Day 436

(Technically: 583)

Shot some pick-ups today. Now, we are finally done shooting!

We met at Times Square, where it was really cold and gray, but thing warmed up as we went through the day, getting to about 65 degrees and sunny by the time we got down to Washington Square Park.

Alex our main zombie was great to work with, as usual, bring his very physical acting style to the role as he stalked tourists in the park.

We also met up with Danielle to do a few quick shots out in Brooklyn. The scenery around our first location has been cleaned up considerably, with a lot of the graffiti now gone, alas.

But it was a great shoot, with just me and Richard working the production end and after a quick session with Kristy yesterday, I was able to handle all the make-up by myself.

(Unfortunately, this is the only photo we have of Danielle today).

Once again, I want to thank everyone who helped out with the principal photography and the pick-ups. Now my goal is to finish a final edit by the end of the month.

Day 411

(Technically: 558)

Meeting with Richard Trammell, our Director of Photography, about planning a few pick-up shots in the coming weeks. Alex Demers, our main zombie, will be back in New York soon and I want to get some more shots of him throughout the city.

I am very close to completing the cut. My initial hopes was to find an editor, but I had so much fun just doing it myself. As much as I hate putting my name everywhere in the credits, I have to take the proper credit for the work I did: Written, Produced, Directed, Edited, Sound Designed, Fundraised, Marketed, and Distributed by George Westberg.

...Okay, that just sounds stupid.

Last year around this time we were gearing up for our Night of the Drinking Dead fundraiser at MJ Armstrong's here in New York City. Once these few pick-ups have been completed -- hopefully by the end of April -- we will have a final edit and begin the 3-month sound design process, during which time I am hoping to do some more fundraising for our post-production budget. We have a few ideas, and it looks like this summer will be the best time to do it.

Day 353

(Technically: 500)

(500) Days of Zombies.

Still editing a bit here and there, waiting for the weather to warm up a bit in order to film a few extra shots throughout the city. Also writing a letter to Sony Records to ask permission to use "Everybody's Talkin'" in NYZ. It's a long shot, but I figured it'd be best to ask just to see. There's always Plan B -- getting somebody to write an original song, which wouldn't be so bad.

This Friday all of us from Yemane's Advanced Production Workshop 2009-10 are having a reunion to catch up and check out each others' movies. After all this time working on the scripts in class, it'll be so nice to finally see everyone's films in their semi-finalized form. Plus Eric has promised to send some animation from USC. Looking forward to it!

Day 228

(Technically: 372)

Met with Yemane yesterday. He had been out of the country filming a documentary all summer, so it was great to sit down and chat with him about the progress of NYZ. As always, he had great advice of where to go forward from the rough cut, namely trying the Monday Night Faculty Screenings that he runs along with a few other NYU professors to watch students' rough cuts and give feedback. This Monday is booked, but we'll see if the next one isn't filled up yet.

Also working on the re-shoots+pick-ups, which we hope to complete before the end of the month, because autumn is fast approaching and it would be ideal to make it look like it did last April when we shot the rest of the film.

Day 221

(Technically: 365)

Pre-Production officially began one year ago today, with the first day of class where we pitched our project ideas in the hopes of getting the coveted allotments. How nerve-racking, how young, full of cautious optimism, blissfully unaware of the trials that lied before us...

Now, one year later, (not in DC Comics time, mind you), we have returned to school to finish NYZ, which is currently undergoing its second rough cut, hopefully getting towards a fine cut in the next month or so.

While one shooting day was affected by rain, forcing us to postpone that scene to a later date, there are other spots that the rough cut has brought to light that need tweaking, so a few pick-ups are currently being planned as well as the scene we need to re-shoot. And now that we know how it all fits together, we know how to best utilize the time to make the final pieces fall into place. For now, courage.

Day 197

(Technically: 341)

28 Weeks Later

We have a rough cut of "NYZ" assembled. I've just been doing it myself for now, and will be looking for an editor to come along and actually do a proper edit, since as the director I am a little attached to it and could use an objective pair of eyes to help.

I've been in Seattle for a week for a little break, and I got the chance to visit my old high school today to stop by and screened the rough cut to the high school kids in the video program. Got some good feedback, and we had a very thorough discussion afterward where the students offered some great notes on how to make it better. We'll most likely be doing some a pick-up shoot sometime soon to fix a few continuity problems as well as a way to improve transitions between scenes and adding to the storyline.

