The Walking Dead Origins - A Comic

The Walking Dead began as a comic book series in October 2003. The series is written by Robert Kirkman (who at the time was best known for his work on Invincible and Battle Pope) and illustrated by Charlie Adlard, who replaced artist Tony Moore after the first story arc. Kirkman's still writing the series. Over time, the comic became a best-seller without almost no fanfare, hence the massive eBay dinero.

In 2009, AMC and director Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) began circling the project, and hence the TV series was created. Kirkman's admitted that he's envision the series as a TV show, and that a film wouldn't do the comic's neverending zombie narrative justice. Kirkman may just get his wish. 

Interview with Robert Kirkman

What's The Walking Dead's claim to fame?

It's easily the most popular zombie comic ever written. Kirkman's described the series as an infinite survival horror epic. Characters frequently migrate from location to location, scouring abandoned neighborhoods for supplies and dying every two issues or so. The zombies are a problem, but so are hunger, exposure, and other desperate humans.

Does the series follow the comic faithfully?

For the most part. It is however taking creative liberties with regards to new survivors and the zombies' abilities. Darabont, who directed the premiere and creatively supervised the first season, has also mentioned that the show will add its own embellishments.

What causes the zombie uprising in The Walking Dead?

In the comic, it's not entirely clear, and it's kind of a moot point anyway. Kirkman's said that he'll never reveal the origins of the undead uprising. Furthermore, it's just not the series' foremost concern. The main characters aren't super-sexy undead researchers. They're average schmos with average lives, and — barring one or two seemingly unkillable characters — they die extremely easily. The series is about staying alive (i.e. finding food, ammunition, and shelter; not going insane). We have yet to see whether the TV show will address the zombies' origins.

Who are the main characters?

The comic book takes place in the southern United States (predominantly Georgia) and showcases what feels like a cast of thousands. That's okay though, as characters die with startlingly regularity. Here's the main cast at the beginning of the series. Don't get too attached to any of them:

Rick Grimes is a cop who lives in Cynthiana, Kentucky (artist Tony Moore's hometown) with his wife Lori and son Carl. After a shootout with criminals, Rick is injured and goes into a coma. When he wakes up a few weeks later, the world's gone to pot — the dead have risen, his family is gone, and (friendly) squatters in his neighbor's house have hit him upside the head with a shovel. After Rick awakens from his shovel-induced concussion, the squatters — Morgan Jones and his son Duane — fill Rick in on what's happened to the world. Rick sets off for Atlanta in hopes of finding his family. Indeed, Lori and Carl are living in a survivors' camp outside of the city, but Lori's found comfort in the arms of Rick's former best friend and fellow cop Shane. Other survivors who appear in both the TV show and the comic include Glenn (who's a skilled forager), jocular old man Dale, and sister duo Andrea and Amy.

There are several characters who were introduced in the TV series, so they're unknown quantities. Jacqui, Morales, and T-Dog are all part of Glenn's supply-gathering crew in Atlanta. Merle Dixon is a crazed hillbilly who the survivors handcuff to the roof of a building in Atlanta. He's abandoned at the end of the second episode.

Throughout the comic, the cast expands, contracts, and expands once again. After a while, remembering a characters' names becomes somewhat difficult as there's ridiculous turnover. There's one name you won't forget: Michonne. We're not going to tell you what she's all about...other than the fact that she's quite possibly the most bad-ass character in comic book history.

What kind of zombies star in The Walking Dead?

In the comic book, the zombies are plodding, flesh-hungry, and particularly entranced by loud noises. Brain damage will kill them (decapitation won't). Humans who die from injuries will reanimate as zombies, so it's speculated that the undead outbreak is caused either by a bacteria or virus that lies dormant in living tissue. It's possible to elude the zombies by smearing yourself in zombie offal and imitating their gait.

The zombies have a tendency to move in herds and tend to have problems with stairs. Gunshots will attract undead from miles away, so the characters prefer to dispose of zombies with hammers, axes, and swords. The zombies spread the infection through bites. If an arm or leg is bitten, it's possible to stanch an infection by amputating a limb.

