Journal Zero

A double-page update today, with one of our most HDR-friendly locations. I’ve talked before about how the right texture and environment can really do amazing work with tonemapping, and here you see it in action.

In celebration of Valve releasing the Left 4 Dead “Survival Pack” expansion, we’re expanding our photo gallery of Left 5 Dead. Seven new photos have been added to the Flickr gallery, continuing the adventures of the fab four and their zombie-hunting antics. The response of the internet to this side-project has been phenomenal, reactions covering the full spectrum from ecstatic love to the blackest of hate, and we couldn’t be more proud.

Over the course of the six hour photo shoot, we had two HDR cameras, one behind-the-scenes camera (and countless digicams and phones), seven cast members, one makeup artist, two photographers, one production assistant, five zombies, and one director. Between the two principal cameras, 142 HDR shots were taken (426 exposures), consuming 3.9 gigabytes for the raw files alone. From this, 27 captures were rendered into HDR, tonemapped, and layered into finished Night Zero photos, and of those, 17 were chosen for the official Flickr gallery of Left 5 Dead. It’s an incredible amount of work for 17 photos, all done with volunteered time and existing equipment (except the witches fingers and Francis’ vest), and we all hope you’ve enjoyed seeing the results as we had making them.

For the original Left 5 Dead blog post I included some behind-the-scenes photos that showed the whole production from an observers standpoint. Today, I’d like to show you some images from the principal cameras that did not become finished photos. Some were rendered in HDR, but abandoned in favor of more exciting or better framed alternates. Some of these were candidates for HDR, but either too much movement, poor lighting, or an unusual angle stopped them short. Others were used in a two-camera setup, and it just turned out that the other camera got a better frame. A few of them were just used as test shots to get an idea of the framing and light levels before putting the actors into place. And just a couple are the principal photographers doing some of their own behind-the-scenes work.

For those who are curious, the two cameras in use are our regular production rigs, a Canon Rebel XTi (manned by Forest Gibson) and a Nikon D90 (manned by Eli Black-Mizuta).

Alternate pose for the group shot, without the pirate.

Another alternate, in B&W for no particular reason.

Rigging the Hunter. Note the arm of the person supporting Zoey, a zombie holding the Hunter steady, and the forklift rig lifting him. Do NOT try this at home.

Alternate angle for the foursome shot

Alternate angle for the fivesome shot. Rejected because of the pipes blocking the actors.

Rejected shot of Bill, Zoey, and zombies.

Character shot for Bill

Character shot for Francis

Character shot for Louis

Character shot for Zoey

Character shot for the Pirate

Alternate angle of "We just crossed the street," for fun

Alternate angle for Zoey and the Hunter, rejected in favor of a wider frame

The whole gang getting ready for their promo shot

If you’ve purchased Night Zero: Volume One, we’d appreciate hearing your opinion of the book. Head on over to Amazon.com’s review page and let us (and everyone else) know what you thought. If you don’t have a copy, they’re available on Amazon or directly from nightzero.com.

Between the Emerald City Comicon and the Left 5 Dead photoshoot, we’ve received a lot of inquiries these past few weeks about joining the Night Zero team and being a part of the post-apocalyptic photocomic family. Today I’d like to talk about the various roles available in Night Zero, what’s expected of our team members, and what they receive in return. If you’re interested and haven’t contacted us yet, give us a shout and we’ll bring you on board.

The disclaimer: Night Zero is, and always has been, a labor of love. Every position is a volunteer role, every contributor is in it for the fun. If you are looking for a professional occupation rather than a unique and exciting hobby, unfortunately Night Zero is not ready to be that place.

The most visible role in Night Zero is naturally that of the cast members, who range from principle cast (Marion, Claire, and the like) to supporting cast (Claude, Aaron, and more to come in Episode Three) to extras (Gavin, Peter, et cetera). We tend to forecast production by a good six months or more, so most of the principle and supporting cast members for the next year are already set. Extras pop up more often, and have a lower level of commitment needed. Fortunately, to balance out the infrequency of new cast members in the main comic, we produce vignettes like Jezebel, which are stand-alone comics with new casts, new characters, and new opportunities for talent to be involved. If you’d like to be added to our talent portfolio, send a headshot and resume.

