Jonathon Stephenson Post Apocalyptic Timeline

The locations used in post apocalyptic cinema can vary 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). 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 statue of liberty (below).

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.