Photo Source: Courtesy AMC
The zombies on The Walking Dead may be dead, but the show is still very much alive in the time of the coronavirus. The popular AMC show has resumed production in Atlanta, shooting six episodes in October that are set to air at the beginning of 2021.
Already, things are looking different on set: for one, theres a mobile testing center on-site for rapid COVID-19 results, and shoot days are only 10 hours; theres also a former medic acting as the health and safety supervisor. The virus has also affected artistic elements of the show, namely the makeup.
The six episodes were about to shoot are really specifically designed to be very COVID friendly: very few people on the set, people outside, things like that, says showrunner Angela Kang. The episodes will air as the shows 10th season. Were going to come back with more scope and scale for season 11.
There is another big change the show has instituted that will be seen on-screen, but audiences wont realize it: the zombies themselves. Normally, in order to transform into a zombie, actors have to sit three to four hours in a makeup chair. But because of social distancing guidelines, The Walking Dead aimed to cut the time that an actor would have to sit in makeup to minimize contact and potential points of infection.
Executive producer and special effects supervisor Greg Nicotero has figured out a way to cut the zombie makeup time down to 50 minutes. As soon as all of this kind of started to go down [COVID-19], I really started in my head thinking about how we were going to maintain the visual aesthetic of the show without feeling like we were handcuffed by safety measures, explains Nicotero.
The Challenges of Creating Zombies During a PandemicEmmy-winning special effects artist Nicotero and his team came up with multiple strategies to make zombifying actors as low-risk as possible. Prior to the pandemic, in order to get that undead, decomposed look, the actors were accustomed to wearing a full face of makeup, special contact lenses, and dentures. But Nicotero quickly realized that having makeup artists touch actors eyes and mouths was problematic, and putting that much makeup on would be time-consuming. So while the show was on hiatus, he had his special effects crew craft special undead masks in their home basements.
The walker masks are now made up of multiple prosthetics. One piecewhich is pre-painted with hair attachedcovers the forehead and the ears, back and down to the neck, with a second pre-painted prosthetic applied to the actors face; the dead walker eyes are then created using makeup, so they look more like shriveled grapes.
As for the teeth (bites are usually how the zombie virus is spread on the show), we velcro the teeth in and then pull them out between takes so that the performer can actually breathe and eat without having to stick dentures into their mouths, explains Nicotero.
This care and attention is mainly used for what the crew calls hero walkers: zombies that require a lot of close-up shots and interact with the main cast. For the background actors, Nicotero and his team figured out an even faster way to create zombies using good, old-fashioned costuming. The background actors are given screen-printed zombie-design spandex and a maskand theyre reusable.
At the end of the day, you take the masks and you throw them in the washing machine, and you wash them and you sterilize them, and you can reuse them, says Nicotero. I kind of kicked myself in the butt a little bit because I was like, I cant believe I hadnt thought of these before. We used to have crowds of 200 or 300 people, and there was a limit to the number of walkers that we could physically paint because you just dont have the time. Now becoming a zombie will be as easy as pulling on a pair of pants.
Nicotero has done screen tests with these new zombies and he promises they look as ghoulishly undead as beforepossibly even more so. Additionally, because of the added bulk on the top of the head with the zombie masks, it makes the face look thinner, its like an optical illusion, he says. So by doing that, were actually accentuating the decomposition in the skull forms by making the tops of the heads taller. It therefore makes them look thinner. We want them to look like theyre corpses.
Unforeseen Blessings From a New ProcessThese new changes will keep both the actors and the crew safe, and theyll be beneficial for AMC as well. The makeup team can now get more zombies prepared in the same amount of makeup time, and cleanup is faster, too; actors just need to take off a mask, instead of spending an hour washing up. Nicotero expects to retain these new techniques when everything goes back to normal.
The amount of labor it takes to get people ready and to clean people up has been reduced significantly, Nicotero says. I really do believe between the amount of labor that its going to take, and the amount of time its going to save on set, this is going to save the production hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Nicotero is a veteran in the zombie and horror genre; his first film was George Romeros 1985 classic Day of the Dead, but hes worked on myriad projects including Pulp Fiction, The Green Mile, and this years Emmy-winning limited series Watchmen. For him, COVID-19 has been a mixed blessing. Its held up production but its also given Nicotero a rare commodity: time.
READ: How Co-writers Damon Lindelof + Cord Jefferson Made Watchmen So Watchable
It gave us time to entertain new ideas. I really feel that what were going to contribute to the show is going to be better because of it, he says. Plus with shoot days now dropped to 10 hours, Nicotero has been able to spend quality time with his family.
Why the hell would anybody want to work 14 or 16 hours a day ever again? exclaims Nicotero. You get to go home. You have dinner with your family. You go to bed early, you get up early. Youre well-rested, which means youre more efficient and more effective at your jobs. The 10 hour days are actually more humane to the crew, and gets you a better product because the crews more efficient.
