Archive for the ‘Episode 2 – “Quarantine”’ Category

The End of Episode Two

Posted: 29th May 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Episode 2 - "Quarantine", On Location
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On shooting Claire’s “outside the wall” montage at the end of Episode Two

So, there you have it. The final page of Episode Two, which coincidentally is our 100th update– a notable milestone for any online comic. Technically it’s not our 100th page because of the numerous two-page spreads, but I’ll take it either way. Coming up for June is a new zombie-filled vignette that’ll play with some new narrative and visual styles, so I look forward to putting those out for you to see and comment on.

These last few pages have been the first real-time montage that we’ve attempted, and aside from the way it draws out over our update schedule, I quite like the effect. In Episode One we did a couple of flashback montages, which I suppose would be more accurately defined as collages because they were designed to establish a past, not progress time and action forward.
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Getting Back Outside

Posted: 22nd May 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Episode 2 - "Quarantine", On Location
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On shooting a post-apocalyptic comic in the middle of downtown Seattle

Last weekend was a heavy-hitting event for the Night Zero team, so no update for the blog. We spent three days shooting a location from episode three that covers seven different sequences over the span of the episode, for a whopping total of 149 panels. To put that in perspective, the entire first episode of Night Zero is 185 panels.

We do all our shooting around the city of Seattle, in both public and private locations. Last week’s pages, with the messenger girls escaping the quarantine building, was our first chance to get down and dirty in the middle of the city. Our local readers will probably recognize the downtown alleyway, which runs parallel to 5th & 6th Avenues, between Pike & Pine Streets. To those who aren’t local, just know that we are in the heart of the Seattle shopping district.
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Getting Dirty

Posted: 1st May 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Episode 2 - "Quarantine", On Location
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On shooting the dusty, dirty boiler room sequence for Episode Two

Visually, the boiler room sequence is one of my favorite scenes we’ve shot to date. The HDR tonemapping style tends to make our characters look somewhat gritty and dirty all the time, but getting on location with grime and dust and crawling on the floor with it… well, you can see what that turns into.

This sequence was shot in the basement of a local ministry house near the University of Washington. We cleared out the chairs, lawn equipment, and miscellaneous supplies they regularly store in there, but left the dust and dirt as it was. What you see in the scene is the authentic effect of the two girls being in the room, with no dirt makeup or forced application. Katrina and Tamara were troopers the whole way through, getting down and dirty and really playing the scene with the fabulous location they were in.
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A Claude for All Seasons

Posted: 13th March 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Episode 2 - "Quarantine"
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On introducing Claude and shooting the titular quarantine scene for Episode Two

Episode Two is titled “Quarantine” for no subtle reason, and it was a blast producing this segment with everyone’s new favorite sleaze, Claude. He’s a fun character to work with, primarily because it’s our first chance to put Marion out of her element and change her stakes in the game. She can’t always be in control, although sometimes she still manages to get the upper hand…

The quarantine room is a rehearsal space in the Seattle Center run by the organization Theater Puget Sound, and it’s perfect for that gritty texture I wrote about last week. At casual glance it seems a fairly clean, though well-used facility, but throw it through tonemapping and every dirt stain appears, every crack deepens, and every scratch sharpens. Seeing the results of these photos led to more conscious selection of our future shoot locations: given a choice between similar options, we had new eyes to see how tonemapping could affect the atmosphere of the space.
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The Nitty and the Gritty of HDR

Posted: 6th March 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Episode 2 - "Quarantine", Photography
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On lessons learned from experiments with the use of multi-point lighting for on-location HDR photography

The office sequences that opened this episode were the last of what I refer to as “first phase” photography, back in the early stages of Night Zero production. When it was as much a learning experience and method experiment as it was an actual production, as we were slowly accumulating skills, knowledge, and equipment, we kept our flexibility high and our bulk low. With the exception of the warehouse fire sequence, the entirety of episode one was shot using natural (sun) and practical (what’s already present) lighting. The opening office scene, being a direct continuation of episode one, was the last to fall into this style, and while it was a learning experience, I’m happy that we have moved on to better things.
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Disjointed Hallways and Rooms

Posted: 27th February 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Episode 2 - "Quarantine", Photography
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On shooting HDR on-location, without green screens or plates, and connecting non-connected rooms through framing and strategic cuts

If you live in the Seattle area, you can now pick up a copy of Night Zero: Volume One at any of these fine comic stores. Worldwide fans can purchase directly from us, or on Amazon.com.
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