Let's make some zombies.

Hello everyone. Writer/Director Frank T. Ziede here. I wanted to post a message from our amazing makeup artist Michael Peterson of Alchemy Makeup FX. So here you go. Enjoy:

It’s important to me to help the filmmakers I work with make iconic images. So considering the makeup for “No Tomorrow” it was clear that there would be one major challenge: how do I make the zombies for “No Tomorrow” stand out in the sea of zombie content and at the same time satisfy the appetites of fans in this genre. Since this was to be shot on the RED camera, I chose to focus on details such as contact lenses, false teeth and plenty of time on set for application.

I settled into a bit of research mainly to put my mind in the place of dead bodies. Research is one of the most important things a makeup artist can do to prep. It helps sync ones thoughts to the theme of the project. So making appropriate creative choices is effortless in the chaos of the filmmaking process. I took a life cast of our lead zombies teeth. Then spent 3 days sculpting and molding false rotting teeth.

I then prepped my kit.  My game plan was essentially to do an out-of-kit makeup so I needed to be fully stocked with all the build up materials and colors. I wanted to give the surface of his skin the waxy, slightly bloated look that happens when the only life within it  are the micro organisms and bacteria that decomposes flesh.

The makeup for the lead zombie took about 4 hours of building up the skin, coloring, building up the skin more, then coloring some more. I kept in mind that this guy had been feeding and mindlessly tearing through the world, so the final details represent that. I think the final result speaks for itself.

I’m really proud of all the makeup I did and the relationships created on this project. I think the content of this project and the people involved have the makings of a successful film.

Michael Peterson

alchemymakeupfx @gmail.com

"Start small, but start."

Hello everyone. Writer/Director Frank T. Ziede here. Our producer Chris Pluchar has been hitting this blog like a champ so I thought I'd take a break from working on the post production of the film to make an entry of my own.

"Start small, but start." - Randy Pausch, from the Last Lecture.

I love this quote. It's one of the reasons why this project began. In my short experience in the world of film I have come to get a sense of what goes into making a feature film. Needless to say, it's a LOT! As James Cameron says "Making a film is like going to war." With that in mind, one could look at this task and say "wow, that's a huge challenge." I know because I have said it. But Pausch's quote really stuck with me. It's very similar to an ancient Chinese proverb:

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Once you begin a journey, a lot of fear and anxiety goes away. You've begun. Move forward, don't look back. That is what keeps me going. And now to see what we've accomplished...incredible. I couldn't be prouder of our entire team. We have banded together and created a series of films that captures what we're capable of. It gives a glimpse of what we can do, and gives a preview of the potential this story can have.

So that's it for now. Please keep checking back with us. We'll keep posting latest news and info and you keep watching out for the undead.

FTZ

No Tomorrow - Cast and Crew List

Hey guys, Chris Pluchar here.  

As mentioned in my previous post, this project wouldn't exist without all the hard work of our cast and crew. So it's with that in mind that I present to you our current (Note: Subject to change!) cast and crew list so you can see all the great people we have on board and how many people really go into making something like this. We should have a few posts from some of the cast and crew in the near future as well, so stay tuned.

If you have any questions for myself or any other cast or crew, please don't hesitate to ask.

Take Care,
Chris

Crew

Director - Frank T. Ziede

Producer - Christopher Pluchar

Director of Photography - Max J. Heiligman

Editor – Andrew Wilsak

Sound Designer and Composer - Paul Nawrocki

Make-Up Artist - Michael Peterson

Co-Producer - Carlos Jimenez Flores

Executive Producer - Corey Gilbert

Executive Producer - Curtis Gilbert

Line Producer - Jon P. Phillips

Assistant Director - Corey Gilbert

Red Wrangler/Owner - Andrew Benz

VFX - Gary Schwerzler

Gaffer - David Hannibal

Key Grip – Dustin Smith

Grip - Sol Miget

Grip - Quinten Ronsick

Grip - Dan Walton

Graphic Designer – Michael Lloyd

Website Designer – Brandon Comerford

Cast

Traveler - Jasyn Jefferies

Hero Zombie - Curtis Gilbert

Wife - Nicole Humphrey

Son - Jared Papach

Mercy Kill Zombie - Cathleen Hennon

Special Thanks

Will County Forest Preserve

Joann Ronsick

Thomasson Lighting & Filmgear Inc.
Zombie Ed and the Terror4Fun Team
Cinefile.com

A Dream Worth Having is a Dream Worth Living

Photo Courtesy of: www.cantstopthebleeding.com

Have you ever given thought to the birth of a dream?

When did it first occur to you that you might want to play major league baseball or fly a plane?

Was it something you saw on TV or heard on the radio? (for those of you born in the 21st century)

Did you tell your best friend or your parents? Or no one at all?

The year was 1994.

