Greg shows his actors several clips from several zombie films, and also suggests that it is not hard to teach somebody to walk like a zombie. I will be using the same idea and will be showing my actors a few films before filming. I will also make sure not to follow typical 'zombie protocol' and try to achieve variety with my actors, being careful not to allow them to go 'over the top'.
Greg Nicotero from the Walking Dead TV series speaks of how he trained his zombies to walk in this interesting article:
http://splashpage.mtv.com/2010/11/15/the-walking-dead-zombie-school/
This video will be helpful for showing my actors.
Zombie Expert Lorin Eric Salm provides some coaching on how to walk like a zombie:
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Prop List
General
Video camera
Tripod - Small and Large
February 25th Monday
Black tapeBroken Photo frame
Teddy Bear
February 28th Friday
Make Up
Face Paint; Brown, Green, White
1 Pint of Fake Blood
500ml of Liquid Latex
1 bottle of conditioner
Spaghetti
Porridge
Red Food Colouring
Oatmeal
March 2nd Sunday
Bottle of whiskey (without alcohol)
I phone and headphones
Clothes; t shirts
Rucksack
Baseball bat
Make Up
Face Paint; Brown, Green, White
1 Pint of Fake Blood
500ml of Liquid Latex
1 bottle of conditioner
Spaghetti
Porridge
Red Food Colouring
Oatmeal
Saturday, 16 February 2013
Night of the Living Dead Analysis
Night of the Living Dead (1990)
I chose to look at the classic Zombie Horror film Night of the Living Dead by George Romero, since this is one of the most highly rated and classic zombie films of all time.
7 seconds of darkness before the first title begins
Columbia Pictures – 10 seconds, spaceship type sound introduced
Fade 2 seconds darkness
Quiet violin sound begins - tension
Title sequence begins, first with company name
Includes ‘and’ – this is rare in recent films
4 seconds
Sun continues to rise – eerie strange sun, dark, looks a bit unnatural since it is sped up
Director’s name is shown
‘Presents’ – again rare in recent films
Violin music carries on, sun continues to rise
A drum beat sounds when movie title appears- this has been seen in a lot of films
Uses the same font, all in bold. Appears to the left of the moon and is larger, previously the titles appeared on top of the moon in the center. Approximately 4 seconds again. The scene then slowly fades away with the eerie drum beat and violin music.
The same shot is used for exactly 1 minute, introducing the company title, directors and writers name before ending with the film name. The font is all the same, with important names of a larger size. The music creates an eerie atmosphere, whilst the sun rising creates a supernatural type scary setting.
We then hear a mocking voice, which is actually quite effective “we are coming to get you, Barbra”. The scene is completely black and we cannot see where the voice is coming from, this is effectively unnerving. This lasts 5 seconds before we cut to a long shot, with a car driving into view.
The conversation continues with the man mocking. We can still not see the actual people speaking, however since the car comes into view the audience will assume this is where it is coming from. By not revealing the characters yet they manage to retain a spooky feel.
6 names in the same font appear across the bottom of the screen.
The conversation continues and we learn about the relationships between the unseen characters.
Non diegetic, creepy music is played through out the scenes with the car, which we follow to the mansion.
Names are continually displayed across the bottom of the screen as we track the car to the mansion.
An ariel view shows the car entering the mansion.
‘Associate producer’ and ‘Line Producer’ ‘Costume Designer’ are shown across the bottom
Since we are about to enter the mansion which is an important setting of the film more important names appear.
IGN Top 10 Zombie Movies
IGN rates its Top 10 Zombie Movies
1. Night of the living Dead
The granddaddy of the modern zombie genre, Romero's Night of the Living Dead rethought what a zombie movie could be, removing the shambling creatures from the realm of voodoo and black magic and Haitian jungles and placing them squarely in the backyard of middle-class America, with no clear explanation of the ghouls' origins but plenty of sociological and political subtext surrounding the undead things. A low budget indie that was, according to Romero, heavily influenced by Richard Matheson's vampire novel I Am Legend and the subsequent Vincent Price film version of Legend called The Last Man on Earth, Night would prove to be immensely influential itself on everything from modern, high-profile "zombie" pictures like 28 Days Later to countless low-budget cheapie rip-offs to, decades after its initial release, video game franchises such as Resident Evil.
2. Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Launching into its sordid story with only the slightest of explanations, this film is at once a thrill ride and a mood piece: Ken Foree exudes calming authority as Peter, the S.W.A.T. team leader who anchors a foursome of refugees who hole up in a shopping mall after humanity discovers "there's no more room in hell." While much has been made in subsequent years of the film's running anti-consumerist commentary, the film proves to be much more interesting as a character study than a treatise on the dangers of too much shopping; but a healthy dose of gore, combined with some wicked humour and considerable invention on the part of the filmmakers make Dawn a genre classic.
3. Shaun of the Dead
Following in the social satire tradition of George Romero's zombie flicks, but played much more as a comedy than a straight-up horror film, Shaun of the Dead ranks as one of the most all-around entertaining zombie movies ever made. Telling the story of unambitious electronics salesman Shaun (Simon Pegg) as he races across town to save his girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield), who recently dumped him, from the undead. Shaun boasts some great characters (including Shaun's best friend, Ed, played by Nick Frost), hilarious scenes, and very funny lines, all mixed in with some real scares that elevate it above stock zombie films.
4. Zombi 2 (Zombie)
5. Dellamorte Dellamore (cemetery man)
6. Dawn of the Dead
7. Plan 9 from outer space
8. The Return of the Living Dead
9. Land of the Dead
10. Braindead (Dead Alive)
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2008/02/11/top-10-zombie-movies?page=2
Sunday, 10 February 2013
Zombieland Opening Title Sequence Analysis
Zombieland is an apocalyptic horror film including dark humour and comedy.
