Archive for March, 2010

Voices from ECCC

Posted: 26th March 2010 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Events
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From the Night Zero team, thoughts on the 2010 Emerald City Comicon

A great thank-you the thousands of fans who came by to visit at the Emerald City Comicon this year. The Night Zero team had a great time meeting fans new and old, applying free makeup effects, shooting in the HDR photobooth, and sharing the joy that is what we do.

For those who missed the email or missed ECCC 2010, the Night Zero photobooth gallery can be found at Night Zero’s Flickr page.

Below are some words from the team members who were at the show, sharing their thoughts of the crazy, incredible weekend.
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When Night Falls…

Posted: 19th March 2010 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Midnight", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location, Photography
0

On shooting the “Midnight” vignette

Covering the new page update with a spoiler warning… that’s a new one, but better safe than sorry. With two new pages going up and the possibility that the second one would spoil the first, I have hidden one from view. Awkward, but effective.

Depending on the size and complexity of the work at hand, Night Zero produces either a full-scale shoot or a skeleton shoot. Full-scale shoots are equivalent to a feature film, including the DP and AD, a gaffer, grips, production assistants, catering, location contracts, and the works. The Sisters vignette, the skullhunter’s house and Yevgeniy’s house in episode three, and most of episodes one and two were produced in this method. A skeleton shoot is just the opposite, where the crew is minimally a director, photographer, and (occasional) production assistant, shooting in a single simple location with a small cast. Jezebel and the untitled vignette, Claire’s escape montage in episode two, and the Nazarov sisters in episode three were all produced quickly on minimal staff, as was the just-concluded Midnight vignette.
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Approaching Midnight

Posted: 12th March 2010 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Jezebel", "Midnight", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
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On the origins and story development of the “Midnight” vignette

Two quick announcements to start: first, we will be spending the weekend at the Emerald City Comicon here in lovely Seattle, so if you’re attending this year’s comic culture celebration, make sure to stop by #708 for some free gore makeup and an HDR photobooth; and second, I’m pleased to announce the launch of a Night Zero sister site that focuses on the production and behind-the-scenes of the project, check it out at http://www.thephotographicnovel.com.

Regular readers of the NZ blog know that one of my favorite topics of discourse is the “origin story” of a particular piece, and the Midnight vignette is no exception. Of all the vignettes to date, this one was the most difficult to get through conception, because it was not stemming from any particular need or opportunity. Jezebel started with “trapped on Night Zero”, Sisters started with “backstory of the Nazarov women”, and Special Delivery started with “shipping container yard”, but Midnight had no core inspiration. Lack of an anchor may seem freeing, but it’s hard to build up from nothing.
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