Posted: 9th September 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Sorority", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
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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Posted: 2nd September 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Sorority", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location, Photography
On the first shoot day for the ‘Sorority’ vignette, covering the two sisters’ drama and the hallway escape sequence.
The first act of Sorority (Lucy and Dee) and the interstitial segment (the hallway chase) were shot together on our first day (of two) for the vignette. Based on some of our multi-day and multi-segment shoots in the past, we decided to shoot the days’ work out of chronological order and instead approach from most-difficult to least-difficult work. For the morning, when everybody was fresh and ready to go, we’d take care of the complex and extensive hallway action scene, and in the afternoon, when the cast and crew would be tired from the morning’s work, we’d shoot the relatively sedate and stationary sisters’ scene.
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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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Posted: 5th August 2011 by Phoebe Richards
Categories: Concepts & Development
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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Posted: 29th July 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Arena", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location
On the day of production for the epic outdoor cage-match vignette “Arena”
The production of our just-concluded vignette “Arena” was one of Night Zero’s biggest shooting days, in terms of cast and crew size. Any shoot with so many actors requires a bit of scheduling negotiation, so for our day we divided the script into three segments and shot them in reverse order. First would be the fight of Claude and Jennifer versus the scratcher, then we’d shoot the dialogue portions in the middle, and finally we’d shoot the opening fight between Rex and Bobbie.
Our crew had the standard 9am call, and fortunately the backyard location had direct alley access for a simple load-in. We marked a staging area on the patio, which would be unseen by the cameras, and the team set to work. Jana setup her makeup chair and started work on the cast right away, applying everything from facial scars to zombie faces to rope burns and bruises. Eric and Justin set to work loading in the lighting gear and rigging up our power for the day, while I took care of building the cagematch stage and spectator area.
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Posted: 15th July 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Arena", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
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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