The Walking Dead has a very specific directing style; due to the nature of the show, i.e. locations and adult themes. The show itself has many different directors come in and out, whilst production assistants and writers stay the same, the directors change dependent on episodes; some come in just for a one off stint whereas others do some more longer episode directing arcs.David Boyd has been a director of photography for at least 10 episodes of The Walking Dead, so far. He directed the episode entitled 'Secrets' (Series 2 Episode 6) Boyd notes how he had an upper hand directing this episode, as he previously has been on the set as a cinematographer he is the first director of the show that has a real feel for the tone, image and style of the show because he has worked on in since its inception, just not as a director.
Within this, Boyd opted to use 3 cameras, rather than the traditional use of 2. This is because the 3rd camera is used to get more abstract and unique angles that directors normally do not have time for, it was a belief that with the 3rd camera he could get 'something odd, something that shows you really getting into he characters head'. More widely to the show as a whole, Frank Darabout, one of the creators, opts for traditional dolly use to enable a smooth and tight shot, in the episode Secrets, Boyd wanted to use whatever he felt right at the time for that shot, whether that be a dolly or handheld.
If we were too look at the directorial style of The Walking Dead in a wider view rather than this episode specifically, we would find that a recurring theme in the show is long, wide and birds eye view shots. The Walking Dead is obviously a fictional programme, and so its imperative that the locations used be engaging and aesthetic, especially considering this show is adapted from a comic book, the audience will want to see these recognisable elements of the location and many of the directors use these different type of shots to illustrate these recognisable elements.
Furthermore, extreme close ups are a recurring element in the Walking Dead, particularly one shot of a zombies cataract eye. This type of shot is extremely effective, it adds value to the costume/SFX and acts as a common symbol/iconography to the show. Also fast editing is something that is always a high presence in every episode, the creators want the audience to feel as though they are a part of the journey these characters are going on, rather than purely watching it, and so this fast paced editing is effective and it brings the audience in on the action, paired with the array of camera shots used by the directors.One way in which the directing style of The Walking Dead defiantly influences my own work, is the establishing and master shots that they use to set their location. I believe, as a viewer, that these types of shots set the scene and sets the tone of the show. For example the shot above of Chicago, a promotional shot for the 1st season of The Walking Dead, really illustrates the tone of the show, through the colour that is used (dark murky colours) and the small image of a character we can see walking toward Chicago. Fast paced editing is something that I also see here and influence my work. Fast paced editing, in my opinion, is one of the most engaging thing a programme can do, it serves a purpose to keep the narrative going and the audience interested. It is something that when making Nerve, i hope to use.
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