Zombieland opens with a bell ringing over a black screen for approximately two seconds. The opening sequence then ends with this same bell ringing.
The man jumping off of the building jumps into the opening title credits. The man is seen jumping away from a zombie, who can be identified with his bloody face and zombie-like movements.
The credits are coloured red and in bold, with the company name in a larger font next to 'presents'.
In this long shot the camera is angled upwards, meaning the man is jumping into the screen, at the audience.
The letters are bashed out of the way as the man falls into them. The title is included in the scene, and goes across the building.
Heavy non diegetic music is played on top of the clip, with no diegetic music present. This music carries on through out the opening title sequence.
The transition to the next clip is a fade.
The man falling and zombie are placed in the center of the frame, as is the title.
This clip lasts approximately 8 seconds.
We now see a gruesome medium close up of another zombie spewing up blood.
The man is in focus with travelling cars in the background. A lot of the scenes are placed in normal every day situations.
The man is covered in blood but otherwise is in normal clothes.
The titles are of the same font and colour, 'in association with' is in a lower font with 'relativity media' in a larger font below.
In slow motion again, the titles are placed underneath the man's chin, where the spewing blood knocks out the titles, before fading to the next scene.
This clip lasts less than 8 seconds.
Next we see a woman running from another zombie.
Some similar conventions are included which have been shown in the previous few scenes; Slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene
'Pariah' is also larger than 'a production', similarly to the previous scenes
Another two scenes are shown with the same conventions of:
slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene.
Zombieland opens with a bell ringing over a black screen for approximately two seconds. The opening sequence then ends with this same bell ringing.
The man jumping off of the building jumps into the opening title credits. The man is seen jumping away from a zombie, who can be identified with his bloody face and zombie-like movements.
The credits are coloured red and in bold, with the company name in a larger font next to 'presents'.
In this long shot the camera is angled upwards, meaning the man is jumping into the screen, at the audience.
The letters are bashed out of the way as the man falls into them. The title is included in the scene, and goes across the building.
Heavy non diegetic music is played on top of the clip, with no diegetic music present. This music carries on through out the opening title sequence.
The transition to the next clip is a fade.
The man falling and zombie are placed in the center of the frame, as is the title.
This clip lasts approximately 8 seconds.
The man is in focus with travelling cars in the background. A lot of the scenes are placed in normal every day situations.
The man is covered in blood but otherwise is in normal clothes.
The titles are of the same font and colour, 'in association with' is in a lower font with 'relativity media' in a larger font below.
In slow motion again, the titles are placed underneath the man's chin, where the spewing blood knocks out the titles, before fading to the next scene.
This clip lasts less than 8 seconds.
Some similar conventions are included which have been shown in the previous few scenes; Slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene
'Pariah' is also larger than 'a production', similarly to the previous scenes
The camera is angled slightly upwards, with the woman running into the center of the frame
This scene is only 5 seconds long
This scene is again 5 seconds long.
The zombies are bloody and noticeable by their bloody clothes and zombie like movements.
This time the title is 'pushed' out of the way by a zombie. We are now onto names instead of companies, and the whole name is in the same font, colour and is bold.
slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene
In this long shot the scene is 7 seconds long, and includes two names. The second appears as the first is pushed out of the way. The exploding car and men are at the center of the frame, with the titles either side. The zombie is behind them, noticeable again by the zombie like running movements and blood.
slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene
Another two scenes are shown with the same conventions of:
slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene.
The first is a close up of riot police batting away a zombie, both lasting five seconds.
The second a zombie woman getting married tries to attack her husband. The second scene has no titles over the top, as it is the preceding the movie title.
The man smashes through the Zombieland title as though it were glass. The scene lasts 5 seconds. The same conventions are used; slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene.
The zombie is out of focus in the background, but there is always a zombie present.
The next few sequences show casting designer, music, editors, productions designers, director of photography, executive producers, producer, writers, and ends with the director. The final few scenes all include the same conventions; slow motion, zombies, every day situations, titles being 'pushed' out of the way, and titles of the same font and colour, fade to next scene. They all last approximately five seconds.
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Make Up Equipment
Recommended make up equipment has been purchased;
Green, brown and white face paints, 500ml Liquid latex, 1 pint of fake blood
Zombie Make Up
The Walking Dead TV series
This TV series DVD comes with a tutorial for zombie make up
This TV series DVD comes with a tutorial for zombie make up
By Greg Nicotero - Consulting producer/special EFX Make up
Andy Schoneberg - Special EFX Make up Artist
Walk through:
1. Add handful of conditioner to hair to make it greasy and lifeless
2. Apply liquid latex
3. Mix oatmeal & latex to create dirty rotten skin
4. Use gelatin to sculpt wounds
5. Cosmetic sponge to add texture
6. Layer tissue & latex to add depth
7. Apply latex to blend
8. Add powder
9. Use mineral oil to blend base
10. Use dark colours for shadowing
11. Mix food colouring & corn syrup for blood
12. Splatter blood with brush
Since zombies are going to be a crucial part of the film, the make up will need to be of a high quality. I have enlisted friend Bayleigh for help with the make up, since she has had a lot of experience and expertise with creating good Halloween-style make up effects. We will be watching video tutorials for the best zombie make up with resources available to the general public.
 |
| Bayleigh Sly |
Since zombies are going to be a crucial part of the film, the make up will need to be of a high quality. I have enlisted friend Bayleigh for help with the make up, since she has had a lot of experience and expertise with creating good Halloween-style make up effects. We will be watching video tutorials for the best zombie make up with resources available to the general public.
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Monday, 4 February 2013
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