Taking things further…

Exploring the Movie Even More

1. I Am Legend was filmed in 16 different locations, 14 of them around New York State, and the other two were New Jersey and California.
2. During the scenes that surrounded the Brooklyn Bridge, over 1,000 extras were needed, $5 million was needed, a filming crew of 250, and more than 150 National Guard troops were also needed.
3. After a week of filming, the director, Francis decided he was not happy with the infected characters and did not feel as if they were not going to convince the audience. He then made a budget changing decision to use CGI instead, which also ended up delaying post-production.
4. The movie was originally planned to shoot in Los Angeles, but was moved to New York – it was rejected at first by Warner Bros. due to the logistics, but Francis Lawrence was determined.

Identifying the Genre

I would say I Am Legend could be identified as a drama film. As Filmsite reveals, “dramatic films show humans at their best, worst and everything in-between.” That scene I watched definitely showed the man at what could be his worst and somewhat of everything in-between. Dramatic films also have tendencies to show societal problems, current issues, ills, and characters having conflicts with themselves, others, or nature.

Another genre I Am Legend could be considered as is a thriller/suspense film. By just watching the 3 minute scene, I was very anxious just to find out what was going to happen and what happened leading up to that point. A lot of uncertainty was on the line as well as high levels of anticipation. Filmsite says these types of films typically keep viewers on the “edge of their seats” and tension continues to rise as the movie goes on as the main character is in the middle of it all, and by that I mean the situation, mystery or even trouble.

The angles of the first clip where he is speaking overhead, shows him thinking to himself, and puts everything into perspective for the viewer. When the second clip starts, as the man is in the foreground and the car is in the background, it seems at first if he is the more dominant point in the clip but as the car starts falling, the attention turns towards the car as his attention turns as well. As he is hanging upside down and the dog is looking upwards at him shows him in a vulnerable state and the transition when it fades out makes it seem as if the next scene could even be him dreaming. The man was typically at the right side of the camera’s view during the last scene, and both him and the dog were the main points to pay attention to through it all. The angles gave him a strong character, especially when he looks over the dog in a downward state.