Shaun of the Dead: story arc and tracking shots

The story arc is very straight-forward, with a basic 3 act play set up:

1. exposition of Shaun's life, ends with Shaun writing a list on the fridge and passing out.
2. opens with the list on the fridge: "Go round mums, get Liz back, sort life OUT!" but the world has gone mad. Inall the chaos, Shaun finds himself as he scampers around to save the loves of his life. Ends with Shaun yelling at his best friend and then sacrificing himself to save the others.
3. Shaun valiantly returns, kills his zombified mother, contemplates suicide, but ultimately survives and gets the girl, as well as keeps his best (and now zombified) friend.

There's a great use of tracking shots here as well. As Shaun begins his day, he walks out of his house, down and across the street, and into the local store, continuing to the back for a soda, then back to the counter to pay. In the background we see basic boring life, which Shaun seems oblivious to.

The same tracking shot opens Act 2, but this time, as Shaun stumbles bleary-eyed to the store, zombies and bodies and destruction are everywhere in the background,wo which Shaun remains oblivious. The track continues into the store, where Shaun is momentarily distracted as he opens the soda case. We see bloody hand prints on the glass, but Shaun is busy selecting a can. AS he closes the case and started back to the counter, he slips slightly in what we can presume is a pool of blood. Again, Shaun is oblivious. The timing, sound effects, and subtle body language are masterful in setting up comic tension.

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