In the television show, the zombies are more mobile (they can run and climb), "remember" their surroundings, and are seen using tools (like bricks). Also, it's unclear whether humans who die from injuries will resurrect — there's a scene in the premiere of corpses outside of a hospital, and it's not specified if these bodies were once zombies or not.

Website reference: http://io9.com/5686018/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-walking-dead

Tips From The Walking Dead (creating a zombie)

Interview With Donna Premick (key make-up artist) And Taylor Knight (hair stylist)

Q: How do you take a cast of Hollywood stunners and make them look like bedraggled survivors of the apocalypse? 

DP: People always say, “You do makeup on the actors?” They think they walk in looking like that and that’s a big compliment… Everybody gets sunscreen. And then if it’s a woman, we will do their makeup very lightly so you don’t see the eyeshadow or eyeliner… When we got hired to do this job, [the producers] told us, “We want them to look sexy but yet to look like they haven’t taken a shower in months.”

TK: When I was originally hired, [the producers] were wanting a real tattered look, a really not-done look, a wet, sticky, sexy, hot look. Of course sexy is not hard to do with this casts’ hair. They’re all beautiful…I do a lot of highlighting for the sun-kissed looked…then we have a sweat mixture, so their hair looks wet and sweaty.

Q: Do you two have to follow the cast around to make sure they stay sweaty and dirty-looking?

DP:  We do a liquid dirt and a dry dirt on them….And then we spray them down in sunscreen to keep it in place. But when we’re out on set and everything and they’re sweating it off, we have to go and reapply it and make it look the same way it did in the beginning.

TK: The sweat mixture stays in the actor’s hair, but we reactivate about every three takes so that it stays consistent from scene to scene. It’s a hot and sweaty show, but that’s life in the South. 

Q: How has your approach changed over the last three seasons?

TK: From the very beginning I’ve kept an open mind to the look of this show…and I’ve enjoyed this show from the very beginning. It’s raw, it’s gritty and it’s challenging. It’s sexy and fun and we rock and roll every day.

Q: Was it difficult getting the cast comfortable with the dirt and grime?

DP: Not at all. They love the dirt…It’s getting to be a game. Who’s dirtier? It’s hysterical. And they’re really enjoying it. They love it. And these are actors. These aren’t movie stars where they don’t want to look bad. They know what they’re in for, and when they walk out that door they want to look the part.

Q: What’s the thing that people would be most surprised to know about your jobs? 

TK: How hard we work and how hot it is. It really is one of the hardest shows I’ve ever worked on, but it’s such a family that I don’t mind doing it.

Q: What are your hair and makeup tips for those living through a zombie apocalypse? 

DP: Sunscreen and lipbalm. [Laughs]

TK: Ponytails, up’dos, and cut it short would be my tips for the apocalypse in hair.

Website reference: http://blogs.amctv.com/the-walking-dead/2012/07/key-make-up-and-hair-interview/

Interview With Greg Nicotero (main special effects MUA on The Walking Dead)

Q: Frank described how hot it’s been in Atlanta. How does that affect your make-up?

A: The make-ups that we’re doing are relatively bulletproof. But when people start sweating or rubbing their necks, you do have to go in and touch people up. It’s tricky. I can’t remember when I’ve worked under these circumstances, especially shooting in the daytime. Most zombie shows like this, they’re shot at night. So to have a zombie TV series in broad daylight, running down Peachtree Avenue in downtown Atlanta, it’s challenging. Everything has to stand up to pretty tough scrutiny.

Q: What kinds of dos and don’t did you come up with?

A: Here’s a perfect example: There’s a fine line between gluing a wound on someone’s cheek and making them look like they’re decomposing. So the first thing that we did is I had our sculptors create some prosthetic pieces that would go over the brow and onto the cheekbones. So it would make the eyes look a little more sunken in and make the bone structure look more pronounced — we’ve been using those pieces a lot more than we were last season. So we’re getting more of a skull-like look to the walkers. Now we have a lot more ammunition in our arsenal. You look at the graphic novel and there’s always exposed teeth. So instead of having to make dentures for everybody, we came up with a way to be able to put teeth in any zombie that we want in order to make them look like that grinning skull where their lips are rotting away.

