Dweezil Zappa playing guitar with Zappa Plays Zappa at the Beacon Theather in 2011. There is something weird and wonderful to see him play his father’s songs and channeling Frank’s guitar style. If you haven’t seen them, get a ticket for the current tour, it will be worth it.
Dweezil Zappa at the Beacon 2011
After the Zombies were created, zombie master Tom Savini would give the makeup a blow dry so it would set properly. Between scenes the make up crew would roam the group of zombies and check their makeup and retouch it if necessary, You can buy a print of this image at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Toma Savini give a Zombie blow dry
You can’t make a movie without gaffers. They set the lights, set up the equipment, load film and do just about anything. This is especially true on a small budget movie like the original Dawn of the Dead (1978). Here is the crew setting up the equipment at the beginning of the shoot at Monroeville Mall. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial site by clicking here.
Gaffers setting up the Camera
By 2 A.M the nervous energy that the zombie extras had at the beginning of the shoot had vanished and was replaced by some exhaustion. Most of these people had day jobs and had been up for at least 18 hours at that point. You can buy a print of this image on my commercial site by clicking here.
2 A.M in the Mall
In 1978, Zombies were created almost exclusively through makeup. Today on shows like, “The Walking Dead” they use masks and other methods to create the effects. On Dawn of the Dead (1978), there were no harder working people than the makeup crew. Here is one of the makeup artists creating a zombie before shooting began. You can buy this images and others at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Time to Make the Zombies
One of the nights I was on location, the crew spent a lot of time filming a scene at the fountain. There must have been some sort of reflection problem and it required reblocking the scene and changing the camera positions. This is George Romero working on resolving the issue. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
George Romero Solving a Problem
Michael Gornick was the Director of Photography of some early Zombie Classics like Dawn of the Dead (1978). He was a really nice soft spoken man working with a very limited budget and inexperienced crew. He somehow managed to film one of the greatest cult films of all time. You can buy a print of this image on my commercial site by clicking here.
Michael Gornick Director of Photography
Dawn of the Dead (1978) was filmed in Monroeville Mall in Pittsburgh between 9 P.M and 6 A.M when the Mall was closed. It was eerie being there in the middle of the night. Early in the evening, all the extras were excited and animated. Even during breaks, people would talk, get makeup retouches, drink coffee etc. Around 3 A.M. when this image was shot, most of the people were dead tired and the mall was strangely quiet. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial site by clicking here.
Between Takes
Jerry Garcia is best known for his brilliant guitar work as a solo artist and with the Grateful Dead. Early in his career he didn’t sing a lot of the songs but that changed quickly and he became known as a balladeer with a funny voice like Bob Dylan or Tom Petty. He wasn’t always on key but his voice had a raw emotion that made up for it. Here he is at Madison Square Garden in 1993. You can buy a print of this image at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead Madison Square Garden 1993
I was amazed at how long it took to make up a single Zombie. Not only did they need to have their faces made up but all so their arms, neck and any other exposed skin. They also had to be dressed so they looked undead.I don’t think the process has changed much. When I watch “The Walking Dead” I study the zombies in the background for the makeup effects and appreciate how long it takes to makeup an extra. This is a young lady sitting patiently while being made up for the 1978 “Dawn of the Dead. You can buy a print of this image on my Commercial Gallery by clicking here.
Zombie Getting Makeup