The Wobbling Dead

[largento]

About time I started a thread for this project. I'm hoping to go into heavy production on the 1st of January (like with Stalled Trek last year.)

 

It's a parody of the zombie television show "The Walking Dead."

 

It's going to break away from the format a little in that this will be a parody of the first season of the show rather than just a single episode.

 

Most of what I've been doing is gag writing so far, but I should start having lots of stuff to see starting next month.

 

Here's a test I was playing around with tonight. Experimenting with hair this time around.

 

zomb.mov

[agep]

Haha! Very nice design. The googly eyes made me giggle

[Rodney]

That hair is tres fantastico!

 

If you could get the eyes/pupils to be like those muppets where one eye stays in place and the other moves with motion as if it were lose that'd be impressive. I think Cookie Monster is the main muppet that has that particular characteristic.

 

Added: If you click on the attached image you'll see that both of Cookie Monsters eyes bounce around... hmmm... maybe my memory is faulty.

[largento]

Thanks, Stian & Rodney!

 

The googly eyes was something I immediately thought of with the zombies, because I need some way to communicate what they're "thinking". My take on the zombies are that they are less menacing and more like sheep. I wanted them to be able to look nervous when I needed them to.

 

I like how the hair is looking, but I'm getting some movement. That may be because I turned on dynamics. I'll need to mess with it some more. I think it succeeds in looking like fake hair. :-)

[Vong]

So how's this project going? I figure over a month and no news means you've either been neck deep in production (pre/prod/post) or you got busy with "real" work!

[TheSpleen]

love the whole idea

[largento]

Thanks, Gene!

 

Vong, I'm having to approach The Wobbling Dead differently. Part of the success of completing Stalled Trek was that I figured out how to simplify it to a point that it could be done by one person in a short amount of time.

 

I'm finding that more difficult to get a handle on with The Wobbling Dead. Stalled Trek had a couple of built-in time-savers: most of the characters wore the same outfit and the sets I was parodying were simple to begin with.

 

The Wobbling Dead has a much bigger cast and no uniforms (not to mention that I need dozens, if not hundreds of zombies) and the settings are all over the place and frequently outside with trees and stuff.

 

I'm still experimenting with how to simplify these backgrounds so that they aren't nightmares to have to build. There's definitely some kind of mental block I'm running into there.

 

I've also decided to approach funding differently. I think a big reason why I haven't made more progress, is there's no deadline or pressure on me to complete it. So, I want to go ahead and do the Kickstarter campaign upfront. If it's successful, I'll have an obligation to the people who contribute and will *have* to finish it. I think that was a huge reason I was able to complete Stalled Trek. I might have floundered on those last 8 minutes if I didn't know that I had people counting on it being done on time.

 

Conversely, if the Kickstarter campaign isn't successful, then I can move onto something else without having put too much work into it.

 

The Wobbling Dead is something I really like the idea of doing, but it's not like Stalled Trek, where I would have done it even if no one had ever seen it. Stalled Trek was something I'd wanted to do for 16 years. It was the reason I started learning A:M in the first place.

 

So, with luck, I should have the Kickstarter campaign ready to launch in the very near future and I'll go from there.

[Vong]

The Wobbling Dead has a much bigger cast and no uniforms (not to mention that I need dozens, if not hundreds of zombies) and the settings are all over the place and frequently outside with trees and stuff.

Since it's a puppet style, I think you could get away with 5-7 zombies and just repeat them. I highly doubt the audience is going to expect hundreds of different zombie models. For the backgrounds, I believe you could use simple models in the foreground, while using pictures of forests or devastated cities on cards in the background.

 

The cast is bigger, true. However you don't need all the cast to tell the first story. Unless you're going to tell everything from the beginning, I don't see a need to have the entire cast available.

 

I've also decided to approach funding differently. I think a big reason why I haven't made more progress, is there's no deadline or pressure on me to complete it. So, I want to go ahead and do the Kickstarter campaign upfront. If it's successful, I'll have an obligation to the people who contribute and will *have* to finish it. I think that was a huge reason I was able to complete Stalled Trek. I might have floundered on those last 8 minutes if I didn't know that I had people counting on it being done on time.