Another common interest is for writing, to which we say “write on!”. If you’ve got a short story, vignette, diary, or other idea, we’re happy to work with you to bring it in to the Night Zero world while letting you keep control of the story and characters you develop. We’re currently putting together a website to feature our fan-written pieces, which also may be included in future published volumes. If it’s a vignette you’ve written to be a comic book, who knows? We may even take it out and produce it.

One place where we’re always looking for help is on the production crew. Before the shoots, we need location scouts to find, coordinate, and set up our shoot locales. We need artists and graphic designers to draft page layouts and sketch out storyboards for the comic. We need costume designers to help conceive and build/buy the clothing and accessories that make the characters who they are. On set, we need photography grips, gaffers, talent management, and general production assistants to help the shoots move smoothly and efficiently. In the post-production world, graphic designers and photoshop artists are key to wrangling the hundreds of photos and thousands of files that ultimately make the Night Zero comic possible. If you have skills in photo alterations (destruction, aging), special effects (speed lines and blur, depth-of-field), compositing, or touchup, we can use you.

And of course, especially this upcoming summer, we need zombies! Scratchers, and folk-who-become-scratchers, are fun, easy, and a great way to spend an afternoon or a weekend. If you want to get gored up and cause a little chaos, being part of the infected army is the easiest and most available way to do so.

If any of the above appeals to you, send an email to our assistant director Kelly Ota, kelly.ota_(at)_nightzero.com, who will give you the details and set you up to be a part of the team.

If the updates these past few days have seemed later than usual, and the blogs less punctual, it’s not in your head. The whole of the Night Zero team has been working around the clock on the Emerald City Comicon, which took place at the Washington State Convention Center last weekend. It was Night Zero’s first convention, and it was a roaring good time.

At the primary Night Zero booth, we set a post-apocalyptic stage of chain-link fencing and barbed wire, decorated with photos of the comic, behind the scenes shots, and enough (prop) guns to fit a small army. Behind the table, where copies of Volume One were on display, we hosted a photo booth where attendees could get free HDR photos throughout the show. Across the convention hall, our makeup artists were goring it up for the guests, providing free gashes, scars, and all-out-undeadness to zombie fans young and old.

In case the stress of putting the show together wasn’t enough, this last week faced us with the task of compositing and tonemapping the seven hundred photos shot over those two days (as a point of reference, the entirety of Episode One is 167 photos). From stormtroopers to Watchmen, Wolverine to a Power Ranger, grandparents and babies and everything in between, the guests at the photo booth were an incredible bunch, and a pleasure to work with.

TARA MILLER - PUBLICITY & MARKETING DIRECTOR

“As my first comic-con, ECCC was magical. I learned that small children and storm troopers all enjoy holding prop guns. I met characters that I didn’t know existed. I judged a costume contest. I got Suicide Girls to take a photo at our booth and exchange information with us. And most importantly, I got to tell a whole lot of people about Night Zero. Our voices were raspy by the end of Sunday, but we had a great time letting people know about our graphic novel, and hearing some wonderful comments on our work. I had a lot of networking and collaboration offers, most of which we will be partaking in. If you were at comic-con and would like to be considered as a cast member for our comic, or have an event in the Seattle area you’d love to have us at, send me an email at publicity at nightzero.com!”

FOREST GIBSON - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY

“Comic Con was the first time I have ever completely lost my voice. I hate meeting a ton of new and great people when I am unable to talk or have some other afliction like when I smell horible after getting back from a camping trip or being a little too drunk after a party and not expecting there to be people over at your house.

Seeing so many people in costumes and taking pictures of them in HDR gave me some more ideas for some possible Night Zero side photoshoots. I am not personally a huge fan of cosplaying but I am always surprised and impressed by the effort that goes into many of the costumes. It was great asking folks what their costumes were made out of and finding out about the common household items that have been repurposed.”

