The Walking DeadLouanne Honey

PURPOSE

The Walking Dead is a zombie

survival show that’s purpose is

to entertain and make money to

sell its franchise/merchandise

better. It makes its audience

feel attached to the characters

created within the show so that

when they are in tough

situations we care about their

well-being and pray for their

survival. The Walking Dead

makes us feel on edge and

anxious.

Form & Style

The Walking Dead takes on a zombie apocalypse theme

with the basic narrative of simply surviving it. The

atmosphere and mood is very gritty and bloody, the rating is

18 so the show goes all out when it comes to gore and

death.

Content

The key action in the show is the main group surviving by killing zombies and fighting against other human groups that want the main groups recourses, food, revenge etc.

The shows main character is Rick Grimes (played by Andrew Lincoln), an American cop who wakes up from a coma only to find the world he once knew is gone and is overrun by the un-dead. He eventually is reunited with his wife Lori (played by Sarah Wayne) and son Carl (Chandler Riggs) where they build up a group to survive. Other key characters in the show are Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus), Glenn Rhee (Steven Yeun) and Hershel Greene (Scott Wilson). The setting of the show attends to change each season but we always follow the same group and they always stay within America.

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln)

Glenn Rhee (Steven Yuen)

Content

The shots in the series will usually be establishing shots, keeping us up to date where we are if the characters are somewhere new and mid-shots allowing us to have a full view of the person and action we are seeing.

The soundtrack for the walking is mainly acoustic and ‘folk’ sounding; it aims for a raw feeling. This could be since any ‘modern’ sounding music in

this world no longer exists and would feel out of place within the show due to the setting, tone and mood.

Soundtrack Examples

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06ygjTn6q-c&list=PLTYa2cwsW2Gi3NK2weOvUIJnAQJbVNCYt&index=6

Meaning

The Walking Dead makes us question our morals and humanity. How far would we go to just survive? It makes us wonder if we could do the same or would do the same as the characters in the show if there

were no other option. The show also raises question on religion especially through the character Hershel a man of God and faith,

who claims this is all parts of Gods plan but eventually finds that even that seems hard to believe. Season 2 and 3 of the show goes into politics and where democracy lies. Whether its easier to allow one person to make all the decisions to shield others from this new world, or let the hard choices be shared

out e.g. handling a human life. Altogether the show conveys a lot of issues on our morals and how far we are willing to stick by them if

we put ourselves in this world and situation.

Genre

The Walking Dead fits into the serial, horror fiction genre that brings new experiences to the genre by simply being a TV show. Most zombie based media focuses on a survival group at the beginning of an apocalypse and we see them simply surviving – however since the walking dead is a TV series we see them not just surviving around this new world but living. If there’s a zombie in the background the group doesn’t always see it as a threat since they are now used to this world and how to deal with the issue if it gets closer, it still makes the audience feel uneasy since we’re not actually there but the characters act fairly calm around them (in certain situations). The walking dead shows how humans act if we adapted to a zombie based world.

Target Audience

The Walking Dead has the highest total views compared to any series in cable television history as of 2015. It is averaged that most of the viewers are between the ages 18-49 and hits a more male based audience with its gritty tone.

Frequency

The walking dead always begins in October, airing at 9pm (except for the first season that aired at 10pm). The end date for each season is around March time (again except for the first season which had less episodes, finishing in December). Between October and March there a Mid-Season finale, where the show will go on a short break and return usually between Jan-Feb.

Production Process

The Walking dead was an adaption of a comic of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard.

Idea

Production Process

In January 20th, 2010, AMC officially announced that it had ordered a pilot for a possible series based of ‘The Walking Dead’ comic book series. It would have Frank Darabont and Gale Anne Hurd as executive producers Darabont writing and directing.

Development

The pilot began filming in Atlanta, Georgia on May 25th 2010 after AMC had officially ordered a six episode first season.

Production ProcessPre-Production

CastingThe first season writing staff consisted of series developer and executive producer Frank Darabont (who wrote/co-wrote four of the six episodes), executive producer Charles H. Eglee, executive producer and creator of the comic book Robert Kirkman, co-executive producer Jack LoGiudice, consulting producer Adam Fierro and Glen Mazzara, all of whom contributed to one episode each. Along with Darabont, who directed the pilot episode, the remaining five were directed by Michelle MacLaren, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, Johan Renck, Ernest Dickerson and Guy Ferland

LocationThe Walking Dead is mostly filmed in Georgia.

CastingThe main cast is Andrew Lincoln who plays the main protagonist Rick Grimes. Alongside Jon Bernthal (Shane Walsh), Sarah Wayne Callies (Lori Grimes) and Chandler Riggs (Carl Grimes).

Production ProcessProduction

Shooting

The series is completely shot on 16 mm film. David Tattersall was the director of photography for the pilot episode with David Boyd as the director of photography on the remainder of the episodes. Production design is done by Greg Melton and Alex Hajdu.

Booth at the 2010 Comic-Con with a scene from the pilot for the promotion of the series.

Production ProcessPost-

ProductionThe effects team includes veteran special effects makeup designer Gregory Nicotero, special effects coordinator Darrell Pritchett, and visual effects supervisors Sam Nicholson and Jason Sperling.

Bear McCreary was hired to compose the score for the series. McCreary stated that the main theme was based on his viewing of production designs for the opening title sequence. Instead of doing a full theme song as with his earlier works, McCreary chose to use a simple, repeating motif from the strings section.

Gregory Nicotero is an executive producer and the key special effects makeup artist on the series. Each walker is put through "zombie school" and is taught how to move like zombies. There are three levels of zombie makeup: Hero, Midground, and Deep Background. Hero zombies are featured walkers and are completely made over from head to toe. Midground zombies get highlights and shadows on the face, but do not get close enough to the camera to require full makeup. Deep background zombies often wear masks and are only meant to be used as a backdrop.

Production ProcessDistribution

The Walking Dead debuted during the same week in 120 countries. As part of an expansive campaign to advertise and heighten anticipation for the premiere, AMC and Fox International Channels coordinated a worldwide zombie invasion event on October 26, 2010. The stunt involved invading 26 major cities within a 24-hour period, starting with Taipei and Hong Kong, and ending in Los Angeles for the U.S. premiere.

Action figures of characters from the series were created for release in November 2011 and have continued throughout the years with eight line-ups. The figures, which are manufactured by McFarlane Toys, are designed to resemble the actors on the series. Figures created to resemble the characters as drawn in the comic book were released in September 2011.