See, I can help you out here... I wanna see the first rough draft on March 15, 2013. See, now you have a deadline!

 

 

Still looking forward to whatever you end up doing. Now I need to get back to pre-prod on my short...

[Rodney]

Vong has the right idea. Turn those potential weaknesses into strengths.

Depending on your story you might even be able to leverage the limited number of zombies to your advantage.

[largento]

I'm parodying the entire first season, Vong, mostly so that I don't have to leave characters out. :-)

 

The number of zombies is tied into the funding. Folks are going to be able to have a zombie likeness in the film for a certain donation. That's why the indeterminate number.

 

But, just so that there's something to see on this page, how about a pic of the main character?

 

[TheSpleen]

You crack me up

[robcat2075]

In TWO we had a crowd character that would automatically alter itself. You could drop 30 in a chor and they would all be slightly different.

 

But i see the value of making them look like sponsors.

 

I fear this title won't quite resonate with me like "Stalled Trek" did. I've never seen "the Walking Dead" so i probably won't get the references.

[agep]

[largento]

LOL, Stian!

 

Thanks, guys!

 

Fingers crossed.

[ptiversen]

Its February 01, 2013. (Starting your deadline here) You have 28 days to put it up on Kickstarter so I can buy one of the Zombies.

 

Kickstarter up and running completion date March 01, 2013

 

Is that good enough for you to get motivated Mark?

[largento]

Haha, why do I feel a real threat behind this deadline? :-)

 

I think I'm safe, though.

 

Hoping to get Kickstarter up in the next week or two. I have a convention next weekend and want to be able to send people to it. I'm having postcards printed as we speak. There are going to be three cast members from The Walking Dead at the con, so I'm hoping lots of fans come out.

 

Still, thanks for the push, Tony!

[largento]

Well, I keep trying to get ahead on this... :-)

 

I made some pretty good progress on setting up the Kickstarter Campaign in the week before last weekend's Sci Fi Expo. Was down to just having to do the video. Unfortunately, the con wiped me out. By the time I got home after the second day, I was exhausted and had the chills. Turns out I'd managed to catch the flu *and* strep throat.

 

It's now the following Saturday and this is the first time I've felt well enough and awake enough to get back on the horse.

 

Here's hoping I can finally get the ball rolling and make this thing happen.

[TheSpleen]

You da man

[Ilidrake]

Big fan of the Walking Dead so I'm wanting one of those zombie spots for myself.

[largento]

Well, the Kickstarter is slowing down, so any illusion that this was going to be wildly successful has flown away. :-)

 

Still, there's an outside chance it will make it to its goal, so I'm journeying on.

 

I got zonked by vertigo the night I put it up and was basically out of commission. Last night, I felt well enough to work up a new character, though!

 

Here's Drrrl. (He won't get his crossbow until I start modeling props.)

 

 

Also, my friend over at Subspace Communique wrote up a nice piece about The Wobbling Dead.

[largento]

The cast is starting to add up!

 

[Rodney]

Nice render! (and characters)

 

Love the general lighting, atmosphere and the film grain effect also.

[Gerry]

Hey Mark, this is looking great! You should put a link to your Kickstarter in your sig.

[largento]

Thanks, guys!

 

@Rodney. I'm still figuring out what this is going to look like, but I do know that film grain is going to be a part of it. They shot a bunch of the first season on 16mm, so there's a definite grain visible.

 

@Gerry. That's a great idea. My sig is way out of date, too. Needs updating badly.

[NancyGormezano]

@Gerry. That's a great idea. My sig is way out of date, too. Needs updating badly.

 

Love your beautiful, fun, new images, but the new signature is a yikes! Much too tall. Could get annoying. Perhaps scale them down to a reasonable eye-catching size but not SCREAMING AT ME height?

 

(Yes, we all have the option to turn off viewing signatures in this forum, if they annoy us, but I don't think that's what you want)

[largento]

Thanks, Nancy.

 

I'll grant you it ain't small, but in less than 26 days, the Wobbling Dead part will disappear and what's left will be smaller than what I had before.