Q: Tell us about the zombie decomposition that’s happening in Season 3. How are you changing the ways the zombies are portrayed from season to season?

A: Well one thing I always think about and the rest of the crew can attest to is just how grueling the weather is in Georgia. The sun literally will bake you if you stand out in the sun too long. And one day I’m thinking about it and I’m like, “OK, what would happen to these creatures that have no actual ability to protect themselves from the elements?” So you can only imagine how horrible the smell would be, and what we felt it was important to play up is the idea that these things are becoming dried up and disintegrated and leathery.

Q: What’s been your favourite episode to direct thus far?

A: Each episode I love for a different reason. The first episode I did in Season 2, where Dale gets killed, is the first piece of television I had directed. And I don’t think I told anyone else except Andy Lincoln, but I was scared s—less because I had one walker and this gigantic, huge, emotional episode… And then the second episode I did, 305, was so action-oriented. It was like four episodes in one because we had Rick going insane after Lori dies, then we had Michonne and Andrea’s story, and then we had Merle, and then we had the arena fights, and then we had the walker pits. 305 was really, really exhausting.

Q: Their eyes are haunting—how do you get them to look so dead? 
A: The eyes are the biggest visual cue. Contact lenses mute the color and the life out of them. We have 60 sets of contact lenses that have each been hand-painted. We design new lenses every season because the eyes become more dead-looking and cloudy.

Q: Are there any zombie special effects you’d be afraid to do?

A: The zombie baby thing, in our world, is tricky — they did it in the Dawn of the Dead remake, and they did it pretty well. I think kids and babies would be the first ones to be eaten because they’re more vulnerable and defenceless. It’s a little harder to imagine that they would have survived long enough to become a walker.

Q: How long does the whole process take? 

A: We have an assembly line of four artists that can finish 40 to 50 zombies in an hour. The first makeup artist shadows around the eyes and cheekbones, the next person does a lighter color over the highlights to accentuate the bone structure, the next person splatters blood, and then the last person puts conditioner in their hair.

Q: Speaking of blood, there's a lot of it. 

A: We go through 30 gallons of fake blood every three episodes. There are two kinds of blood: thick blood for dressing the set and thin blood for the gags—so it sprays. We use KY Jelly to thicken the blood. We also soak nylon stockings in blood and glue them into wounds to look like torn muscle and flesh. We usually clean out CVS and Rite Aid wherever we shoot.

Q: How do the actors react to the makeup? 

A: The walkers sit together during lunch. The bloodier they are, the less people want to sit next to them. I sit with them, and people will look at me like, How can you eat your lunch across from somebody with half a face?

Website references: 
http: //www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead/crew/greg-nicotero-co-executive-producerspecial-effects-make-up-designer
http://www.allure.com/beauty-trends/blogs/daily-beauty-reporter/2014/10/walking-dead-zombie-makeup.html

The Walking Dead Make-up/Hair Artists

Setting Moodboard & Colour Palette

The mood board shows that the scenes Claudia/Mrs Laderman would be in would take place in Claudia's apartment - an European styled apartment, that features Kitsch decor, which is located within Georgia, USA. However, it would be quite messed up and ruined where the walkers may have entered and where Claudia has been creating different hiding places.

Mrs Laderman Moodboard & Colour Palette

Claudia Moodboard & Colour Palette

Creating Mrs Laderman

• Mrs Laderman is Claudia’s neighbour/friend BUT has recently turned into a walker.
• Claudia is aware of the danger of Mrs Laderman, but cannot bring herself to kill her because of everything she has done for her. Claudia watches and keeps an eye on Mrs Laderman from her apartment.
• Mrs Laderman will be a zombie - need to consider special effects (cuts/scars/blood/bruises), ripped clothes, messy hair, etc.
• Mrs Laderman may not necessarily change the demographics of the show because there are already many zombies in their 40s, but specifically females may want to see what happens to Claudia & Mrs Laderman’s relationship, e.g. does she have to kill her?

