200 ZOMBIES!

[baron von fogel]

Hey everyone! It's been a while since I've posted, but that's because this thing is really big and it took a hell of a lot of planning. I know this isn't really a question (admins, feel free to move the post around) but it's also not really a video project or a suggestion either... anyway...

Last Friday I organized a big event called Z-DAY here in Providence, RI. It's pretty much a standard zombie walk event (more of a guerilla attack really) except instead of participants showing up in makeup already, I organize a huge assembly line to apply makeup and blood to everyone!

My problem with other zombie walks where people do their own makeup is that you wind up with a motley group of green, blue, grey, and freshly-dead zombies! The whole point of zombies is that they all look the same, right? So, I came up with the assembly line preparation as a solution.

Anyway, although I didn't apply any of the makeups myself (about a dozen of my talented friends did) I designed the aesthetic and essentially directed the entire process. This year we had 200 zombies participate! Every single one looked amazing.

The only makeup I applied myself was my own. I think it came out nicely, considering it was a quick out-of-the-kit application in less than an hour, done while giving an interview to a documentary crew. Here I am with my girlfriend at the event:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v135/floopy42/2444858440_1826d16633_b.jpg

My friend Aaron did me the favor of setting up a little photo area at the end of the assembly line so that each individual zombie could get a nice portrait of themself as a zombie! Check out the complete set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aperryz/sets/72157604742845778/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/aperryz/sets/72157604742845778/). It's worth looking through the whole album, as all the photos are really fabulous!

Hope you enjoy these, and please let me know what you think of everything!

Cheers,

-Von Fogel

[yupfrank]

this is amazing
you cant beat this
thats great

[The_Count]

wow. every single one is fantastic.

my favourite has to be the homeless guy with the sign.

you should have shot some stock footage of a massive swarm of 200 zombies whilst you were there :P

[Captain SteveBeard]

Baron, I've seen your work since you first started posting it on here, and it never stops amazing me. Who the hell can top a Z-DAY???

[mopman]

hate to ruin the party, as they zombies are all amazing, but this doesn't really fit in the questions section. Or even the filmmaking section.

[baron von fogel]

wow. every single one is fantastic.

my favourite has to be the homeless guy with the sign.

you should have shot some stock footage of a massive swarm of 200 zombies whilst you were there :P

Hahaha... the homeless guy is my roommate, Alex!

Thanks, Cap'n! And who can top Z-DAY? I'll wager my zombie army against anyone who tries!

Mopman, I did address the fact that I wasn't sure where to post this... perhaps one of the moderators will move it somewhere else, this is just the section of the forum that I read and post on the most often.

Oh, and I did have my three videographers shooting a ton of footage, which I'll be editing into a short piece over the next couple of weeks. Not exactly stock footage, but video nonetheless.

Thanks, everyone!

[uhrisuh]

I think it's fine here. Like you said it doesn't really fit any place else. And i'd hate to have it buried the the "your projects" section.

They all look nice. I'm actually going to be apart of a zombie walk in June. There are over 2,000 people signed up to walk. It's going to be amazing. Question? What did you use for blood on yourself and g/f?

[punkandska66]

there's that arm of yours. I seriously think you killed someone and ripped there arm off.

[baron von fogel]

I think it's fine here. Like you said it doesn't really fit any place else. And i'd hate to have it buried the the "your projects" section.

They all look nice. I'm actually going to be apart of a zombie walk in June. There are over 2,000 people signed up to walk. It's going to be amazing. Question? What did you use for blood on yourself and g/f?

Oh cool, which Zombie walk is that? I'm trying to find out more about all the other ones across the country and how they're organized.

For blood, I just used Skin Illustrator makeup on myself... my girlfriend insisted on using acrylic paint for some reason. No fresh sticky stuff for us, as we needed it to be durable for a few hours while we set things up and got all the other zombies ready for the night. The blood we used for the group was actually just maple syrup with food coloring and chocolate syrup added. I mixed a little over four gallons of the stuff!

Punkandska, thanks! I'm quite proud of the arm, and it made a fantastic prop at Z-DAY.

[hardcore productions]

i live near memphis tn and on april 25 we had our second zombie walk on the world famous beale street and i got some footie and its in post and i will have it up soon

[punkandska66]

i lived in memphis once. born in nashville :(
but i got out before i started listening to country. whew (actually i moved for nashville to memphis when i was like 6 or 7 months.)

[uhrisuh]

Oh cool, which Zombie walk is that? I'm trying to find out more about all the other ones across the country and how they're organized.

For blood, I just used Skin Illustrator makeup on myself... my girlfriend insisted on using acrylic paint for some reason. No fresh sticky stuff for us, as we needed it to be durable for a few hours while we set things up and got all the other zombies ready for the night. The blood we used for the group was actually just maple syrup with food coloring and chocolate syrup added. I mixed a little over four gallons of the stuff!

Punkandska, thanks! I'm quite proud of the arm, and it made a fantastic prop at Z-DAY.

Yeah I want something a little less sticky for the train ride to Chicago. And the 15 other people riding with me. haha

[baron von fogel]

Yeah, I'd seriously die without my Skin Illustrators. You can also use Temptu Dura colors.
You can buy individual liquid colors, but if you haven't gotten Skin Illustrator palettes yet, you really should get one or two. It's usually a good idea to start out with the original palette and supplement it with the FX one. For somebody with your talent in makeup, they're an essential tool that you should start teaching yourself how to use.
http://www.skinillustrator.com/index.html

[uhrisuh]

Yeah I've heard of them but I thought they were only for Airbrushing and i haven't had any training in airbrushing yet .. But further inspection proves other wise. I'd really like to get a couple of palettes now. They look amazing and I'm always looking for something more permanent. Do you just use a make-up remover to remove it from skin? It says it can last up to two weeks with proper care.. that's insane.

[baron von fogel]

Yeah, the Skin Illustrators are very permanent. They don't come off with water and are incredibly friction-resistant. This is because of they're alcohol-activated. Essentially you mist the palette with alcohol to moisten it, and after you apply it the alcohol evaporates, leaving just the pigment on the skin.
The really cool thing about them is that you can give the illusion of skin translucency by using many thin washes, like one would use watercolor. For you I'd recommend getting either the Fleshtone and FX palettes together, or if you can only afford one to try out, try getting Ve's Pirate Palette (I prefer the second version of that one).
If you've got any questions about Skin Illustrator, let me know and I'll be happy to answer... Be sure to tell me if you wind up getting some so that I can give you some tips to help you start out!

Edit: To remove it, I use more Isopropyl Alcohol, or for more sensitive areas like around the face I use Isopropyl Myristate.