to add effect to
the style.
The editing within post apocalyptic film varies, depending on the nature of the particular scene. For
scenes where the pace is slower and we get a chance to really view the scenery, each shot is often shown
for long amounts of time. This allows the audience to get used to, what is usually not familiar
surroundings and take on the mindset of what has happened.
When there is action on screen, the
shots are usually very fast, and
disorientating, which cranks up the
tension in the film and makes the
viewer pay very close attention.
A number of techniques affecting
the style of the scene, or whole
movies are sometimes employed in
post apocalyptic movies. These will
be things like ‘static interference’
with the footage, which gives a
damaged, unsettling nature to the
piece, and sometimes hand held
camera watermarks, which give the
piece an almost a very believable
element (at least initially). Such as in
Cloverfield (left).
Post apocalyptic protagonists are usually desperate and
often lonely, in a world that has fallen apart, they fight for
survival. Where they sometimes differ from the other
survivors is that they try to hold on to some form of
society, and try to remain good and human. An example of
this being the Mad Max films (below).
There are sometimes other characters as
well, some of whom may support the
protagonist, and some of who may try and
use, or even kill the protagonist. An
example of this being the army veterans
who wished to catch all women and rape
them, in order to procreate. (above)
If anything, the context is one of the key defining
factors as to whether a post apocalyptic film will be
made or not, and as to how successful it will be once
it is released. The context of the time that it was
made in, is often made use of in the film.
For example, at the very birth of the genre, people had
real concerns over industrialisation, and shocking visions
were brought forth in films like Metropolis that played on
those fears.
Similarly in the 50’s and 60’s people had fears of a
nuclear war, and films were made to work with those
fears.
In the 70’s and 80’s there was an oil crisis, which
raised fears of limited resources, then came along
films like Mad Max.
Fast forward to the 21’st century and our fears lie in
climate change and the environment, which prompts
films like The Day After Tomorrow and The Road to be
made.
Post apocalyptic films make their success by saying “this could
happen to you”, and in so doing both thrill us and entertain us,as
well as in somecases making us question the real world around us.