Archive for December, 2009

Hi, I’m Night Zero

Posted: 25th December 2009 by Jon Axell
Categories: "Untitled", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Guest Posts
0

Longtime contributor Jon Axell, on his experiences with the Night Zero team

This week, a special guest blog post by a longtime friend of Night Zero, mister Jon Axell.

I’ve been a part of Night Zero since day zero. I can even remember the first day that the project had officially begun (day zero), and I still had the nerve to ask why it was not going to be named “Day Zero.” And if the pilot issue is, in fact, canon, then I am the first casualty of Night Zero to appear on the page. So that hour I spent lying face-up in the rain while the blood ran into my eyes made me famous, I hope.

Needless to say, I’ve been involved in the project as much as anybody, if you’re counting consecutive months of at least some involvement. But I’ve probably donated fewer hours than anyone who has appeared as more than just a scratcher. You see, I am afraid of commitment. I’m surrounded by suspiciously hard-working friends who have devoted a great deal of their time and capital to this endeavor, and I was thrilled to see it take form as a full-fledged production at ComiCon Seattle, and the record-breaking Fremont Zombie Walk.
Read the rest of this entry »

Home at Last, Home at Last

Posted: 18th December 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development, Episode 3 - "House Calls", On Location, Photography
0

On shooting the Episode Three scene at Yevgeniy’s house

Scratcher catchers has the distinction of the longest script-to-shoot leadtime (12.5 months), and up until recently Jezebel held the record for shortest script-to-shoot (2.5 weeks). Sisters is probably going to forever hold the shortest shoot-to-online turnaround (6 hours), and here we finally get to see Yevgeniy’s house, which tops the chart for longest shoot-to-online turnaround (10 months). It seems so long ago that we all got together to shoot our first scene from Episode Three, and yes, that’s because it WAS so long ago. And thanks to the shift from single-storyline to segmented scenes, this one photoshoot comprised the entirety of Katrina and Ben’s commitments for the Episode. Good for them, getting it out of the way early, but still a bit sad for everyone not having as many excuses to work with them throughout the year.
Read the rest of this entry »

Scratcher Catchers

Posted: 11th December 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Episode 3 - "House Calls", On Location
0

On the anti-zombie truck, skullhunter costumes, and real fire that went into the “scratcher catchers” scene in Episode Three

As I mentioned in my previous entry, the leadtime between this scene’s first script appearance and it’s shoot date came to a few weeks over a full year. The challenges in staging an independent production at a shipping container yard were certainly hurdle enough, but the primary cause for this delay was just that we had so much else on our plates. In March I first proposed a shoot for this scene, aiming for the end of May or beginning of June (waiting until after the intense weekend of shooting at the skullhunters house). However, priority for those early summer dates was given to Claude and the Trio, who would have been needed online the same month had the premiere of Episode Three (and all shoots pertaining to it) not been delayed by the unexpected arrival of the Sisters vignette for the summer. By the time we wrapped Sisters we had no room for anything but the epic zombie-invasion shoot at the end of September, followed by a handful of low-key filler shoots in the wake of that exhausting endeavor. Fortunately we have Justin on the production team, who was able to hunt down and secure our location despite all these setbacks. And so, just a week before it would be needed online*, the Night Zero team descended upon the Seattle waterfront to shoot one of our wettest sets.

Read the rest of this entry »

Down By The River

Posted: 5th December 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development, Episode 3 - "House Calls", On Location
0

On finding and securing a shoot location at a shipping container yard on the Seattle waterfront

The beautiful location for this “scratcher catchers” scene is on the bank of the Duwamish River in south Seattle, just before the river opens up into Puget Sound and the Seattle waterfront. Many thanks to Jim, Jody, and Randy at ConGlobal Industries for making our shoot possible.

Early drafts of the script were pretty flexible in terms of where this scene could take place, but for the most consistency with the Night Zero lore, there is no place with older or more deadly scratchers than the docks. Despite the danger, it’s naturally also very profitable for skullhunters to frequent such locations, which is why the house is not far from here.
Read the rest of this entry »