Tag Archives: Monroeville Mall

Zombie Master Tom Zavini

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One of the best parts of covering “Dawn of the Dead” for Pittsburgh Magazine was getting to watch the make up and special effects people at work. Film making can sometimes be boring, but there was no downtime in watching Zavini and his crew create Zombies and other disgusting stuff. These folks were all artists,upbeat and fun to watch. It also helped that this was done early in the evening, by three in the morning everyone looked like a zombie, make up or not. Buy this one or see other images from my Zombie collection at my commercial portfolio by clicking here.

Zombie Master Tom Zavini

Zombie Master Tom Zavini

Zombie Classic –35th Anniversary

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This year marks the Thirty-Fifth Anniversary of the Zombie classic, “Dawn of the Dead (1978)”. I was the only Photojournalist on the set at Monroeville Mall outside of Pittsburgh PA and you can read my exclusive interview about the experience in this month’s issue of UndeadZine. You can also see images and buy prints on my commercial gallery by clicking here. This image sums up the experience of the Life of a Film Director from Anguish to Joy in about five seconds. This is the film’s director George Romero, thirty five years ago.

George Romero 1978

The Joy and Anguish of Directing George Romero 1978

Zombie Touch Up

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The funny thing about make up is that after time and heat it starts to melt away. This can be very problematic for Zombies since there whole appearance is usually make up based. During breaks and downtime on the set of the Dawn of the Dead (1978) you wold see the make up artists roaming throw the throng of Zombies touching up the makeup as required. See other Zombie images on my commercial gallery by clicking here.

zombietouchup

Zombie Touch Up

Script Review

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On a movie set there is a lot of down time, waiting time, non productive time. Producers hate this but Directors take advantage of it. While the crew was setting up and blocking a scene for Dawn of the Dead (1978), George Romero used the time to review the script and decide on his next moves. You can buy a print of this image on my professional gallery by clicking here.

scriptreview

Script Review

Director of Photography (DP)

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Michael Gornick was the director of Photography on Dawn of the Dead (1978). He was patient and soft spoken, talents that were needed with a large cast of inexperienced extras. This image was originally published in Pittsburgh Magazine in 1978 and shows Michael Gornick filming David Emge. You can buy a print of this image on my commercial gallery by clicking here.

Tom Savini

Michael Gornick Filming Dawn of the Dead

Blow Dry

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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.

Blow dry

Toma Savini give a Zombie blow dry

Zombie Gaffers

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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

Gaffers setting up the Camera

2 A.M Zombie Time

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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

2 A.M in the Mall

What’s In the Water George?

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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.

What’s In the Water George?

George Romero Solving a Problem

The Sitting Dead

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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.

The Sitting Dead

Zombie Getting Makeup