Posts Tagged ‘messengers’

A Syndicated Location

Posted: 13th January 2012 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Syndicate", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, On Location
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On the day of the shoot for the Syndicate vignette, and how all the pieces came together to create this final origin story.

The shoot for Syndicate was a long and busy Saturday, tucked in the basement lounge of the Rendezvous bar in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Crew call was our standard 9:00am arrival, with Jana setting up her makeup station while Eric, Justin, and Jason loaded in the light gear. The shooting area was divided into two halves, with the script moving from one to the other and then back again. Our first setup would be the “middle act” in the far room, so all our gear was staged in the near room and we set to work making the space our own. Fortunately there wasn’t too much we needed to alter to create the scene we wanted—we put out a table, pushed some chairs to the side, and took some signs off the wall; but overall, the look we were going for was already there.

To avoid a huge rush of costume and makeup demands at the same time, the cast call was staggered and as our talent arrived and got ready, we began shooting some of the closeups and two-person shots. By 11:30am the whole group was there, and we did our wide shots and group conversation. Wide shots can be tricky in a place like that, not because of the distance of the walls (we have wide lenses to take care of that), but because with low ceilings all of the lighting gear and electric becomes visible. It’s possible to crop the photos to remove the lights, or digitally remove the stands and gear, but as I’ve lamented many times in the past, just having the light visible on camera really screws up the HDR tonemapping process. But we shoot on location, and that’s just part of the price we pay.

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Ally and Jacob

Posted: 4th November 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Ally", Concepts & Development
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On the development ideas and iterations of the vignette “Ally”, and how it fits in (or doesn’t) with the “City Planning” serial story.

As I’ve discussed more than once over the course of this blog, Night Zero vignettes can originate for one of a couple different reasons, and ‘Ally’ falls right-square into the category of Actor Vehicle. For a very long time Night Zero and Kyle Kizzier have been exchanging flirtatious glances, waiting for the right time to get together… both in terms of scheduling and the perfect role. And while I haven’t known Sara as long, from the first time I saw her perform on stage I knew she’d be perfect in the Night Zero world. The serial episodes were well on their way to completion, with no major roles left to be cast, so I knew they would be vignette characters… but what vignettes would each of them get? Early this summer I first had the thought to pair them opposite each other, and spent a solid 4-5 months toying around with what type of scenario could take advantage of these two actors’ experience, talent, and great looks.

It was clear that they’d have to be strangers, because suspicion and conflict are great storytelling elements. Having characters meet each other makes exposition much easier, and story arcs happen more naturally when the characters have different objectives. Our heroes gallery is heavily favored on the female side, so for diversity I wanted to position Kyle’s character as the “main” character and introduce Sara’s character as the foil to him. The vignette would have to consist of an introduction, some character dialogue, and of course a fight with an infected or two… but who were these characters, and what would be their story?

** minor spoilers ahead **

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To Reveal or Not to Reveal

Posted: 30th September 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: "Sorority", Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Concepts & Development
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On the developmental question whether to include Jill in the ‘Sorority’ vignette, how much of her story to reveal, and what that meant for Jack.

As a writer and a consumer, I really like mysteries. I like the large unknowns with only hints and allusions, I like the unanswered “what happens next” more than a perfectly-wrapped package, and I don’t think it’s much of a secret that this type of storytelling is a big influence in Night Zero. Right in our first vignette ‘Jezebel‘ I went for the ending of ambiguous fates, rather than pegging down where Jezebel went, whether Tracey followed or stayed behind, and whether Clint died, turned, or survived. The entire backstory of ‘Special Delivery‘ remains a secret, as do Jezebel’s motivations in ‘Devon‘ and the fate of Tom and Sadie from ‘The Things You Take‘.

It was with this same desire for non-closure that I put together the ending of ‘Inertia‘, where Jill and Jack take their chances out in the world while Richard and Elisabeth remain in their room and await rescue or death. In a perfect fictional world, that would be the absolute end, but I already knew deep down that Jill would become one of the primary messengers in Episode Six, so it never was an air-tight ambiguity. That said, though, I thought leaving the time between ‘Inertia’ and Episode Six a mystery would be suitable, letting the reader wonder what happened to the two of them, how Jill ended up with the messengers, and whether Jack is still alive.
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Lucy and Dee

Posted: 5th August 2011 by Phoebe Richards
Categories: Concepts & Development
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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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The Penultimate Finale

Posted: 11th February 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Behind-the-Scenes Photos, Episode 5 - "Reversals", On Location
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On the various casting, costuming, and shooting challenges for the “Three Speeches” finale of Episode Five

Despite terrible weather battering the Midwest, the presses for Night Zero: Volume Three are alive and on-schedule. We expect to start shipping preorders the second week of March, with delivery to comic shops and the rest of our orders shipping the fourth week. If you enjoy reading Night Zero, if you appreciate the free thrice-weekly updates on a completely ad-free website, please show your support and preorder your copy today. Just twenty four dollars, independently produced and proudly printed in the USA.

On last week’s blog I talked about the movie-montage inspirations for the “Three Speeches” closing of Episode Five, as well as some of the developmental stages we went through to piece the whole sequence together.  That’s all essential to the pre-production, but coming up with a concept is only the beginning. The true success or failure lies, of course, in the execution of the design, and on that front I’m pleased to say it came together swimmingly.
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the Three Speeches

Posted: 4th February 2011 by Anthony van Winkle
Categories: Concepts & Development, Episode 5 - "Reversals", Photography
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Announcing the opening of Volume Three pre-orders, and on the formulation of the “three speeches” that close out episode five.

Before I get into the actual blog post, I’m very pleased to announce that preorders for Night Zero: Volume Three are now available! Our third and most stunning volume yet, this graphic novel collection weighs in at nearly 200 pages of full-color post-apocalyptic HDR beauty, and includes all the comics we produced in 2010 as well as the protest shoot from 2009. A full list of details and a pre-order link is available at the Volume Three info page, so support Night Zero and buy your copy today!

We’ve now entered the final act of Episode Five, a little number I like to call “the Three Speeches.” If this were a movie, there would be sweeping camera shots of the speakers building up in volume and cadence, inter-spliced with close-ups of random members of each party, all underscored by a dramatic musical crescendo with plenty of horns and gravitas. Which is exactly what I’ve attempted to recreate here, but without sweeping camera movement or underscoring music. The photographic novel does have limitations.
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