Archive for the ‘Concepts & Development’ Category

Five Hundred

Posted: 16th September 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Concepts & Development, Serial Episodes
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On Night Zero’s accomplishment of five hundred published pages, a true milestone in photographic novel history.

Today represents a major milestone in Night Zero’s lifetime: our five-hundredth page. It’s only approximately our five-hundredth online update, between the occasional holiday non-update and the occasional two-page-spread double-update, but page 19 of Sorority is the five hundredth page in the Night Zero photographic novel collection, counting back through our vignettes, serials, and the pilot.

People sometimes asked why we didn’t maintain all our comics online, and honestly, it wasn’t a ploy to get you to buy our books (although if you do, we sure appreciate it). It was honestly because our early stuff just wasn’t as good, and we didn’t want new visitors to start at the beginning and give up based on the quality they saw. Our hope was that visitors would check out some of our best vignettes, see the high quality of our work, and be more forgiving when they bought the books and saw much different it was in the beginning. It was a strategic selection, showing only our best face, but not anymore.

That’s right: in celebration of this milestone, every single one of our five hundred pages is now available to read on nightzero.com, including the plotless pilot and the awkward first two episodes, with special forwards prepared for the occasion. If you haven’t read through some of our earlier works in a while, take a wander through the archives and revisit the past. You may be surprised by what you find there… I know I sure was.
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The Relay Vignette

Posted: 9th September 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Sorority", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
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On the origin of the hallway chase sequence, a shelved vignette known only as the ‘relay vignette’, and how its transplant into ‘Sorority’ led to some interesting decisions.

The hallway action sequence that separates the two acts of ‘Sorority’ is a piece that I’m very proud to have included, for a brief but action-filled interstitial. The sequence itself is more than a year old, and was initally developed as the third act in a story that never got so far as a real name, only a working description: the relay vignette.

The relay vignette was a sequence of three separate scenes, hitting on three separate factions of post-apocalyptic Seattle and underscoring how, despite their differences (differences which are fully explored and understood in the serial), each faction can be brought to work together given the right motivation. Additionally, it was intended to be an action-heavy piece, developed during production of the action-light Episode Five, as a way to continue challenging ourselves and keeping things fresh.
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Trapped!

Posted: 19th August 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Inertia", "Jezebel", "Midnight", "Sorority", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
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On the theme of zombie stories with characters ‘trapped’ together, how the common motifs of these stories draw parallels to our experiences, and how Night Zero tries to avoid rehashing while continuing to explore this topic.

One of our favorite things to do in Night Zero storytelling, it seems, is to trap some people in a room in the midst of the zombie apocalypse and watch their relationships develop or collapse. We had first considered a “trapped” scene as early as Marion’s flashback in Episode One when her boyfriend comes home wounded, but in that case (for pacing reasons) we decided to jump straight into the action. So, our first true “trapped” story was our first vignette, ‘Jezebel’, and in the following years, we visited variations on this theme with the ‘Midnight’, twice over in ‘Inertia’, and now again in ‘Sorority’… not to mention the handful of unproduced scripts and treatments in our back-catalog, all addressing a small group of survivors stuck together in a collapsing world.
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Lucy and Dee

Posted: 5th August 2011 by Phoebe Richards
Categories: Concepts & Development
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On the story development of Lucy and Dee’s relationship and why it found it’s home in the Sorority vignette

“Sorority” was developed by Anthony van Winkle and me while we were walking back home from a costume shopping trip.  We often walk and talk out ideas, characters, and stories to explore in Night Zero.  This particular brainstorm started with a question:  what makes a person keep going when it would seem all hope is lost?

For me one of the most interesting aspects of post-apocalyptic stories is the human drive for survival. How quickly one must adjust to unthinkable horror in order to survive!  You see loved ones die and know almost everyone you have ever known is also dead.  What makes you even want to keep fighting? When is enough enough, and death the better option?

Obviously, for some, death is the better option.  But, when creating an apocalyptic world, it is much more fascinating to follow survivors than quitters; partly, I am sure, because we all like to think we would be one of the strong people who moves forward no matter what.  Also, seeing humans push through hopelessness and come out on top is what comic books are all about!
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Post-Apocalyptic Thunderdome

Posted: 15th July 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Arena", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
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On putting the pieces together for production of the “Arena” vignette.

With the premise of the skullhunter vignette laid out, the time came to start fleshing out the characters, setting, and logistics of the upcoming shoot. One area where we had no trouble was with the casting, thanks to Night Zero’s expansive network of talented and enthusiastic actors and improvisers. Of all the Night Zero world, skullhunters are the most fun to cast because of their quirky and eccentric nature, and we landed some amazing talent in no time.

A typical Night Zero shoot hosts a crew of 4-6 and a cast of about the same, but to build a crowd of skullhunters we were going to need two or three times that. Friends from work, friends from theaters, friends from death metal bands, all were called down to spend the day with us. Our usual collection of skullhunter gear and accessories was assembled, but the group was given the opportunity to bring items of their own and that worked very well.
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Show Me Some Evil

Posted: 8th July 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Arena", Concepts & Development
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On the challenges faced while developing a skullhunter-centric vignette, and the story progression that led to the “Arena” story.

This is the year of the Night Zero origin vignettes (or “originettes”), whose purpose is to explore the lives of our various faction members in the months between the post-apocalypse and the serial story. When the Night Zero saga concludes with the epic finale in Episode Six (coming end of 2011!), we want our readers to be familiar with each faction and some of the different characters who are fighting on the front lines.

While discussing various characters and vignette ideas, we came to realize that we focus a lot on the “good” factions: the messengers and the military. It’s important, of course, to show the good guys’ struggles more than the bad guys’, but a quick inventory of our skullhunter characters revealed that, for all the talk of them being evil, sadistic monsters, we only actually have ever met a few of them, and in those meetings we see very little of that evil nature.
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