Key word = ‘Taste’

• Taste refers to the sensation of flavour perceived in the mouth and throat on contact with a substance.
• I have chosen taste because this is Mrs Laderman’s one and only desire now that she is a zombie - she wants to eat the living humans.
• This actually inspired me to investigate why zombies are always portrayed to eat the living… There is no official explanation, but some suggest the undead feel the need to feed on the brains of the living because it somehow made them feel better by easing their pain. Others say zombies eat brains and guts because of the high levels of serotonin they contain, OR to replenish their blood lost - Zombies need to eat fresh humans at an constant rate so they do not dry up and rot?
•  I now need to research zombies in detail and what special effects are the most effective, or even what techniques are used specifically in The Walking Dead

Creating Claudia

• Claudia is going to fit in the series by being one of the last survivors amongst the town - she has been hiding in her apartment the whole time
• The setting will inform/affect Claudia because she will have already been a great ordeal (throughout the previous 3 seasons) which means that she is constantly on edge, but at the same time, she is a very strong person, e.g. when it comes to killing any walkers

• Her physical appearance will be quite natural, drained and dirty, because she has much more important things to worry about rather than how she looks…
• She will also have a few bruises, cuts and scars due to all of the injuries she has encountered, ranging from old faded wounds to brand new ones, since there are always zombies nearby, so she is constantly getting hurt
• Claudia will be a girl in her early 20s, therefore she will directly relate with some members of the audience, and she will have recently suffered the loss of a loved one, so some people may be able to sympathise/empathise with her

Key word = 'Awakening'

• Awakening refers to waking from sleep OR an act or moment of becoming suddenly aware of something. 
• I chose this word because this is specifically what she wants to avoid - she does not want to “wake” the walkers, or make them aware that she is there.
• Inspired me to investigate other films about similar concept, e.g. World War Z, Shaun Of The Dead, and even Warm Bodies - all films where people are trying to avoid making themselves known to the zombies/corpses, or trying to avoid being bitten/caught, so that they do not wake up as a zombie themselves.

• I see Claudia hiding in her apartment, trying to avoid any walkers, and killing any that find her, however she is also constantly keeping an eye on her neighbour… 
• Claudia will appear exhausted and on edge - she will be wearing quite casual clothes that are dusty, ripped and worn out, due to everything she has been through (fighting off walkers/no real sleep)

I now need to develop the make-up, hair, and styling of Claudia... 

The Walking Dead Audience Demographics

The Walking Dead has quite broad demographics - the majority of the audience ranges from 18-49. 

I think the reason why this appeals to so many people is because there is something for everyone to identify with, whether it is age, sex, ethnicity, the relationships they are experiencing, etc. 

However, I feel that the main reason viewers become so attached to the programme is because you become involved with each and every main character, and the situations that they are going through; you become very sympathetic, or in some cases, even empathetic.

With the focus on humanity instead of horror, The Walking Dead tells a zombie apocalypse tale that's relatable, and it just makes you feel privileged and thankful that you are not in their position.

I think the twists and surprises involved in the show keep the audience intrigued and watching; once you start, you cannot stop, no matter what age you are. You just assess the situation and wonder if that is what society would actually be like, should a zombie apocalypse happen… 

My Chosen TV Series...

I have chosen the The Walking Dead

There are several reasons for this:

• It evolves - the show appears to have gotten better as time goes on, and I definitely did not lose interest. 
• It's not necessarily about the zombies - the zombies are a set piece, but it's about how humans react when their humanity is stripped from them. The zombies are a metaphor, if not always a clear one, in addition to being a cool, terrifying element of the show.
• It has great characters - you feel you are emotionally involved with virtually every character within the show, which is quite an achievement considering how many characters come and go throughout the series’ .
• It's unpredictable - it tells a story whilst having high stakes, making it a unique viewing experience for dedicated viewers, and there are a number of deaths which you do not see coming
• It cares about its credibility - Zombies do not exist, but the show makes you believe they could and it doesn't seem that far from a possible truth. 
• I like the thought of creating a zombie-like character -  the “walkers” look real as they stumble through the woods and murder main characters. If you pay close enough attention, you can actually notice that the walkers look more and more decrepit with each passing season as they age and starve, as there are a smaller amount of people left to feast on.

