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.
Zombie Touch Up
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.
Script Review
One reader pointed out to me that I had misspelled the name of Rockette Morton on my T-Shirt, indeed I had, much to my dismay. Just as bad, I had flopped the image and made him left handed! Well everybody needs and editor, so I stuffed my pride and made the corrections. Here is the new T-Shirt which you can buy at my online store by clicking here.
Rockette Morton T-Shirt and Hoodie
Ian Anderson is currently touring again. He is without a doubt the best rock and roll flutist ever and a great songwriter and singer. I am sure his new show is wonderful and worth seeing but don’t think it can match Jethro Tull playing “As Thick as A Brick” in 1973. This shot was taken at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. You can purchase a print of this image at my commercial site by clicking here.
Jethro Tull at Civic Arena 1973
It occurred to me that the life of a film director is filled with extreme highs and lows. I didn’t realize until working on a film set that these could come within seconds of each other. It takes a special person to be able to handle this kind of stress. These images of George Romero were taken within seconds of each other on the set of Dawn of the Dead in 1978.
You can buy a print of this image at my commercial gallery by clicking here.
The Joy and Anguish of Directing George Romero 1978
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
You don’t often get the opportunity to watch an artist work. Tom Savini was the creator of the Zombies for Dawn of the Dead in 1978. He worked with a small staff and created all the makeup effects. The man could make ligaments from a bucket of goo. Here he is backstage creating another Zombie for the Zombie Classic. You can buy a print of this image on my commercial site by clicking here.
Imagery Photography 