Visit link:
How COVID-19 Shaped a New Zombie Process for Actors on 'The Walking Dead' - Backstage
- Even Will Smith Couldnt Save Zombie Survival Game Undawn, Which Flopped Spectacularly - IGN - March 24th, 2024
- Rob Zombie Recommends This Surprisingly Wholesome Comedy - Dread Central - March 24th, 2024
- Army Writing and the Zombie (Noun) Apocalypse - Modern War Institute - United States Military Academy West Point - March 24th, 2024
- Fatal Fury's Mai Shiranui Is In This Zombie Survival Game For Some Reason - Time Extension - March 24th, 2024
- Should you be worried about 'zombie deer'? | College of Public Health - George Mason University - March 24th, 2024
- 'Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island' Scares Its Way to Blu-ray for the First Time This Spring - Collider - March 24th, 2024
- Rob Zombie hates my guts: GWAR's Dave 'Oderus Urungus' Brockie was a genius, and here's an interview that proves it - Louder - March 24th, 2024
- In the fight against gun violence, Rep. Frost Introduces the Destroy Zombie Guns Act - The Apopka Voice - March 24th, 2024
- Elfriede Jelinek's 'The Children of the Dead' is a historical zombie novel - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - March 24th, 2024
- Germany's Zombie Government Is Fueling the Far Right - The Atlantic - March 24th, 2024
- Zombie Survival Game Undawn Has Crashed And Burned According To A Reuters Report - MMOs.com - March 24th, 2024
- Will Smiths Zombie Game Has Been Hit Harder Than Chris Rock at the Oscars Its Astronomical Budget Was ... - imdb - March 24th, 2024
- Scooby-Doo On Zombie Island / Return to Zombie Island Blu-ray (Warner Archive Collection) - Blu-ray.com - March 24th, 2024
- Registration almost here for Dothans annual Zombie 5K Chase - WDHN - March 24th, 2024
- Zombie magic and gambling club Magic Island will come alive again this summer - Houston Chronicle - March 24th, 2024
- Undawn | The $140m zombie survival game starring Will Smith that bombed while nobody was looking - Filmstories - March 24th, 2024
- After 4 years, a cult classic zombie horror manga from Ga-Rei's creator is finally getting an official English release - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
- Will Smith's Zombie Game Has Been Hit Harder Than Chris Rock at the Oscars - Its Astronomical Budget Was ... - FandomWire - March 24th, 2024
- "The game literally no one knew existed": The Will Smith Zombie Survival Game is Reportedly a Big Flop and Fans Are ... - FandomWire - March 24th, 2024
- Zombie-palooza --- Get to the biggest undead music event in the latest Dead Island 2 expansion: SoLA - Gaming Trend - March 24th, 2024
- Bournemouth University medical students treat 'zombie attack' in mass training simulation - The Tab - March 24th, 2024
- Zombie car factories on the rise in China as buyers opt for EVs - Financial Times - March 16th, 2024
- Hey, Remember When Rob Zombie Was Going To Direct THE CROW 3? - FANGORIA - March 16th, 2024
- New Walking Dead Twist Shows How The Zombie Outbreak Will Finally End - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- Candid conversations from death row with The Zombie Hunter - Arizona's Family - March 16th, 2024
- Zombie! The Musical - REVIEW - City Hub Sydney - March 16th, 2024
- A Gorgeous Harp and Guitar String Duet of 'Zombie' by The Cranberries in Honor of Alexei Navalny - Laughing Squid - March 16th, 2024
- Y2K Review: A 1999 Youth Nostalgia Comedy That Turns Into an Attack-of-the-Computers Zombie Movie. But Only the First One Is Fun - Variety - March 16th, 2024
- AMC Announces Every Zombie in The Walking Dead Getting Its Own Spin-Off - Hard Drive - March 16th, 2024
- The Growing Threat of Zombie Code - CXOToday.com - March 16th, 2024
- The Greatest Zombie Movie Ever Gets Theatrical Return For Anniversary - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- You won't expect which fighting game character pops up in this random mobile zombie game trailer for a bizarre ... - EventHubs - March 16th, 2024
- Coby White, Butler and the 'Zombie Heat,' Fontecchio Are All Here to Stay - Canis Hoopus - March 16th, 2024
- 'Land of the Dead' 19 Years Later: Romero's Return Was Smarter Than the Average Zombie Movie - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- Z Nation Season 6: SYFY Tease Return of Zombie Series 6 Years After Its Death - ComingSoon.net - March 16th, 2024
- Zombie! The Musical (Hayes Theatre Co) - Limelight - March 16th, 2024
- Get This Definitive Edition Zombie Game For Free Right Now On Steam - Screen Rant - February 19th, 2024
- The Best Ghost and Zombie Movie Romances - Vulture - February 19th, 2024
- The couple trying to keep killer 'zombie viruses' at bay - and protect us from another pandemic - The Telegraph - February 19th, 2024
- Meet the Serbian Businessman/DJ Who Runs the Zombie AI Southwest Journal - Racket - February 19th, 2024
- Dead Island 2 Spreading Its Zombie Virus to Steam in April - GameSpace.com - February 19th, 2024
