Adam goes behind the scenes of The Book of Zombie.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Monday, September 3, 2007
13th weekend - Welcome to the Driscoll's
Friday
We finished shooting at the bars in Auburn last weekend and moved on to a house in Shoreline. The house, donated by Karen's parents, is extremely rich with character and detail. Our story starts with David and Jenny enjoying dinner at home. We spent the entire night on their dinner scene.
Saturday
Erik ordered a stunt double for Zed the cat a while back. He finally arrived and was brought to the set. As luck would have it, a cat that looked very similar to Zed showed up on set and wanted to be let into the house. We dropped everything we were doing and quickly re-lit for the cat running out the door shot. I was always concerned that we'd never be able to get a cat to "act", but it went very well. We have no idea what the cat's real name is, so the credits will read "Zed as Himself".
The first scheduled scene of the night was David coming back in after his confrontation with the Mormons (to be filmed in a couple of weeks). We then moved on to his and Jenny's exit from the kitchen. Yes, the story takes place in October. Our set dressers had a great time finding Halloween decorations.
The big scene of the night was a big set-up in the garage. This was a huge task for lighting and it took all of our fixtures. I wanted to have all of the interior lights to turn on when David throws the switch to reveal the zombies already there. This involved hanging four lights to the ceiling and wiring them all to a single power strip. I also lit the exterior to be seen through the doors and windows. We used two fog machines to fill the garage with smoke. It's a very cool looking scene.
Erik ordered a stunt double for Zed the cat a while back. He finally arrived and was brought to the set. As luck would have it, a cat that looked very similar to Zed showed up on set and wanted to be let into the house. We dropped everything we were doing and quickly re-lit for the cat running out the door shot. I was always concerned that we'd never be able to get a cat to "act", but it went very well. We have no idea what the cat's real name is, so the credits will read "Zed as Himself".
The first scheduled scene of the night was David coming back in after his confrontation with the Mormons (to be filmed in a couple of weeks). We then moved on to his and Jenny's exit from the kitchen. Yes, the story takes place in October. Our set dressers had a great time finding Halloween decorations.
The big scene of the night was a big set-up in the garage. This was a huge task for lighting and it took all of our fixtures. I wanted to have all of the interior lights to turn on when David throws the switch to reveal the zombies already there. This involved hanging four lights to the ceiling and wiring them all to a single power strip. I also lit the exterior to be seen through the doors and windows. We used two fog machines to fill the garage with smoke. It's a very cool looking scene.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Week 12 - The End is Nigh
Friday
Action all took place at The Drunken Dragon on Friday. We're at the end of shooting at the bars in Auburn, so we concentrated on pick-ups that we still needed. Everything we shot takes place near the end of the "montage of death". We needed shots of David and Jenny exchanging glances down the length of the bar while killing zombies. Jenny also needed to be seen taking one more machete swing. Erik sits just out of frame spitting blood at her. The battle-axe has seen better days. It appears to be held together almost exclusively by duct tape.
The biggest shot of the night was David running past the bar to lend Jenny a hand. This short action was shot to death... We managed to pull off three different high-speed dolly shots. Paul pushed me on the wheelchair over and over again without one sign of slowing down.
Saturday
Again, the theme of the weekend seems to be pick-ups. Somehow we managed to shoot until about 9am on Sunday. The end of the Linderman's scene still needed to be shot tonight.
Here's some guerrilla filmmaking in action. We needed a shot of David and Jenny entering Linderman's while "braining" Bob Zombie in the process. We managed to get the whole company moved outside, set up the shot and get in a few good takes in about twenty minutes.
We're done at our bars in Auburn... almost. Erik, Marcel and I will be back to shoot one more effects shot on Wednesday. Set deconstruction happens on Thursday. We get locked out on Friday.
To be continued...
Action all took place at The Drunken Dragon on Friday. We're at the end of shooting at the bars in Auburn, so we concentrated on pick-ups that we still needed. Everything we shot takes place near the end of the "montage of death". We needed shots of David and Jenny exchanging glances down the length of the bar while killing zombies. Jenny also needed to be seen taking one more machete swing. Erik sits just out of frame spitting blood at her. The battle-axe has seen better days. It appears to be held together almost exclusively by duct tape.
The biggest shot of the night was David running past the bar to lend Jenny a hand. This short action was shot to death... We managed to pull off three different high-speed dolly shots. Paul pushed me on the wheelchair over and over again without one sign of slowing down.
Saturday
Again, the theme of the weekend seems to be pick-ups. Somehow we managed to shoot until about 9am on Sunday. The end of the Linderman's scene still needed to be shot tonight.
Here's some guerrilla filmmaking in action. We needed a shot of David and Jenny entering Linderman's while "braining" Bob Zombie in the process. We managed to get the whole company moved outside, set up the shot and get in a few good takes in about twenty minutes.
We're done at our bars in Auburn... almost. Erik, Marcel and I will be back to shoot one more effects shot on Wednesday. Set deconstruction happens on Thursday. We get locked out on Friday.
To be continued...
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
11th Weekend - Boothe takes a fall and Jenny battles Zombies
Friday
Erik started a brilliant directing stint for this weekend's shoot. On Friday we spent our whole night in Linderman's. Some of that time was spent shooting pick-ups and reverses with Darwin, David, Charlie and Jenny. Most of the time however, comma, was used for some more shots of last weeks epic battle between Boothe and Bob Zombie. We got some reverse shots that were missed last weekend due to us concentrating on Bob's heavy make-up effects.
Bill Johns (Boothe) did some great stunt work. Yes, he does all his own stunts. He did a great backwards fall many times. In the picture below we have a shot set-up where he falls out of frame and is caught by Bob and Chris waiting below to catch him. We also did some low angle shots of him hitting the ground with no one to catch him. I can't imagine it felt very good to land hard with a rifle strapped to his back that many times.
Saturday
Saturday night/Sunday morning was all about a return to The Drunken Dragon. This was a scene that we've been looking forward to for a very long time: Jenny's brawl with Andy Evans as Brother Joseph. This was a great scene to be able to spend all night on. When cut together, it's going to be very suspenseful. It was also great to be back "home" at the bar. Despite the blood-soaked sticky floors and recent fruit fly infestation, we all love it. Check out this picture of Jenny slowly backing towards the window to the kitchen. We got a lot of cool shots of her looking freaked out, waiting for the next attack.
I love this shot of Andy slowly lumbering through the bar. The camera caught a cool wisp of smoke passing by. We did a lot of extreme low angle shooting with the sandbag used as camera support. I spent most of the night sitting on our wonderful blood-soaked floor.
The above photo is actually part of a series that Leah took without moving her camera. Here's a video I put together last night of those shots "animated".
Erik started a brilliant directing stint for this weekend's shoot. On Friday we spent our whole night in Linderman's. Some of that time was spent shooting pick-ups and reverses with Darwin, David, Charlie and Jenny. Most of the time however, comma, was used for some more shots of last weeks epic battle between Boothe and Bob Zombie. We got some reverse shots that were missed last weekend due to us concentrating on Bob's heavy make-up effects.
Bill Johns (Boothe) did some great stunt work. Yes, he does all his own stunts. He did a great backwards fall many times. In the picture below we have a shot set-up where he falls out of frame and is caught by Bob and Chris waiting below to catch him. We also did some low angle shots of him hitting the ground with no one to catch him. I can't imagine it felt very good to land hard with a rifle strapped to his back that many times.
Saturday
Saturday night/Sunday morning was all about a return to The Drunken Dragon. This was a scene that we've been looking forward to for a very long time: Jenny's brawl with Andy Evans as Brother Joseph. This was a great scene to be able to spend all night on. When cut together, it's going to be very suspenseful. It was also great to be back "home" at the bar. Despite the blood-soaked sticky floors and recent fruit fly infestation, we all love it. Check out this picture of Jenny slowly backing towards the window to the kitchen. We got a lot of cool shots of her looking freaked out, waiting for the next attack.
I love this shot of Andy slowly lumbering through the bar. The camera caught a cool wisp of smoke passing by. We did a lot of extreme low angle shooting with the sandbag used as camera support. I spent most of the night sitting on our wonderful blood-soaked floor.
The above photo is actually part of a series that Leah took without moving her camera. Here's a video I put together last night of those shots "animated".
Monday, August 13, 2007
Week 10 - Enter Boothe and The Melting of Bob
Friday
Shooting continues at Linderman's. Our custom-built set is holding up well to filming. We finally arrived at one of my favorite parts of the script: Boothe's entrance. It was great to film him come through the door with a chainsaw covered in blood. Friday was mostly devoted to Boothe's monologue and his interactions with David, Charlie, and Darwin. Bill Johns is great as Boothe.
Saturday
On Satruday we filmed Boothe and Darwin with Bob Zombie. This was definitely the most complex make-up effect yet in the film. While Marcel and Katy worked on that, Scott and I worked with Boothe on shooting some more dialogue. This was made quite difficult with our crew of two and the Auburn street fair going on right outside the door.
Here's the Bob Zombie make-up:
The most intense part of the night was filming Bob Zombie. It took five people just to operate the make-up effects. Very cool. We used a lot of smoke, blood, vinegar, and old pudding.
Shooting continues at Linderman's. Our custom-built set is holding up well to filming. We finally arrived at one of my favorite parts of the script: Boothe's entrance. It was great to film him come through the door with a chainsaw covered in blood. Friday was mostly devoted to Boothe's monologue and his interactions with David, Charlie, and Darwin. Bill Johns is great as Boothe.