Gender In Horror

Women
Women are normally murdered for indiscretions and rule breaking, but after years of playing screaming victims, women in today's horror TV series/films depict something much more scary - repressed female anger... 

http://www.wallpaperup.com/29375/dark_horror_fantasy_gothic_vampire_women_face_blood.html

Female Horror Archetypes:

• Sex crazed bimbo
• Badass babe
• The smart one
• The bitch
• The invisible one
• The witch
• The postmodern 
• The final girl, e.g. in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Scream, Saw II, etc.

"The viewer begins by sharing the perspective of the killer, but experiences a shift in identification to the final girl partway through the film." - Carol J. Clover, 1992. Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film

Blondes:

• Slashers tend to prefer blondes
• Different types of blonde - dumb/evil/innocent 

"Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints." - Alfred Hitchcock

Men

• Men are the expendable gender
• Men are neither supposed nor allowed to be dependent - they are expected to take care of others & themselves, when they can't/won't the assumption is that they are somehow less than men and therefore unworthy of help

Double Standards: Abuse - Female on male

• It's humorous?
• Retribution 
• Women aren't really strong enough to harm a man/can only be a weak man
• Men have done something really bad to be injured by a woman
• Women would only resort to violence when necessary 

The Attraction To Horror

• Temptation to play God?
• The possibility of salvation
• The opportunity to see things that are taboo
• Affinity with the monster within us all
• Addressing mans inhumanity to man
• We like to be scared... 

Target Audience 

• 14-35 year olds
• Male
• These teenagers & young adults want an adrenaline rush from being fearful of something/someone

The New Demographic

• The biggest and still growing demographic is women
• E.g. the demographic for The Walking Dead is 18-49

Horror is a great vehicle for this demographic because...

• It has a limited amount of ideas to be explored
• It often features metaphors for life
• It offers cautionary tales (horrific consequences of the actions of the protagonists)
• It explores social commentary
• It explores fear of the unknown
• It explores awareness of our own mortality and death (and our own attempts to cheat it)

Contemporary horror characters are indicative of postmodern society - antiheroes (they do bad things but for good reasons, therefore the audience forgives them). They tend to:

• Be confused & conflicted 
• Lie
• Be tough
• Not be graceful
• Have eccentricities 
• Function outside the mainstream & challenge it

Vivienne Westwood 2013 A/W London FW Interpretation

Vivienne Westwood - Red label 'Kabuki Diva'

Make-up artist: Val Garland

“Val created a look for the show which was inspired by Catherine DeNeuve in Belle De Jour and Helmut Newton images. The look was avant garde and really graphic. We outlined eyes and lips with mac black or white acrylic paints. We then painted eyes and lips in bold primary colours – reds, yellows, blues and greens using mac chromoline and mac acrylics. Each model had a unique makeup look.”

• Dramatic tendencies 
• Outlined the face with kabuki features, then filled in the spaces with acrylic paints in primary tones 
• Models nails airbrushed with rosy paint that extended up the fingers 
• Hair - reference to Madonna's strong & empowering image - showed off a super sexual & glamorous vibe 

  

  https://cdn.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/styles/article-inline-half/public/blogs/75174/2013/09/132821-132458.jpg?itok=NRaGItoG

My interpretation:
I used the Kryolan Supracolor palette to create this look

One problem I encountered when creating this look is that whenever the model opened her eyes, the make-up actually printed onto the eyelid/smudged, so I had to keep trying to correct it

I actually found creating this look quite difficult because I wanted it to be fairly precise but it had a fairly messy look/feel to it, which I am not used to trying to achieve...

The look actually changed depending on the model, because in this case, my model's eyebrows blended into the design and made it look different due to the colour and bold shape they were. After researching the concept, I think the model probably wouldn't of had purple eyebrows because this skews the concept, since purple is not a primary colour. 

Introduction to Claudia, Quentin and Mrs Laderman

Claudia

Claudia is a girl in her twenties. As a child she was left alone to develop with little parental guidance and through her relationship with T.V. movies developed an unhealthy relationship with Horror films, believing this to be the way life really is.