- Lincoln hosts Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie - Omaha - KETV Omaha - February 19th, 2024
- 'The Walking Dead - The Ones Who Live' Review AMC's Zombie Epic Shambles On - Collider - February 19th, 2024
- Legislative recap: zombie bills, teacher pay, lithium tax, pipelines and more - Black Hills Pioneer - February 19th, 2024
- Japan's stock markets are on a tear. Will 'zombie firms threaten the bull run? - CNBC - February 11th, 2024
- Thebe Phetogos haunted response to zombie figuration in art - The Washington Post - February 11th, 2024
- Cosmic dust from 'zombie' galaxies could form planets and life - The Telegraph - February 11th, 2024
- I walked with a zombie: 16 monster love interests that set hearts aflutter - The A.V. Club - February 11th, 2024
- Free Steam zombie shooter you've never heard of is getting rave reviews, somehow - GAMINGbible - February 11th, 2024
- South Korea's 'zombie football' finally leaves them in a hole too deep to climb out of - ESPN - February 11th, 2024
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Zombie Mode is Getting Abandoned by Developer - FandomWire - February 11th, 2024
- Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses Full Audio Being Released as Immersive Vinyl - ComicBook.com - February 11th, 2024
- Zombie 'apocalypse' caused by mind-altering fungi, like that in hit TV show The Last of Us, is possible MPs ar - Daily Mail - February 11th, 2024
- The dark horse of Steam Next Fest is this open-world zombie survival game that feels like an homage to the best game ... - Gamesradar - February 11th, 2024
- COVID-19 Zombie Viral Fragments Could Help Explain Why Some Infections Are More Severe | Weather.com - The Weather Channel - February 11th, 2024
- Gotham City becomes a Joker-infected zombie nightmare in new Batman #143 preview - Dexerto - February 11th, 2024
- Boy, 16, stabbed to death with zombie knife at birthday party, court hears - The Independent - February 11th, 2024
- ROB ZOMBIE And ALICE COOPER Announce Summer 2024 'Freaks On Parade' Tour With MINISTRY And FILTER - BLABBERMOUTH.NET - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper are bringing their 'Freaks on Parade Tour' to Indy this summer - IndyStar - February 3rd, 2024
- Alice Cooper And Rob Zombie Touring Again This Summer - Vermilion County First - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper's 'Freak' show coming Aug. 25 to the X in St. Paul - Star Tribune - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper get their freak on with tour stop in Houston - CultureMap Houston - February 3rd, 2024
- 'True Detective: Night Country' and the 'Zombie Virus' Theory - Pajiba Entertainment News - February 3rd, 2024
- Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie to team up at Star Lake; Heart to headline PPG Paints Arena - The Times - February 3rd, 2024
- Double bills of Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper, Train and REO Speedwagon coming this summer - St. Paul Pioneer Press - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper's Freaks On Parade 2024 tour: Presale code, tickets, dates, venues, & all you need to ... - Sportskeeda - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper added to Walmart AMP lineup - Fayetteville Flyer - February 3rd, 2024
- ROB ZOMBIE and ALICE COOPER continue "The Freaks On Parade" tour in 2024 - Lambgoat - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper to Continue Their 'Freaks on Parade' Tour with Filter and Ministry - MetalSucks - February 3rd, 2024
- 'Handling the Undead' Review: This Emotional Zombie Horror Movie Isn't as Unique as It Thinks | Sundance 2024 - Collider - February 3rd, 2024
- Sundance Review: Handling The Undead Deconstructs the Zombie Genre with Painful Dread - The Film Stage - February 3rd, 2024
- How many 'zombie' stores will be left in the Philly area after Rite Aid's bankruptcy? - The Philadelphia Tribune - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper announce 'Freaks on Parade' 2024 tour dates with Ministry and Filter - Brooklyn Vegan - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper coming to Milwaukee on Aug. 27, 2024 - FOX 6 Milwaukee - February 3rd, 2024
- Alice Cooper And Rob Zombie Announce 2024 Tour: See The Dates - iHeartRadio - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper to stop at Walmart AMP - KNWA - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper coming to Blossom - WJW FOX 8 News Cleveland - February 3rd, 2024
- Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper Reveal Joint U.S. Tour Dates Here's How To Get Presale Code Tickets - Grimy Goods - February 3rd, 2024
- Canada's 'zombie fires' continue to burn even under thick layers of snow - National Post - February 3rd, 2024
- Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie bringing Freaks on Parade to Coopers home state - MLive.com - February 3rd, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero