DO YOUR BEST TO LOOK YOUR WORST

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "DO YOUR BEST TO LOOK YOUR WORST"

Amie Brooks
5 years ago
Views:

1 DO YOUR BEST TO LOOK YOUR WORST In this guide you'll find some great ideas to get you started on the road to Zombiedom, and some suggestions to inspire you in your choice of costumes and Zombie Make-up, which between us, is all you really need, along with last week's laundry. 1. Find some clothes you can live without and destroy them. Then add blood to the collar, cuffs, and anywhere else you can reach. 2. Mess up your hair as much as you can. Shake baby powder into it, and stick in a few twigs and leaves. 3. Skin Greyish White / Eyes Black / Mouth - Bloody. One of the things that makes this event so much fun is that the costumes are easy to make, once you get the hang of thinking Zombie. The best Zombie costumes are the "Who was I?" type. The trick is to imagine what you were doing at the moment that your Zombie life began, and what happened to cause it. Prom Queen / King Librarian Tennis Player Groom / Bride Disco Dancer Nurse / Doctor Office Yuppie Electrician Pirate / Pirate Wench Biker / Biker Chick Cheerleader Scuba Diver Boy / Girl / Kid Disney / Fantasy Football Player Escaped Convict Soldier / Commando Superhero Girl / Boy Scout Fire Fighter Nun / Priest Pilot / Flight Attendant Musician Punk Skater / Rocker

2 PROFESSIONS Ever noticed how in zombie films the zombies are always in uniform? This could just be because of an excess of old costumes in production company storerooms, but we think there's more to it. This is really key to your whole zombie persona. If you have a set costume you open up huge possibilities for imaginative causes of death, extra props, and face it, it looks cool to be dressed as a zombie cop. So here we ll try and outline some of the main characters you may have thought of, with some pros and cons, as well as a few that might not occur normally Doctor: Doctors work with evil implements Potential for zombie-causing virus / infection Goes well with nurse / patient for pairs of zombies Cop: Cause of death can be gunshot wound - good for FX makeup Fireman: Burns are a great makeup effect Fire axes good cause of death Bride: Costume has great initial 'wow' factor Blood looks great on white dresses Sports Player: Often have uniforms to hand. Cheap in stores Some great props - hockey sticks, NFL padding, tennis racket Businessman: Can be hard to tell the difference Can blend in to a crowd, people give you funny looks on the subway All you need is a white jacket. Stethoscope optional Good prop potential - handcuffed to disembodied hand for example Uniform not too easy to do cheaply Ladies like the uniform :-) Even in thrift stores, second hand dresses can be very expensive ($50 and up Lots of exposed skin (legs, arms) for protruding bones etc... Amusing cause of death potential - office stationery is easy to embed in prosthetics

3 HOW YOU DIED Here are some questions to ask yourself to help advance your zombie character and cement in your head what the costume should look like. You should hopefully know who you were. This may or may not have a bearing on why you died. If you have a strong look to your character, especially in a field with plenty of plausible props for inventive deaths, you will likely want to kill them off that way. This will partly also depend on the costume you've chosen. Unless this is late in the zombie apocalypse then you will be unlikely to be both rotten and dressed in uniform. If you want to opt for the long-dead look, you will need to apply the rotten look to all exposed flesh. Clothes should be torn and muddy, and additions of maggots/worms to anywhere and everywhere are always fun. Cause of death in this case doesn't have to be obvious, although it can if you want. A good choice if you want limited prosthetics as it can be done with just makeup, but also plenty of opportunity to do interesting rotten effects too. You could have been one of the first waves of the mobile deceased, in which case your cause of death can be anything. This is particularly good for heavily themed costumes...you just had a javelin accident for example, then happened to come back to life. If, on the other hand, a zombie killed you, you would expect at the least a bite mark or two. Preferably chunks removed, missing limbs, and any cranial trauma is likely in their never-ending quest for brains. Whether a zombie bit you or not segues nicely into the final character decision you'll have to make.

4 WHAT TURNED YOU INTO ONE OF THE WALKING DAMNED? Some films skirt around the issue. Some attempt to attach a morality tale to it. Others address it firmly with nice solid answers from scientists in white lab coats. Why are the dead coming back to life? Here are some of the main causes of zombie outbreaks, which may help add ideas for costume additions. A favorite of the cheesy Italian horror of the 70s, radiation causes a particularly brainless and hungry zombie, with green ooze. Plenty of ooze. The original zombies, in the historical sense, would be the product of Haitian voodoo. Be it the mystical powers of the shaman or a cocktail of dubious Haitian powder slipped in the drink of a meddling American. If you are stuck for the mysterious cause, just put it down to cosmic rays / aliens, or something extraterrestrial. It's not unlike the radiation, often causing excess use of green ooze, but carries less morality tales about the dangers of advanced science and man's hubris. A particularly popular one for the less credulous audiences of modern horror, viruses seem to have created some extra genre clichés. Gone are Romero's shambling zombies, and in come the sprinting wailing zombies. But are they zombies or just a bit poorly? This gives great potential for nasty looking skin. Pustules are good, anything evoking the Black Death. Drinking it. Swimming in it. Just spilling it accidentally. There are some nasty oozes out there, and they'll make a zombie out of you before you can wail braaaains in an expression of your everlasting unquenchable thirst for human flesh. Once again, plenty of potential for green slime, and if you're being a zombie at night, some glow in the dark on the clothes is a nice touch.

5 Morality tales again. This is tied somewhat to the voodoo powders, but more of the Columbian marching powder variety. Take drugs and you'll become (more of a) zombie. Best not to use props for this one in public if you don't want a night at her majesty's pleasure. Some canny filmmakers don't need the obvious symbolism of drugs and foreigners to attach their great doses of cautionary tales about the downfall of modern society. The zombies are the symbolism. Geddit? Perhaps as good a cause as any other, but not so good for adding anything to the costume. A good cause for a scientist theme though, you were trying to discover the cause but got that bit too close to Bub NOW that you have figured out 1 ) Your Zombie Character and Profession; 2 ) How You Died; and 3 ) What Turned You Into One Of The Walking Damned it s time to plan for your makeup! If you will be doing your own makeup, be creative and follow the suggestions in this guide. If you decide that you need a little bit of help, we ve got you covered. Every year we have a team of makeup professionals on the day of the event available by appointments ahead of time. Appointments usually start around 11:00 am and finish by 3:00 pm. The cost for a Basic Zombie makeup is $100 MXN. The cost for a Basic Catrina makeup is $200 MXN. The cost for Special Effects makeup / Prosthetics varies ($300 MXN to $500 MXN) depending on the complexity involved. All fees are donated directly to this year s charity, because the makeup artists volunteer their time and talents to ensure you look ghoulish for our Thrill The World event! The following page provides you with an idea of the different types of makeup. You can ask any and all makeup questions to our makeup coordinator, Zombie Donald who is available at every rehearsal to answer your questions.

OPEN ON TEXT MATCHING VO AS HE SPEAKS: VO What s the best way to kill a zombie?

OPEN ON TEXT MATCHING VO AS HE SPEAKS: VO What s the best way to kill a zombie? RALEIGH STUDIOS OPEN ON TEXT MATCHING AS HE SPEAKS: The following video was created for educational purposes and is intended for mature audiences and/or Georgia teenagers. It contains some graphic violence,