How to make a zombie

If you are going to have a zombie, there are a few things that you might want to consider before you start to make it. First of all, will it be an ‘Intelligent’ or a dumb zombie. We found ‘Intelligent’ ones in 28 Days/Weeks Later, and in I am Legend, whereas there are dumb ones in Dawn of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead. The zombie’s personality plays a great part in thrillers, as dumb ones are usually massed and are killed all the time, though many more come, where as the ‘Intelligent’ ones seem to be everywhere, and can interact with the surroundings better. In I am Legend, the zombies are extremely fast, and are also very ‘Intelligent’; in the sense they lay traps and stay away from sunlight. There is also the ‘Intelligent’ ones in 28 Days/Weeks Later, where they mass, run extremely fast and are able to interact with surroundings. The dumb ones are usually used to show isolation due to the sheer mass of them, where as the ‘Intelligent’ ones usually create tension and suspense making the characters attempts seem useless.

When we think of zombie, we get the image of rotten skin, teeth showing, brains, claws, torn clothes and a relentless attitude. When we make our zombie, we will consider all these things, though we can not have very graphical images, so we will stick to showing silhouettes of them, or at a distance.

There is also the zombie “hot spots” such as dark rooms, isolated areas, urban cities and the classic, zombie hand clawing through the window. All these areas need to be thought about when thinking of where to make the protagonist go. A lot of zombie thrillers show the protagonists trying to get to another abandoned building, and must pass masses of zombies to get to them. This is a common theme in zombie films.

IOn our first storyboard, our zombie will wear over sized clothes, though you will only see silhouettes of it running. We will make them extremely strong and fast, making the protagonists seem inferior to them, even though they are still teenagers. We will have masses of the zombies, though we will only show a maximum of 5 in the woods scene. This is to still keep the realism of the zombies actually following the teenagers, and the isolation of them.

We could consider using fake blood and wounds if we were to use a close up, although due to our budget, we will stick to keeping them at a distance.