Zombie update 3-Theory

Why do people love zombies? How could someone enjoy watching these rotten walking dead that only want to tear us apart, eat us alive and destroy the world? We have zombie comics, movies, games, TV shows, walks — literally everything. They have become so popular that people have been adapting classic novels to incorporate with them.

In fact, I disgusted zombies for the first time I watched one of their low budget movies years ago. I started to have interest in the zombie genre when I managed to pick up the hidden meaning behind these diseased creatures. Most of the time, people talk about how Dawn of the Dead (1978) addresses the America’s obsession with consumerism. Others who do more research shall know that zombies had been used to make social comments long before Romero. White Zombie (1932), the first known zombie movie, confronts the slavery labor during the American occupation of Haiti in the period of 1915-1934. In the digital era, there are arguments that point out the addiction of technology leading us soulless being just like those walking dead.

Form my point of view, zombie culture offers consumers an alternative life in which they can experience and step out of their ordinary selves: no homework, no stress or future goal. What impresses me is that the world created by zombie culture not only provides audiences a place to hide from the reality, but also satisfies the aggression of human nature. From the ethological perspective, Lorenz (1966) suggested that humans have evolved a ‘’fighting instinct” which is unavoidable and a part of human identity. In the real world, we are restrained from hurting other people by the law unless it is a self-defense situation. In “The walking dead”, characters are free to kick, smash or kill zombie with whatever they have in their hands to survive. Normally, we are attracted by something which represent a part of us. In other word, media consumers see the reflection of their aggressive instinct in this particular culture.  Watching zombie genre somehow satisfies our urge to commit violent actions.

“Good zombie movies show us how messed up we are, they make us question our station in society…and our society’s station in the world”, said Robert Kirkman who is the creator of The Walking Dead. Horrified zombie and gore scenes are just side dishes in this show.The main course is watching how Rick survives, how humanity of our society is being destroy and how sanity is being stripped away in the name of survival. He is willing to do anything and kill anyone to protect himself and the ones he cares about. Indeed, this shows not only proposes the violent nature of films has changed due to contemporary media triggers, but also how society have to struggle with the aftermath of disaster, how we individually cope with the devastation of world events.

Reference:

Lorenz, K & Latzke, M (1966), On aggression, London: Methuen

 

Zombie update 4 – Collaboration

Collaboration is an initial part of film making. No matter how much the budget is, producing a film or just a clip normally requires people with different skills. I started the zombie project with Helen. We were both interested in the zombie genre and we did a series of experimental shots during the mid-semester break. We were quite satisfied with those shots, but we could not push it further due to the lack of cinematography knowledge. I was lucky to attend the consultant with Paul, Reza and Sem in week 9.Their experimental shots of an abandoned building showed me their shooting skills. Paul told them that they had the technical skill, but because of the lack of “meaning”, their clip seemed not to be “true to form”. In the end, the purpose of cinematography is to tell a story or say something to the viewer.

On the one hand, I thought it would not be very convenient for 4 people working on such an experimental project. On the other hand, we were still in the process of learning film making. Four heads would be better than one and we could learn from each other. I decided to propose a collaboration with the pair to fill up the holes where one would lack skills in.

Collaboration itself consists both upsides and downsides. Organizing a suitable shooting day for the whole group was pretty difficult. Reza and I had to work at least 3  days a week. We also have our own study timetable to follow. In addition, Melbourne is well known for its crazy weather. But it all worked out well. Each of us had to sacrificed to achieve a common goal. Moreover, our we were able to raise our opinions and excuse them freely because we do not have to produce a final product. We gathered as much footage as possible to edit our own pieces.

Sem and I used our DSLR to shoot 2 shots at once from different angles in a multi-story carpark in the city. I enjoyed and learned many things from the 2 short shooting days. In terms of technical things, Sem obviously had more experiences than me since I had mostly used my DSLR for photography. Although I was familiar with the 3 elements: ISO, aperture, shutter speed, framing was another aspect that would want to invest in the future.

I was constantly asking myself:

“Who is she running away from?”

