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

Be a Fan