My older brother came home from school one day and announced that he would be making a movie for one of his classes. I honestly don't remember really thinking much of it at first, except that I knew if it was something he was excited about, it was likely to be fun.

We soon began the discussion of what the movie would involve, who would play which parts, and what props and costumes we'd need.  My Mom pulled out the sturdy VHS Camcorder (for those of you raised on the internet) and final preparations were made for a film my brother called "Babyface Barbecuesauce" (a parody on the Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal).  

I couldn't tell you what role I might have played, (aside from my brother requiring my most villainous laugh at the end of the film) but I do remember helping organize things, setting up sets, helping smear barbecue sauce on my infant sister's face (What?  She was the villain!), and watching the footage play on the TV for the first time. I remember thinking to myself, "I could do this the rest of my life."

And that was it.  That was the birth of my dream.

That's really what the crew of "No Tomorrow" has in common.  A dream.

You simply cannot go into film without a dream. It's what makes you take chances, it makes you work hard, it makes you leave your comfort zone, it's what drives you forward, constantly and relentlessly.  And when all seems lost, it's the only thing that you have left to hold onto.

We were very lucky to work with some extremely talented individuals who all share this passion for film and made this labor of love possible. From the sound team to the camera team to the make-up artist to the actors.  Everyone was on board, working hard, and having a good time.

I want to make sure we tell you all about our crew, but I'm going to save that for future posts since we could sing (well, if we could sing) their praises for hours.

Here's to hoping!

Take Care,

Chris Pluchar

P.S. - This video was shared with me last night. Some of you might enjoy it too.

"No Tomorrow" Marketing Strategy - Part 2 of 2

Hey everyone, Producer of "No Tomorrow" Chris Pluchar here with Part 2 of 2 in our marketing adventure. In Part 1, I discussed the logic behind our decision to create a teaser or proof of concept piece for "No Tomorrow" instead of a making a no budget feature. In this part, I'd like to take that a step further and discuss some of the methods we'll be using to try and take this viral. If only it was as simple as biting your victim.

Illustration Courtesy of: www.rylanclayne.com

If you're unfamiliar with the concept, it's essentially a legal pyramid scheme fan based strategy. The above illustration pretty much sums it up (Note: It's not essential that we all dress alike for this to work.). You have the content creator who initially shares the video/song/article/joke/etc. with their friends/family/coworkers/audience. Those people then turn around and share it with their friends/family/coworkers/audience. And the rest is history.  

Nobody knows exactly what makes some things go viral when others go nowhere, but we can assume that it has something to do with the perceived value of the content being shared. Is the joke funny? Is the information useful? Is the story exciting? If the answer is yes to these questions, then it's likely that your peers will also appreciate the content being shared and continue to share it.

What we do know is it's extremely important that you use everything you can to increase the likelihood of success. Here's a quick list of some of the online resources we'll be using.

• Facebook
• Film Website (under construction)
• Twitter
• Digg
• Reddit
• Blogger
• YouTube

There's also a load of blogs and websites dedicated to film and zombies which we're also working to actively engage. Add in some traditional marketing (email blasts, local press, alumni networks, etc.) and we're covering quite a few bases.

Poster Courtesy of: www.likemoyd.com

We've also decided to create three mini teasers that we'll post each day leading up to the posting of the main teaser. We hope this will help increase interest and encourage our followers to spread the word before the final launch. Additionally, you can expect that we'll be loading all kinds of content onto the Facebook page, this blog, and the website (when it's ready). That means stills, looks behind the scenes, concept art, storyboards, posters (like the one to the right), crew posts, and more.

Now you're probably asking yourself, "How do you know if you were successful?" There's no clear answer, but there are a few milestones. Over the last year or so, the videos that have gotten the most attention are the ones that reached 10,000 views in a couple of weeks or so. It's true, the faster the better, but there are no hard and fast rules regarding a minimum number of views before someone who can provide funding for a feature takes notice.  

This is where you come in. We have no hope of being successful without the wonderful support of our friends, family, coworkers, fans, casual acquaintances, and people we've never met. Getting "No Tomorrow" to the finish line is going to be a massive group effort. From now until the main teaser is posted, we need you to spread the word, invite people to join the Facebook page, and share the blog link. When the main teaser is posted on 12-09-10, it's imperative that we spread it like a virus and/or wildfire (whichever you prefer).

And that's the gist of our plan (summarized to spare you the painstaking details). If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to let me know. And if you want to help market in a more direct way, we'd be happy to find a way to get you involved.

Take Care,
Chris Pluchar

"No Tomorrow" Marketing Strategy - Part 1 of 2

Hey everyone, Producer of "No Tomorrow" Chris Pluchar here.

As you're all likely aware, it's rather expensive to shoot a feature length film. As a filmmaker, you're left with only two basic choices. A.) You get a studio to back your project. B.) You secure independent financing. With the economic downturn, studios are choosing to greenlight less films and are increasingly relying on established material with a built in audience to (supposedly) help guarantee some kind of return at the box office. Financing independently has also grown more difficult as investors remove their money from the risky game of film and either save it or put it into more reliable, but lower performing investments.

