UNDERWATER TEST #1

Zombie #1 learning to walk underwater! Thanks to puppeteers Jim, Stephen and Chris.

Scroll down for video.

Overall the test is pretty good. There are a couple of goofy parts and we learn a lot about puppets but the concept holds up pretty well. One thing I wonder is how much facial articulation we could get away with.. I am starting to wonder if it would be crazy to do eye and jaw mechanics...
 CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO

Zombie Parts

 I cast my first actor the other night!  He's been in a lot of movies but I'm not going to mention any names until things are a bit further along. 




One of the main things you think about with an independent film like this is where the money is going to be spent. So I've been thinking about sound design, and color correction. Seems reasonable to just edit the film myself, but professional color correction and sound design seem like finishing touches that could make this a sellable product.  So I am in numerous phone conversations this week to put actual numbers to all of these categories and actually nail down a budget... to whatever degree is possible at this stage.

Meanwhile, zombie puppet parts are coming together, one bolt at a time.  Here, zombie #1 has his underskull cut up and jawed, and the silicone skin glued on. I am starting to think the paint job will need to be more contrasty to compensate for being underwater.

I'm trying to balance the materials in these zombies to make them neutrally buoyant in the water so we're not struggling with the rods. The first idea was to make them more floaty and weight the feet down but we'll get the most natural performance if we're not fighting that. The skins are mostly silicone (heavy) but I am building up areas underneath with epoxy dough (floaty). 

 Spent a couple hours yesterday making puppet rods and thinking about movement. You realize little things along the way, like the fact that for good arm movement, the collarbones must be able to shrug. If the shoulder is just ball and socket, it will move like a halloween prop. I'm also putting pick points for the rods in lots of spots on the puppet. It will be interesting to see what works underwater.