Archive for the ‘“Jezebel”’ Category

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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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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Episode Three – Retrospective

Posted: 15th January 2010 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Jezebel", "Sisters", Concepts & Development, Episode 3 - "House Calls", Events, On Location
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On Night Zero’s second full production year, 2009, and all that was learned and accomplished

My original design was to write a retrospective on the production of episode three, but as its conclusion coincides with the end of the year, it seems more appropriate to reflect here upon all that was Night Zero in 2009. I’ll try to avoid re-hashing too many of the specifics that I’ve already covered in posts throughout the year, and instead try and remain reflective of the experiences themselves… but no promises.

The year started right off with Jezebel, our first vignette, with three brand-new cast members and an ambitious shoot schedule. It was a learning experience about freezing temperatures, confined spaces, wonky costumes, and wow it was a blast. Even though episode two hadn’t begun online yet, we had already trumped the best of its shoots (thus far), and that’s really what would come to define the next twelve months. If 2008 was the year of “what the hell are we doing?”, then 2009 would be the year of “how can we do this better?”
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Post Vignette, Ergo Propter Vignette

Posted: 27th November 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Jezebel", Concepts & Development, Episode 3 - "House Calls"
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On Jezebel’s arrival in the serial story arc, and how she came to star in her own vignette a year prior

It is with great pleasure and a greater smile that I welcome Jezebel back to Night Zero. She’s one of my favorites in our post-apocalyptic world, both on and off the camera. Her origin story you already know, at least to some extent, but her origins as a character are just as engrossing.

It amuses me that, even though it was produced and aired nearly a year before this scene and takes place as a prequel to the serial story, the Jezebel vignette is actually a spinoff of from this very scene. What you’re seeing now, here with the truck at the docks, was the first (and at the time, only) scene written with her character. After floating around in Alexander’s brain for who-knows-how-long she arrived in the first released draft of Episode Three, delivered to the production team in early November ’08. She was immediately notable for her opening character description, which was a full paragraph instead of the usual line or two, and revealed a complex character as well as the basic aesthetic notes. Even though she wasn’t going to be seen for a year, her mannerisms, costumes, and motivations were already an engaging topic of conversation amongst the production team members.
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The End of an Act

Posted: 6th February 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Jezebel", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location
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On the quick turnaround of the Jezebel vignette, and how the vignette concept fits with the overall Night Zero production model

This is the last week to preorder Night Zero: Volume One, so if you’d like to have a beautiful, tangible copy of the first batch of Night Zero stories, don’t delay.  The Jezebel vignette ends on Monday with a double-page update, we hope you’ve enjoyed this glimpse into the survival stories of some new characters. Maybe we’ll see them again later on (wink wink).

The original Night Zero concept did not follow a serial episode arc like we’re currently producing—the design was to have a variety of unique characters, each with their own stories and objectives, all living their lives independently from (but connected to) each other. Stories would be told, cycling between the characters, as they developed and intertwined over time. Our first script was designed and drafted in this vision, but before production began we revisited this approach and decided that, while an interesting story mechanic, it would be too scattered and difficult to follow in a webcomic format, and that characters would be forgotten before they returned, storylines dismissed before they had a chance to gain traction. At that point we shifted to the six-episode story arcs that we’re now producing, and that’s got us to where we are today.
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Jezebel Post Hoc

Posted: 16th January 2009 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Jezebel"
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On proofing Volume: One and making retroactive adjustments to the “Jezebel” vignette

Sometimes things change, and while transition can be messy or confusing, some changes are all for the best.

Now that Volume One is out of our hands, we’ve turned our attention back to Jezebel and given a major overhaul to the pacing and interactions of the story. Montages have been condensed, layouts have been tightened, and the underlying relationship conflicts between the characters has been brought more to the surface. These changes are based on long-standing wishes we’ve had for the comic, the perspective gained from some time away from Jezebel, and feedback from our fans and readers.
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