The Walking Dead - Season 3, "Welcome to the Tombs" (25:51 - 27:45)

So my best friend wanted an analysis of The Walking Dead.  Her wish is my command, so here we go!

This is the scene from "Welcome to the Tombs" in which the Governor flips a shit and kills his entire group with the exception of Martinez and Shumpert (awesome name btw), whom I'm assuming are his henchmen, and Karen who escapes by pretending to be dead.  Now, I don't watch the series and only read a brief synopsis of the episode to understand the context of the scene.  I find that analyzing a sequence from something you have no knowledge of can help to avoid over-analyzing.  Anyway, let's get started.


First off, we have a very dynamic scene, quite typical of a car chase in modern cinema; dynamic shots, the viewpoint switching between a profile shot, a low-angle shot, frontal shot, etc.  The shots themselves are very short, about a couple of seconds each, which gives the scene a fast rhythm.

The absence of music and very aggressive car noises (horns blaring, tires screeching, engines roaring) are already preparing us for imminent violence.  Added to that, we have the shot of the Governor leaving his car shouting angrily.  The panoramic follows him, so we have a view of the Governor striding angrily towards the group of people who are advancing rapidly towards him.  The shot is typically confrontational; the straight road stretching from the background up to the foreground, the Governor's back towards the camera and the angry group directly opposite, facing him.  The rhythm is still fast, switching rapidly between the characters, all of whom are shown using medium close ups so we can clearly see their expressions and emotions.  However, while the other characters are shown with an immobile camera, the camera follows the Governor; he is the character the audience should focus on during this sequence.

Typically confrontational view

The shot immediately before the massacre, the spectator is warned of what's going to happen by use of music and a dolly zoom.  A dolly zoom gives the disturbing impression of vertigo (and was famously used in the Hitchcock film of the same name), changing the perspective of the background while the character remains the same size.  Here, the dolly zoom gives the impression of the Governor slipping from reality, detaching himself from the situation at hand.  The music accentuates the effect, a low menacing note that gets louder, turning into a ringing noise that drowns out all other sound.  This ringing noise is the sound you hear when you lose focus, whether it be because of heatstroke, a concussion or anger; it signifies a loss of control.    This is a subjective view; we are experiencing the scene from the Governor's point of view.  The spectator knows something bad is going to happen.

Example of a dolly zoom from the 1975 Spielberg film, Jaws

The suspense doesn't last long; the ringing and the music stops abruptly, interrupted by the ripping noise of the machine gun, rapidly ripping us from a subjective point of view to an objective one; we are now observing the scene from the outside.  The shots switch rapidly between the Governor and his people, before lingering on his two supporters, Martinez and Shumpert, after the Governor moves off screen.  The sound of the machine gun and the screaming indicating he's continuing his killing rampage, we see the shock and fear of his supporters, who quickly move behind the jeep; this is to further impact the viewer, and insist upon the horrific nature of the scene, a leader killing his followers.
The killing is separated into two distinct attacks: the first is directly after the Governor's loss of control.  He's using a machine gun, a very unrefined weapon, and is shot from his right side, his eye patch facing the camera.  This symbolizes that he is lashing out, blinded by his rage.

Eye patch turned towards the camera, symbolizing the character's blind rage

The second occurs once the initial attack is over; he turns around, so we can see his eye, and takes out his handgun, a far more precise weapon.  There's a pause between both attacks, and the situation changes dramatically.  The last man standing has a rifle aimed at the Governor, when the others had no chance to defend themselves.  The Governor appears completely in control, and knows exactly what he's doing.  The Governor is shown from a low angle, while the man opposite him is filmed from a high angle.  This gives the impression that the Governor is dominating the other man, and he is far more intimidating because he is put in a more powerful position.  We are looking down on the other man, who hesitates; we know immediately what the outcome of this stand off will be.

Angle of shot shows that the Governor dominates the other character

The Governor then stumbles over, as if in a trance, to where the other bodies are lying, and very calmly begins shooting the corpses, in case any are still alive.  This just adds horror to the scene; desecrating corpses is taboo in our society, and in this case there is no need; the people are dead anyway.  We can hear crows in the background, carrion birds that are associated with death, adding to the idea of a massacre.  We can tell that the Governor does not regret his actions, because he returns to shoot the corpses.

The Governor returns to shoot the corpses, adding to the horrific nature of the scene

The next shot shows us that Karen has survived the massacre.  She is at the foreground of the shot, and the close up lets us read her terror clearly.  The Governor is shown once again from a low angle, so in a position of power.  The spectator feels empathy for the character, because we are put in her position of weakness, and can see her fear.  A corpse is on top of her, adding to the horror.  However, it's also useful; the corpse looks as if it's embracing her, protecting her from harm.  Indeed, the Governor's right side (the side with the eye patch) is slightly inclined towards her; he doesn't see that she is still alive.

Karen, protected by the corpse above her

As soon as the Governor is out of shot, she starts to breathe again and the music starts up, inviting the spectator to feel her relief; the violence is over.


Again, I don't watch the Walking Dead, so there could be nods to earlier situations in the series, or other symbols unique to the series that I've missed.  But apart from that, here's an outsiders analysis! :)

Supernatural - Season 4, "Lucifer Rising" (22:33 - 27:00)

Well to start off I thought I'd analyse a scene from one of my favourite TV series.  While I like this show, and I had identified it as a good quality, well thought out series, I hadn't exactly realized how much detail was in one simple scene.