“Does she know he is zombie?”

“What angles should I take to emphasize the girl’s fear”

etc.

The funny thing was zombie was not real (not yet?), but we all had basic ideas how it would walk. run and growl. This made things easier when it came to directing. There were no more than 5 takes for each shot. I was totally happy with the collaboration.

 

Zombie Update 5 – Color Grading

There is no Award for Best Color (yet?), but this less-celebrated initial element of filmmaking is widely used to convey and propel the plot. The spiritual purple, the death and sickness of green, a violent red. There is no accident when we see a color in a film – filmmakers have carefully compose each frame a make color decisions that affect our experience of watching consciously or unconsciously. They use color to deepen the narrative of the film.

I began to step into the world of color grading with my favorite shot during the mid-semester break: the shaking hand

Adjusting the color and light in Premiere Pro was very exciting. It was a discovery in video editing. I tried to touch all of the panels, drag them to their maximum and minimum value. I planned to use one of the above grading for my final edits, but I gave up in the end. looking at them again after finishing the 2 shooting day with the group gave me a “Meh. What have I done?”. But I think it was a normal process of learning how to use an editing software. It is very easy to go overboard like a child playing with his new toy for the first time. I sat down and asked myself a load of questions:

“Does it benefit my clip in any way? Or just because I can?”

“Does it add or convey any narrative?”

“Does the color serve its purpose?”

“Is it True to Form?”

I looked closely to the Plutchik’s wheel of emotion to carefully pick the most suitable colors for a zombie clip. To make it faster and easier, I created an adjustment layer and graded on it, then applied it to the whole clip. In the end, it was a bad lazy idea as Paul pointed out that every single shot needed a different grading. Additionally, the colors of the footage were basically different because we used different camera: Sem’s Canon, my Nikon and the school Sony. There were no easy way to achieve a good outcome. I made a duplicate of the clip and graded shot by shot with different versions as Paul taught us in class.

The rewarding process took a lot of time. I put myself in the audience’s shoes while adjusting the value little by little. The dead green worked well in the zombie genre. I also tried the vintage effect to draw the viewer attention into the scene.

 

Zombie Update 6 – Final Edits + Studio Summary

The end of a fantastic studio is finally here. I am very happy to able to follow my investigation until the very end. I have achieved the goal which I set for myself from the very first consultant with Paul: learn how to use Premiere Pro, color grade my own footage and create a soundscape.

Regarding to the audio, I already collected and build a soundscape which would  fit in the subtle horror of the zombie genre before hand.

In week 12, I used this piece as a guideline for the rough cut. Even though, it served its purpose as a guideline while cutting, there were changes had to be made to match it with the plot of the clip.

For the presentation, Helen and I decided to make a 45-second clip rather than a 22.5 one. I did the rough cut and gave it to Helen to color grade it. We made some changes in terms of the shot and color grading afterward. I desaturated and darken the light to make the environment look like a post-zombie apocalypse world. I finalized the clip with a matched soundscape using the jump scare trick.

For the Friday screening, I concentrated more on color grading. Green, blue, orange and red were the core color. I came across with more difficulties than the presentation one. I have not got the skill to adjust the color of a specific areas yet. For some reasons, Reza’s face was warmer than Helen’s hand in the shot. If I had desaturated the color to make Reza look like a zombie, it would have resulted in Helen’s hand look paler than a dead person. Leaving the redness on the zombie face was the best option. I also made a different version of the soundscape. I am not really satisfied with this piece of audio due to the lack of sound effects (foley). I should have added the footsteps to make the clip less “forced”

Thanks to this great studio, I have made one step closer to my filmmaking career. This is the only studio which actually taught me practical skills in terms of shooting and editing a video. I am now more confident to pitch my idea and propose a collaboration to other people. All of the class exercises, consultants and collaborations made me realize that there are more than one way to achieve a goal in filmmaking. I don’t need a fancy camera to shoot an amazing shot or an expensive steadicam to have a good tracking shot. As long as it is “True to Form”, there are ways of making an amazing video.