 

And sometimes, you just gotta' scream. :-)

[Rodney]

There is enthusiasm and then there is enthusiasm but I'm not sure we need that kind of enthusiasm for 26 more days.

That ain't screamin' thaz crowdin'.

 

If it all fit on one line it would be ideal.

I can only imagine if everyone had a signature that size how interesting the forum would be.

 

Nice graphics though!

Maybe you could work in an animated gif that alternates between the two images.

[largento]

Okay, consider my party pooped.

[Fuchur]

Hey,

 

do you have a paypal-account? I'd like to support your animation-project, but I can not use Amazon Payments (provided by kickstarter) since I dont own a creditcard. (just not needed in Germany since we have a EC-Card with any bank account and no charges which can be used for buying things in all over Germany... (actually all over Europe))

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[largento]

Gerald, I do have a PayPal account and I'd really appreciate the support, but my concern is that there's still a strong chance I won't reach my goal. For that reason, I'd say wait. If it is successful and you'd still like to donate, I'd happily give you the same reward as if it were Kickstarter.

 

The Amazon payment is basically the same thing. You aren't charged until the campaign is completed and the goal met.

 

I'm with you. I haven't used a credit card in over 10 years. A debit card has worked fine for me and kept me from spending money I don't have. :-)

[Vong]

@Rodney. I'm still figuring out what this is going to look like, but I do know that film grain is going to be a part of it. They shot a bunch of the first season on 16mm, so there's a definite grain visible.

 

Actually, all 3 seasons have been shot in 16mm, except for the VFX shots which are 35mm. Besides, when dealing with the horror element, whether seriously or parody, adding grain to the footage gives off that creepy vibe.

 

Loving the look of the characters so far. Just waiting on a client to pay so that I can back you.

 

Keep it going... Don't get too discouraged. Look at M Dot Strange, just because his Kickstarter failed, he didn't stop and he's making a feature!

[largento]

Thanks, Curtis!

 

I'm operating right now as if it will succeed. If it doesn't, I'll have to take stock of things and decide.

 

One of the goals this week is to create the hospital sequence and animate it. It's relatively simple in that it's all indoors and just revolves around the main character. Hopefully, it will help give folks an idea of what to expect.

[largento]

Quick & easy hospital bed for puppets. Not sure why, but I like the idea of puppets never having any leg room in these things. (Did the same thing with the Sickbay bed in Stalled Trek.)

 

[largento]

Hospital Room is coming along. Still more props to build, plus hospital version of Rick.

 

[TheSpleen]

looking great!

[largento]

Thanks, Gene!

 

Some more progress on the set. This is actually a larger set that goes out into a hallway, around a corner to a stairwell. Basically all the elements I need for the sequence. So most of my progress has been in putting in all the molding along the floors and doors and that kind of stuff. I feel like I can pack a lot of stuff into this, so I'm going to have fun with it.

 

I'm not worrying too much about matching the TV show. The sets aren't nearly as iconic as something like Star Trek and I wouldn't be able to match them even if I tried.

 

 

[EDIT]

 

Here's an overview of the hospital set in progress...

 

[largento]

Because, I'm not afraid to go for a cheap joke, I present: Dead Flower. :-)

 

 

This was something I just added because I thought it would be a fun background gag, but I may do a cartoon face modeling tutorial with it in the future. It's such a simple and quick character to do. Look at how simple the splines are:

 

[Rodney]

Top notch Mark.

 

I love the style and detail... lighting and texturing too.

 

That flower should be great fun. He has great character already and we haven't even seen him move.

I can already envision it trying to attack our heroes.

 

I may do a cartoon face modeling tutorial with it in the future.

 

Ooooo... that'd be good.

That'd be a great progression from the old 'Flower Power' tute!

[robcat2075]

Good-looking lighting! Is that A:M DOF in the hospital bed shot? or did you do that in post?

[kwhitaker]

Mark i love the look of all the guys and i wish you the most luck on this new project! i just pledge 25.00

[largento]

Thanks so much, Kat! I really appreciate it!

 

@Robert, Thanks. That *is* A:M DoF. Photoshop was used to add some glow and film grain and tweak the colors some.