This is the scene in Lucifer Rising (4.22) in which Zachariah returns to the room where the angels have imprisoned Dean and proceeds to explain that it was their plan all along to allow the demons to release Lucifer and bring on the Apocalypse.


The beginning of the scene is very dynamic; In 11 seconds, there are 2 shot types, and the scene has alternated between them 4 times.  The moving camera accentuates the dynamism.
There's a focus-through from Dean to Zachariah who has suddenly appeared behind him; at this point, the rhythm of the scene slows, and the camera and movement becomes less dynamic, which allows us to concentrate on the dynamism of the narration.

When Zachariah moves to sit down, he unbuttons his suit coat; this represents the removal of a layer, from that point on he is going to start telling the truth.  What's more, he sits in front of a mirror.  On the other side of the room there is a second mirror, creating a "mise en abîme", a repetition of Zachariah's profile stretching into infinity.  This technique, while certainly aesthetically pleasing, has a second meaning: it's a symbolic representation of all the facets of Zachariah's personality, a concrete visualization of his hidden agenda.  His character has been manipulating things from the beginning, hidden behind different faces.  The music that starts up is empathetic, and we realize along with Dean that Zachariah has played him.

Mise en abîme

From that moment of realization, the colour very slowly begins to bleed from the picture, not nearly enough to render it black and white, but just enough that the previously warm, colourful room suddenly becomes cold and drab.  We go from believing that this room could be a part of Heaven to a room where you really don't want to be.  The room has effectively become a prison.  The orange/gold tones from the walls fade to a sort of eked out cream colour, and the flesh tones of Dean and Zachariah's faces have become a sickly grey.  It's as if the hope has bled out of the room with the colour, and Ackles' acting only enriches this point.

Before and after the colour bleed

Eyeline match between Dean and the paintings in the room; after Zachariah's revelation, they have suddenly changed from angelic paintings to demonic ones, most depicting the Apocalypse, obviously alluding to the conversation.  This reveal is accompanied by reaction music, sudden booms, to draw the spectator's attention to the fact that these paintings have changed.  It's enough to ask ourselves: have the paintings always been satanic, and Dean was seeing only what the angels wanted him to see, or have the paintings reacted to the situation?  As the room is an environment controlled by angels, therefore a mystical room, either explanation is perfectly plausible.
A painting depicting demons throwing humans off a cliff, dominating them appears behind Dean, and we have a close up of it, showing us humans killing humans alongside the demons as Zachariah says: "Paradise on Earth", which is a nice offbeat touch.  This painting alludes strongly to Zachariah's monologue, as he reveals that the humans will die in the ensuing war between Heaven and Hell.

The demonic paintings

When Zachariah gets up, on his left we notice a small chandelier that has only 2 candles (3 is slightly more common); perhaps it is a subtle reminder of the Devil's horns.  Zachariah also re-buttons his suit jacket and removes himself from the mirror with the "mise en abîme"; we no longer know if he's telling the truth or lying.  His ensuing speech is not to be trusted.

Zachariah re-buttoning his jacket and the two pronged chandelier to his left

Dean turns towards a statue of a sitting angel holding a trumpet to his lips.  The statue is carved from black stone, black being the colour of death, in European culture at least.  This statue has replaced that of a white stone statue of an angel that Dean smashed, so there's a nice duality to an earlier scene.  The statue is probably a representation of the angel Israfil, an Islamic angel who sits on a rock perpetually holding a trumpet to his lips, awaiting the God's signal to blow it.  When the trumpet blows, it will announce the Day of Resurrection. So this statue is probably a sign of the impending Apocalypse.  What's more, Zachariah's line: "you probably shouldn't try to bash my head in with that thing" reinforces the idea that this statue symbolizes death and violence.

Statue, most likely depicting Israfil

Next, we have a scene with both characters facing one another, a typically confrontational image.  Behind them is a painting of Michael killing Lucifer, running him through in fact.  Michael is very humanoid with a calm, serene expression, much like the one Zachariah is wearing, and Lucifer is depicted as a beast with a snarling visage, Dean's expression of anger echoing it.  What's more, Zachariah is placed on the same side as Michael, and Dean on the same side of Lucifer.  The view in profile makes Zachariah's height advantage even more noticeable.  Their position is not random; Zachariah standing facing Dean, echoing Michael behind him, clearly shows that it is he who dominates the situation.  He is in control, and is put in the position of power.  Dean meanwhile has been vanquished, and is in a much more vulnerable position; he is effectively trapped in this room, and Zachariah now holds the advantage.

The painting on the wall reflects the situation of the two characters

Finally, after Zachariah leaves, the scene ends with the camera panning up from the Devil towards Michael's face.  The painting not only accompanies the situation, but is  forewarning of what is to come; Dean shall have to defeat the Devil.  Although we do not know at this point in the series, the painting is even more revealing, as Dean can only defeat Lucifer if he becomes Michael's vessel, so Dean must become Michael, hence the focusing of the camera on Michael's face.


I do apologize for any misuse of cinematographic terminology in my analysis, I study cinema in France, so most of the terms I know are French.  I admit, I had to Google a few, so they may not be the correct or common terms.  Anyway, with that I end this analysis!  Boy that was fun!  :)