JANA HEALY - MAKEUP HEAD

“When charged with the task of applying gore makeup effects to as many people as wanted them during the 15 hours of ECCC, I’d originally thought of pre-making latex scars, but with fairly common latex allergies to contend with, I decided to bring the arsenal of makeup we’ve accumulated over the course of many bloody Night Zero shoots and just wing it. I’m most certainly glad I did, as the great fun in the weekend was allowing people to sit in the chair and tell me what they felt they wanted. I was very grateful to have the assistance of Fern, who’d only dabbled in makeup previously. He was a quick study and created some amazing effects in his own style. We did everything from old battle wounds to fresh gashes to full-out zombies, and the attendees were wonderful and very enthusiastic. I really enjoyed when folks had specific ideas, but also appreciated those that just said, “go for it”.

No formal count was made, but we estimate (based on the number of gloves we went through) we applied gore to over 150 folks (maybe more?). It was a great experience and we’ve been hearing back many funny stories of reactions when people left the convention center. Multiple people were offered medical help…one even encountered a police officer that tried calling an ambulance. That’s high praise indeed for the gore makeup geek that I am. We didn’t think to take many pictures of our own, but I hope that people will eventually send in their own, along with stories of their time in their bloodied states. Email pictures!!!”

Many thanks to everyone who visited our booth and made our first comicon a success. Below are some shots of the convention in action, followed by a few of my favorite photo booth guests. For the complete set of galleries from the convention, head over to our Flickr gallery of ECCC.

Night Zero creators, ready for the crowd

Alexander handles the guns while Sidney handles the swag

Forest and Kelly explain HDR photography

Fern prepares to wound Chris Redfield

Ben Andrews, aka Yevgeniy, stops by for a visit

The Suicide Girls stop by for a photo and some gunplay

The Photo Booth Crew

Last month the Night Zero team took some time away from the zombie photographic comic book (check it out if you haven’t yet, here’s the first page!)–and produced a special homage to a new zombie video game, “Left 4 Dead“. Produced by the incredible team at Valve, the folks responsible for Half-Life, Counterstrike, Team Fortress, and Portal, this newest team-based shooter pits four survivors against hordes of the undead, in what is possibly the most brilliant execution of a zombie apocalypse game to date.

Unlike most modern games, where players can create their characters from a wide range of bodies, clothings, faces, and personalities, in Left 4 Dead there are only (and always the same) four survivors. This unusual design choice creates a unique play experience, as all players around the world become intimately familiar with these four characters—their voices, their mannerisms, they way they laugh and they way they panic. By forcing the millions of gamers to live as these four survivors, Valve has created a set of universal heroes, instantly recognizable to anyone who’s sat down with Left 4 Dead. Heroes that the team of Night Zero would sit down with as well, in our own special way.

Thanks to the wide networks of the Night Zero production team, getting a cast together that resembled the four characters was challenging but successful. Each of the survivors is very idiosyncratic and different, but none is beyond the everyday person, so pulling together costumes and props was no more difficult than any other Night Zero shoot. For a location with a range of backdrops and settings, we returned to the warehouse where the middle of Episode One was shot, and to match the game’s selection, we pulled together all the weaponry we could get our hands on.

If you’re not familiar with Left 4 Dead, I encourage you to first watch the opening cinematic, a delightful zombie flick in its own right, and a flawless introduction to every character and game element that makes Left 4 Dead so wonderful. Then, click on the image below to visit the Flickr gallery with our first batch of “fan art” photos.

These ten photos are just the first round, so keep your eyes out for another set in the next few weeks. Of course, this wouldn’t be a proper blog post without some behind the scenes photos, and boy have we got some great ones. Enjoy!

The greenroom, where guns and zombies and snacks collide

Francis getting psyched up

The witch getting her nails done

Zoey and Bill meet the witch

See how the hunter flies through the air...

...with a little help from the crew.

Even zombies need to a shoulder to lean on.

Startling the witch

Heading to the roof, where a safe room is being setup

Forest and Eli frame the shot

Like our stuff? Be sure to check out our post-apocalyptic zombie comic, done in the same style!

UPDATE: More behind-the-scenes info and photos are available on our second Left 5 Dead blog post.

