Posted: 17th June 2011 by Jana Hutchison
Categories: "The Things You Take", Concepts & Development
On the inception and development of “the Things You Take”
This vignette is distinguished from the others in several ways. Not only is it the only one we’ve shot with absolutely no blood or special effects, it also holds the record for the most words in a title.
Although the team has kicked this kind of idea around for quite some time now, the impetus to actually do it came after a particularly bloody and demanding shoot for episode six. It’s funny, when you are cooking along in the days leading up to a shoot, and the shoot itself, it’s easy to lose perspective on the actual photos that are happening. It was one of our bloodiest to date, featuring the commanding presence of our actor Kate Sumpter (who we met in “Special Delivery”, another very demanding and uncomfortable shoot day). At the end of that shoot, after dropping some of our gear and before our post-shoot debrief dinner, Anthony started loading photos from the day onto his computer. We were somewhat…astonished. It was bloody. It was gross. It was violent. We were disturbed.
We needed some relief.
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Posted: 11th June 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "The Things You Take", On Location
On simplifying the production strategies to produce “The Things You Take” as a simple and relaxed shoot.
This brief tale of love and conflict in the immediate dawn of the zombie apocalypse stems from a concept long discussed in Night Zero design: what of the regular couple, the young lovers who face only bad choices when their world comes crashing down? No action, no zombies, no death or blood or pandemonium… just the two of them, having each other. Jana, the creator and writer of “The Things You Take”, will have a blog post next week to talk about the writing challenges and developments. Today, I’ll talk about the production itself.
One of the specific goals for this vignette, from a production design standpoint, was that it should be easy. Our creative team and production team are one in the same, so all story development is influenced by our production capabilities and for this shoot we wanted to take it easy. For that, we approached each of the three major production points: cast, location, and action.
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Posted: 27th May 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Concepts & Development
On the relentless production schedule of Night Zero 2011, and its impact on blog post regularity.
First announcement: the previous blog post did not get posted to the front page, so if you get your blog updates from there you may have missed it. The full post (and photo gallery) is available here: Downsizing Development.
The Night Zero machine has been in full-steam pre-production mode recently, as we continue assembling all the component pieces that will create our grand finale in Episode Six. In the past seven weeks we’ve knocked down three shoots from the episode (encompassing a total of five scenes) as well as two full originettes, and in the next two weeks we’ve got another originette shoot and another episode shoot to take care of three more scenes. It’s strange, having so much work to generate content that’s part of something so big, it won’t even begin to assemble together for many more months. Almost like we were making a film, or something.
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Posted: 6th May 2011 by Phoebe Richards
Categories: "Maternal", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
On how the story of “Maternal” developed from a big picture to a defining moment.
I had wanted to write and direct a vignette for NIGHT ZERO since I started working as assistant director on the project. Last winter, when we were shooting the “Three Speeches” with the military, messengers, and skullhunters, we brought in so many talented people to play extras, and we realized some of them could star in vignettes that would broaden and enrich the core NIGHT ZERO story.
My friend Chris Allen, a very talented improviser, came in for the Military Speech shoot and I decided I wanted to write my first NIGHT ZERO script with him at the center. Originaly I planned on writing it for the big battle coming up in episode six, when the city has collapsed and the soldiers and messengers are trying to evacuate the civilians to safety among scratchers and skullhunters. The idea I had was that Chris’s character (eventually named Darren) had become haunted by the memory of his sister after he killed her when she became infected on night zero.
Posted: 29th April 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Maternal", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location
On the production of the “Maternal” vignette, from the perspective of the non-directing director.
It was a unique experience for me to be on the set of “Maternal” as assistant director, while Phoebe stepped up to direct the vignette she wrote. Over the three and a half years of Night Zero’s production, only twice before have I not been the director: for the Untitled vignette in early 2009, which was directed by our photographer Forest Gibson, and for the general “crowd/battle” sequences in the protest shoot in late 2009, which were directed by the 2nd A.D. Gale Benning.
As the creator and producer of Night Zero, these rare opportunities to step away from the driver’s seat are simply wonderful. Being able to watch the Night Zero project roll along is, in many respects, a greater accomplishment than when I’m leading it myself, and an opportunity I hope to have a few more times before the year is out.
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Posted: 22nd April 2011 by Phoebe Richards
Categories: Concepts & Development, On Location
On the conception, shooting, and post-production of the “Maternal” vignette
The “Maternal” shoot was my first time directing for NIGHT ZERO. (For that matter, it was also my first time writing, but I will delve into that in next week’s blog.) Having worked as assistant director for the project for the past year I knew it would be difficult, yet rewarding, to direct.
I decided to use my father’s house for the location because it is nice and easy to get. The only concern I had was the blood element. Much of the blood we use washes out of things very easily; however my father keeps his house really clean and I couldn’t risk staining any carpets or bedding.
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