So what's a guy (or girl) to do?

In October of 2009, a short five minute film was posted on YouTube by a group of filmmakers in Uruguay. "Panic Attack". It was a labor of love that they worked on during their downtime and for which they found themselves calling in all the favors they could to get it done. Just a week or two later, the video had received tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of views. Within a month, they broke the one million mark. Another month goes by and a bidding war starts between several entities in Hollywood. The winner? Sam Raimi's production company with an offer to the filmmakers to finance a$30,000,000 feature film. Not only did they get the cash, but they also are getting Sam Raimi's support and guidance throughout the process. That alone is priceless.

Fast forward to Summer of 2010. The same thing has happened to at least a half a dozen filmmakers ("Azureus Rising", "Cup of Tears", "Nuit Blanche", "The Raven", "Pixels"). Some are getting their films picked up to be adapted into features, others are being offered representation, etc.

It used to be that you never wanted to post your short online until you had exhausted every film festival and screening option you could find. Now, films like the ones mentioned above are invited to screen at festivals because they were popular online first. The process, which is particularly volatile at the moment, has flipped entirely on its head.

So rather than trying to eek out a feature film with no money, we decided to strike while the "iron of short films succeeding in getting Hollywood's attention" is hot. We can drop a few hundred dollars or a few thousand dollars on a project and shoot it on the Red over a couple of days (similar to the strategy for "The Raven") and create something dynamic enough to go viral and get some attention. It requires a fairly minimal time commitment for the bulk of the crew, it costs significantly less, and it's easier to focus on a five minute proof of concept film as opposed to a feature.

Worst case scenario, we have a solid five minute piece that we can use to pitch the concept to investors when the time comes.

That's the basic logic behind why we're pursuing this strategy. Stay tuned for "No Tomorrow" Marketing Strategy - Part 2 of 2, where I'll discuss how we are attempting to make sure we're one of the success stories for small films doing big things.

Take Care,
Chris Pluchar

Progress...

So we have completed the editing work on the first three mini-teasers for the film. They all look great. I thought I'd take a second and introduce our crew. Our editor Andrew Wilsak has done a great job on using the pacing and his own style to tell the story. The footage was shot by none other than our amazing cinematographer Max Heiligman. Max really had the vision I was looking for and he captured the feel of the film we wanted to make. We got to shoot on the RED thanks to Andrew Benz, the owner of this amazing machine.

We are working on this project with p3mediaworks, also known as Corey and Curtis Gilbert. They run a Chicago based production house. We have worked on several award-winning shorts before so we were psyched to work together again. They are a talented team and we are lucky to have them.

On the producer side we have got Chris Pluchar, who is fearless in his approach to getting projects done. He is so focused on getting the film completed which is a real blessing for all of us. He truly keeps us on task. The co-producer of the film is Carlos Jimenez Flores of Kachi Films. Carlos is a long time friend of mine and he is incredibly driven, not to mention extremely talented. He's about to release a film he produced called SCALENE which was directed by my good friend Zack Parker, another Midwest based filmmaker.

Several of our upcoming posts will focus on specific departments of the film such as sound, cinematography, editing, visual effects, etc. We will also focus on our world class makeup artist Michael Peterson of Alchemy Makeup FX. Micheal is amazing when it comes to zombie makeup and I'll dedicate an entire post to his phenomenal work. So stay tuned for all of this and more here on the official NO TOMORROW blog. Thanks!

Zombie reading material that blows my mind!

As a zombie fan I thought I'd share some reading material that I have really enjoyed. So if your a real zombie fanatic check them out!

The story is what matters...

Hello everyone! I finally have some time to sit down and blog away. This post is about the story for the film. Without it, it's just dead people trying to bite living people...and even though that's fun, it's not compelling. So lets start with the inspiration for the script.

NO TOMORROW is a film set in the zombie genre which was started by George A Romero in 1968's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Over the last 40 years the zombie genre has exploded with books, comics, films and most recently "The Walking Dead" on national television. I have always been a big fan of zombies, so much so that one of my short films entitled DEVIATION is set in a zombie infested wasteland. When the film won best short film at the 2010 New York International Independent Film Festival I realized that this specific genre has a very loyal following. That's when I decided to begin work on this project.

NO TOMORROW logline is as follow: In a zombie infested world, a loner, hiding in the wilderness is forced to become a savior to a group of survivors. The story is about a man who loses everything and decides that the only way to survive is to be alone. After the zombie outbreak occurs, the lead charator decides to hide among the forests and farmland of the midwest while making his way across the country.

Well that's it for now. We are working on the editing process right now and I have to say that we are all VERY happy with what we are seeing so far. We are also building a website as well as a facebook fan page so stay tuned for more info on that soon.