 

@Rodney, Thanks. The flower is really just a one-off gag. In the original the main character's first clue that time has passed is that he wakes up to see the flowers on the nightstand have died. I thought it would be funny to make them little zombies. I was just going to do one flower, but I think I'll make it a bunch of flowers (same model, of course) and have them all moving around, biting at the air.

[itsjustme]

Great stuff, Mark!

[largento]

Thanks, David!

 

Did a test shot of the animated flowers. I went ahead and did a full render thinking I might use a couple of seconds as an insert shot.

 

You can see it

.

[largento]

 

Not a lot to show today. Modeled and rigged the hospital version of Recch yesterday and today. Complete with hospital gown and socks. I've got most of the pieces done for this sequence and re-wrote the script today to allow for this being a longer sequence. Going to try to record the dialogue tonight so that I can begin animating tomorrow.

 

My rough storyboards show about 15 shots, but it might be slightly more. It might be two or three minutes long, but probably on the lesser side of that. With luck, I can knock them all out this weekend. Rendering is likely going to take awhile, though.

 

I really want to have this sequence finished and up on Wednesday, which will mark the halfway point of my Kickstarter.

[largento]

I put the YouTube link to the Hospital Sequence in the Kickstarter thread, but I wanted to make sure it was here in the main thread. For me, these threads are kinda' like a journal that I can go back to.

 

Anyway, here's the

.

 

This one was definitely a rush job!

 

One simple bit I'll share was this little Texas Switch I did to get the comment card in the puppet's hand:

 

1) I made an action that was just the card positioned in the puppet's hand and constrained to translate to and orient like the hand bone.

 

2) I positioned the cards so that I could have the character's hand go out of view (presumably with the card)

 

3) I had the action set so that it didn't become active until the puppet's hand was out of sight.

 

4) The hand comes back into view holding it.

 

For being quick and easy, I think it worked pretty well.

 

[Rodney]

One simple bit I'll share was this little Texas Switch I did to get the comment card in the puppet's hand:

 

1) I made an action that was just the card positioned in the puppet's hand and constrained to translate to and orient like the hand bone.

 

2) I positioned the cards so that I could have the character's hand go out of view (presumably with the card)

 

3) I had the action set so that it didn't become active until the puppet's hand was out of sight.

 

4) The hand comes back into view holding it.

 

For being quick and easy, I think it worked pretty well.

 

You know... immediately after seeing that sequence I thought you'd pulled a fast one like that but it was so quick and clean that that I didn't even want to go back to look and find out. To me that was a slick movie... like in magic... where you are vastly interested in the process but don't realy want to know because it'll lessen the joy of it.

 

I was trying to figure out how you could get away without showing legs in the 'exposure' but you probably did about the best that can be done. I guess what you said about the bed (and leg room) really sunk in.

 

Nicely done Mark.

[largento]

You know... immediately after seeing that sequence I thought you'd pulled a fast one like that but it was so quick and clean that that I didn't even want to go back to look and find out. To me that was a slick movie... like in magic... where you are vastly interested in the process but don't realy want to know because it'll lessen the joy of it.

 

I was trying to figure out how you could get away without showing legs in the 'exposure' but you probably did about the best that can be done. I guess what you said about the bed (and leg room) really sunk in.

 

Nicely done Mark.

 

Thanks, Rodney!

 

I'd like to think that they would have done something similar with a real puppet show. Just have someone stick it in its hand as soon as it went out of sight.

 

As to the legs, there's no way to get around that. I thought I could on Stalled Trek until I started building sets and realizing there wasn't going to be an easy way to shoot them from the waist up all the time. My thinking was that if you believe the puppet's a character, then you believe it has a lower body, even if you can't see it.

[largento]

sQcHDlEzA68

 

Sticking this on the page now that I've figured out how to embed YouTube videos.

[Bruce Del Porte]

Nice character, nice soliloquy. I haven't seen the show you are parodying, but I love Mad Magazine type spoofs. Nice job.

[largento]

Thanks! You know, it's funny that I don't think I really ever thought about the fact that most of the Mad Magazine parodies I read growing up were of movies or TV shows I'd never seen. Didn't stop me from enjoying them.