Speaking of things that won't die...

I know vampires suck, but really...? Do we really need this?

Day 85

The Sixth (and Final) Day of Filming.

Today we shot at Todman, and it was just me, Richard, Sam, Eric, Monica, and Kristy filming the scenes with the Police Storyline.

And now, we are officially wrapped with principal photography!!!!!!!!!

We'll have to re-shoot some scenes that we lost to rain on Wednesday, but other than that, we're pretty much done! Tomorrow is the big return day!

Day 84

The Fifth Day of Filming.

Today was by far our busiest day, with so many set-ups and scenes to cover with dialogue. I'm so grateful Richard came aboard to shoot this project so late in the game, considering how he hadn't seen the locations or any rehearsals, so he's been operating kind of on the fly, and he's been doing a fantastic job. I just wish I had more time to prepare to give him more to work with.

We wrapped up most of the characters today in the Hipster Story Arc, and tomorrow is just a few short scenes at Todman for the Zombie/Cop Story Arc. I'm really excited to have a relaxed flow as opposed to today's incredibly tight schedule.

Our reluctant heroes:
Tomorrow's our last official day of principal photography! We may have to re-shoot a bit of a scene we lost to rain last Wednesday, but other than that, "NYZ" will be officially wrapped!

Have a good night!

Day 83

The Fourth Day of Filming.

Today was a good day. After the long, audacious shoot last night, it was good to have a shorter day, actually during the day. We shot in Sam's apartment, where we filmed pretty much all the heavy-duty stunts today, coordinated by the legendary Drew Leary with me as a zombie.

Early start tomorrow, since it's our biggest day. Till then!

Day 82

The Third Day of Filming.

Rough start to the day. Everything was going fine up until we couldn't find a space to park out in front of Palladium on 14th Street, so we pulled around to the 13th Street entrance. However, in doing so, we ran over a few potholes and popped the front tire.

We called Budget, to see how long it would take to get someone to replace the tire, and Roadside Assistance wasn't going to be there for an hour and a half. And, to add insult to injury, the van battery died on us, and the Roadside Assistants couldn't give us a jump. And the nearest guy Budget could send was in Jersey. Another hour and a half away!

So, that put us back three full hours, and what was supposed to begin at 5pm was now pushed back to closer to 8:30 or 9pm.

A lot of running around, going to Hand Held to check out extra equipment for the nighttime scenes we just shot involving extras to play the walking undead.

A bunch of wonderful people came out to join the zombie ranks for the night, and I want to thank them all!

And check out these awesome pictures of our zombie horde:
You guys rock!

Day 81

The Second Day of Filming.

The day began fairly well, despite being upstaged by Obama at Cooper Union Square just a few blocks away, awash in cops cars, sirens and news vans. It made navigating traffic a bit trickier than it should have been, but not too bad.

We shot in Washington Square Park today, where we shot the first two scenes of the movie as part of the Manhattan Storyline. We had a bit of a rain delay for about a half hour, but it cleared up and everything went pretty quick.

Despite the rain, and a loud obnoxious disruptive woman named Star Luna, we wrapped early and got all the shots I wanted! Overall, today was a pretty damn good day!

After downloading the footage at Tisch, I grabbed a quick bite to eat at Delion and then headed over to Montrose Ave in Brooklyn, where I met with my actors from the Hipster Storyline to go over some blocking at Sam's apartment. Everything went really well and I'm riding an endorphin rush at the moment.

Tomorrow is our big, most intense day of the whole shoot: the Zombie Walk, where we're hoping to get some people to be zombie extras starting at 7pm near the East River State Park on North 8th Street and Kent Ave.

Sorry, but I don't have any pictures to put up today, but rest assured, there will be plenty tomorrow documenting the whole Zombie Walk in its full glory!

Day 80

The First Day of Filming.

We just finished our first day of shooting! "NYZ" is now officially in-production!

Check out the first official picture, featuring Jim and Morgan at Stuyvesant Square:


After a lot of running around this morning, going to Budget Truck Rentals, Hand Held Films, Inc., and then to Tisch to pick up the rig.

Special thanks to Rockwell's for providing today's burgers and wings! And thanks to Alexis for picking it up! And Catrin, our first zombie:

Tomorrow we shoot in Washington Square Park! Day Two!

In other related Zombie News...

A great video on how to deal with the guy who's clearly hiding a zombie bite.