As the publicist for Night Zero, I get the pleasure of introducing the book to many different people, and get to work with creators of podcasts, comic store owners, and editors and writers of various publications. It’s a blast to get to market a product that is so unique- not just a website, not just a comic book, not just photos, Night Zero: Volume One appeals to a wide range of people, and it’s been my job to find that audience and put the book in their hands.

Finding and advertising a product to an unknown audience is a difficult task, and I’ve gotten to be really creative with our marketing approaches, which has been a lot of fun. We’ve done various forms of online marketing, some guerilla and some more professional. I’ve also personally walked into all of the comic shops and bookstores that carry our book, Night Zero “Survivor Pack” slung over my shoulder.

We’ve received positive reviews in two different podcasts so far, and you can check out those episodes here:

The Webcomic Beacon

Seattle Geekly

We’ve also received positive feedback and support from a number of local comic and bookstores. If you would like to see Night Zero: Volume One in your favorite store, have the owner or manager email me (publicity at nightzero.com), and we’ll make sure we get some copies in there.

But one of my favorite marketing techniques is free stuff and branded merchandise. From the beginning, I knew I wanted us to get Night Zero shot glasses. The characters need alcohol to survive, so clearly it would be the perfect giveaway or trinket to sell! Thanks to my persistence, those of you who attended the launch party received a branded shotglass in the survivor pack. Those of you who missed out can purchase one at the Emerald City Comic-con. They’re big. And awesome. Another product I’ve been wanting to make for a while are Night Zero t-shirts. I specifically want one that says “Scratcher? I hardly know her!”, but I’m not sure how the rest of the production team feels about that design. If you’d be interested in a Night Zero t-shirt, send us an email, let us know. If you have an idea for a design for a Night Zero shirt- send it our way. If we use it, we’ll send you a couple of free shirts!

My focuses lately have been on two upcoming activities. The first is Emerald City Comic-con. Night Zero will be there both Saturday and Sunday, April 4 and 5. You can purchase your tickets at http://www.emeraldcitycomicon.com/tickets.php or at many of the comic shops that stock our book. We will have the coolest booth there, complete with free gore makeup and a chance to get your own HDR photo taken!

The second activity is a bit more on-going. Night Zero is currently looking to recruit a Marketing Intern. This intern will be in charge of a Night Zero street team, as well as other marketing projects that he/she and I see fit. If you are a college student who would be interested in earning some credits by working with the Night Zero team, send your resume to publicity at nightzero.com. We’ve already had some interested students apply, so get the resumes in quickly if you would like to be considered!

Overall, I’m excited to get to market a product that I enjoy so much, and hope that you enjoy it as well. Be on the lookout for some new marketing campaigns in the future- we’ve got some great stuff planned!

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.

This scene was the first shoot of Episode Two, and in addition to marking that obvious step forward, it also had two symbolic “firsts” for the Night Zero team. It was our first time using the three-point light kit, which gave us more control over our work, and it was our first shoot on a hired location, which was much easier to schedule and more efficient to shoot. Night Zero was moving up, past the hobby phase and now past the amateur endeavor into being a full-fledged production company. We even had fashionable “CREW” tees for the team to wear, earning the treasured title “redshirts.”

Shooting with a light kit requires a different approach to the shoot schedule, which complicates things for the talent as well as the production team. In practical lighting we would shoot sequentially, skipping forward when we had similar shots or as various cast members took breaks. But actors are easy to move and lights are hard, so a lit scene is shot based on lighting configurations. For the Claude sequence we were less prepared than we thought, and lost quite a bit of time with constant light changes, but it educated us on how to better work pre-production for our later shoots.

The updates were a little wonky this week due to international travel, but everything should be smooth sailing from now on. Don’t forget to grab your tickets to the Emerald City ComiCon that’s coming up, and if you haven’t yet picked up your copy of Night Zero: Volume One, now’s a great time. Stay safe from scratchers, and here are your photos.

Thus begins production of Episode Two

Bigger shoots require bigger guns

What a difference three lights make

Forest does a last check of his shots

Justin reviews his lines

Getting the talent into position

We're professionals. Don't try this at home.

No explanation needed