All the scenes take place in various parts of Claudia’s apartment, which is European in style with
a great deal of kitsch décor. She is agoraphobic and is kept in touch with the outside world by her neighbours who provide her with her every day requirements.  She models herself on a variety of girls often twisting her look to suit whichever film she is watching at the time and there is often
a nod to the main character in the current film within her appearance.

The script portrays her as psychotic and there is always the feeling that although her character is scripted/can be seen as humorous, danger is just around the corner.   However all this is normal to Claudia and she is of a cheerful disposition in this mad world of hers.

Quentin

Claudia has an imaginary boyfriend, Quentin, who is long suffering and a constant disappointment to her. They don’t live together but he visits regularly and they talk on the telephone if he can’t get in to see her. As he is part of her imagination his appearance changes to suit her mood. Sometimes he will be a David Beckham looking guy, whilst in another scene he will appear as a Pete Docherty type, Daniel Craig type or a Hollyoaks Babe. If she is having a bad day he will morph into an uncouth couch potato chav with all that brings with it.

He is as into the horror film genre as she and into role-playing to suit her whims and moods.

Claudia has a paranoid suspicion that he is constantly having affairs behind her back and keeps him firmly under her thumb, sometimes restraining him or keeping him prisoner in one of the rooms. 

Mrs Laderman

Claudia’s neighbour in her 40’s. She alternately changes into a variety alter egos and is Claudia’s friend and confidant. Living in the apartment opposite, she was Claudia’s only link to the outside world. Although they are friends there is suspicion that Mrs L’, has designs on Quentin. In fact she has designs on Claudia.

Evaluation Of My Final Assessment (Miss Havisham Continuity)

Overall, I was actually quite proud of how the 2 looks compared to each other - I think they looked very similar and I felt there was no obvious differences between the 2. As a whole, I think the make-up continuity was slightly better than the hair, because I feel the make-up is almost a perfect match, whereas the hair has very subtle slight differences, but it is very difficult to determine how the hair actually falls, but I feel that the actual styling of the hair is pretty much the same. 

The main difference that I realise as I look through the images is actually the headband; in some comparisons between the 2 images, the flowers are in a slightly different place, or the headband is slightly lower down or higher up than in the other image. Therefore this has taught me a key lesson, which is that accessories are just as important as the actual make-up and hair styling. 

In all of the images below, the one on the left is the first time I created the look, and the one on the right is the second time... It is key to note that the lighting is slightly different between the 2 (the 2nd time the images were slightly brighter), thus the make-up may look slightly different, but it should not affect it to a large extent. Although, on a film/TV set, this would not be my job to control the lighting and cameras, therefore this problem would not occur. 

Initially, my first thoughts when I was given the brief was that there was little room for individuality and creativity when creating the Miss Havisham character, and I thought that everybody's outcome would be very similar. The reason for this is because the Victorian's had a very clear idea of what was desirable and what was bad in terms of hair and beauty, e.g. you wanted long hair, and very natural but flawless looking make-up. However, as time went on, throughout the project I realised that this was not the case, and that depending which part of the book you decided to create your Miss Havisham character from, meant that the outcomes were actually very diverse, and this meant that the brief was actually quite flexible. Therefore, I enjoyed working to this brief because it gave you steady guidelines and boundaries, but it allowed you to put your own spin and style on your character design. 

I feel as though my hair styling has continued to improve throughout this project and it has allowed me to expand my knowledge about the history of hairstyles in different eras. Furthermore I definitely feel that I could recreate an early Victorian hairstyle in a heartbeat, due to how many times I have created one throughout this project! 

I believe my make-up application has improved quite a lot throughout this project and that I am now feeling more confident and comfortable as a make-up artist. The main turning point where I felt my design came together was when I invested in the extremely thin paintbrush to create the wrinkles - I feel that from then on my application became neater and 'sharper' and I became more concentrated and involved in the project. 

Overall, I have actually quite enjoyed the project as a whole, and it has definitely taught me about the importance, as well as the difficulty, of continuity when you are a make-up artist/hair stylist.