Saturday
On Satruday we filmed Boothe and Darwin with Bob Zombie. This was definitely the most complex make-up effect yet in the film. While Marcel and Katy worked on that, Scott and I worked with Boothe on shooting some more dialogue. This was made quite difficult with our crew of two and the Auburn street fair going on right outside the door.
Here's the Bob Zombie make-up:
The most intense part of the night was filming Bob Zombie. It took five people just to operate the make-up effects. Very cool. We used a lot of smoke, blood, vinegar, and old pudding.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
9th Weekend
We started shooting at Linderman's today! The first shot was the low angle shot of David and Jenny walking into the store looking for Harry. I had to get low to the floor to avoid seeing my reflection in the door.
The most fun shot of the night was a dolly shot of the couple walking down the aisle. The wheelchair was totally worth it! The third shot is a view from behind the monitor during one of the dolly takes.
Paul stands in front of our custom-built walk-in cooler while directing David and Jenny's entrance into Linderman's. To prepare for tonight he created some killer storyboards.
The most fun shot of the night was a dolly shot of the couple walking down the aisle. The wheelchair was totally worth it! The third shot is a view from behind the monitor during one of the dolly takes.
Paul stands in front of our custom-built walk-in cooler while directing David and Jenny's entrance into Linderman's. To prepare for tonight he created some killer storyboards.
Friday, August 3, 2007
8th Weekend
Rehearsal at Linderman's
We started Friday with a rehearsal of the entire Linderman's scene. This introduced us to the Bill Johns as Boothe. As you can see, the set is still under consctuction. We've been busy turning a bar into a convenience store. It will be done (hopefully) by the time we start shooting today.
While Pual was busy doing a second run-through with the actors; Adam, Scott and I shot a side view of the flaming arrow outside. Adam built a rig to attach the arrow to the tripod, so I could whip-pan the camera and it looks like the arrow is flying.
We started Friday with a rehearsal of the entire Linderman's scene. This introduced us to the Bill Johns as Boothe. As you can see, the set is still under consctuction. We've been busy turning a bar into a convenience store. It will be done (hopefully) by the time we start shooting today.
While Pual was busy doing a second run-through with the actors; Adam, Scott and I shot a side view of the flaming arrow outside. Adam built a rig to attach the arrow to the tripod, so I could whip-pan the camera and it looks like the arrow is flying.
We did get a little shooting done tonight. Along with some inserts, we also shot Brian getting up from behind the bar only to face a new horde of zombies. We have one more short scene to shoot at the Drunken Dragon, which we'll come back to in a couple of weeks.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Decapitation Preview
You've all been asking for a preview from The Book of Zombie.... So here it is!
We're all very excited about this scene and couldn't wait to show a small part of it to the public.
Don't forget to click on the ad at the end of the video. Your clicks help us pay for this monstrosity...
We're all very excited about this scene and couldn't wait to show a small part of it to the public.
Don't forget to click on the ad at the end of the video. Your clicks help us pay for this monstrosity...
Saturday, July 21, 2007
7th Weekend - Margarita Night (of the Dead)
Ashley prepared Mexican for dinner for us tonight. Then decided that we needed margaritas. Everything was delicious. Some of our zombies may have gotten a little drunk... with their stunt heads:
The set also had a visit from a press photographer. I'm not sure when the story's going to be published, but I'll post a link to the paper's website when it does. The Book of Zombie continued shooting the "montage of death". This started with Jenny fighting one of the Mormon Zombies. We had a great fake head and rubber hands. We did some of the effect shots with two cameras.
I even did some shots laying on by back, watching a machete attack happening above my head.
This was great. On the first take, Larisa just managed to lop off some fingers. The second take took the whole hand. In true TBOZ fashion, copious amounts of blood was expelled from the gaping hole...
Erik hacking away at the head with Marcel holding a fake hand into the frame. The head was so stout that it took many takes to lop it off.
Here's our wonderful slate. I got to slate every shot for this scene. We were running short on crew at 7am and it was pretty tight quarters on the floor behind the bar. I finally had an excuse to use the wide angle lens adapter for Brian's close-ups.
The set also had a visit from a press photographer. I'm not sure when the story's going to be published, but I'll post a link to the paper's website when it does. The Book of Zombie continued shooting the "montage of death". This started with Jenny fighting one of the Mormon Zombies. We had a great fake head and rubber hands. We did some of the effect shots with two cameras.
I even did some shots laying on by back, watching a machete attack happening above my head.
This was great. On the first take, Larisa just managed to lop off some fingers. The second take took the whole hand. In true TBOZ fashion, copious amounts of blood was expelled from the gaping hole...
Erik hacking away at the head with Marcel holding a fake hand into the frame. The head was so stout that it took many takes to lop it off.
Here's our wonderful slate. I got to slate every shot for this scene. We were running short on crew at 7am and it was pretty tight quarters on the floor behind the bar. I finally had an excuse to use the wide angle lens adapter for Brian's close-ups.
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