You may be wondering what I did during the month of June. Well, I spent half of it vacationing in Colorado. Check out my blog about it here:
Last Saturday I spent the day running from zombies. It was about 97° outside (low for the Phoenix area at this time of year). The flies and gnats were relentless and there was little shade. Part of the time I ran desperately through sand and ash and part of the time I ran on a seemingly endless road. I felt as if the zombies were always gaining on me. My lungs burned more with every breath and my heart was racing. My legs ached and my feet no longer had the strength to land where my mind wanted. I don't know how I found the strength to move on.
Luckily, I only had run far enough to remain in view of the camera.
I was running from zombies for Ryan Tree's music video. A couple of months ago, I played cello for the acoustic version of his song, "White Lights," and last weekend I was playing the role of the adult female in the video for the full version of the song. It was really fun experience. I can't wait to see what the final video looks like! Below are some shots I took of the day:
The lead zombie in the video. I love the contacts he used. They really make the look!
Some time-lapse shots that Ryan took of the zombie make-up process.
Lidia Win, the make-up artist for the video, working her magic on the second zombie.
We were all fascinated by the "drool" coming off her chin in this stage of the make-up.
The finished product.
Lidia being attacked by her creations!
One of the filming spots was an area where a fire had previously happened. It gave the area a nice eerie look.
The director showing the child version of Ryan what he would be doing in the scene.
The younger version of Ryan and the zombie from the scene walking to get in place for the beginning of their shot.
If you look closely, you can see the camera helicopter that was used for aerial shots.
The younger version of Ryan mid-scene. The helicopter is also in this shot.
The zombie running after him.
Getting ready to film the final scene.
The structure we used to film the final scene. I don't actually know what this is. I tried to look it up, but I couldn't figure it out.
Ryan getting ready to shoot some zombies.
Me before the main zombie chase scene. I rubbed dirt all over my clothes and hugged some charred trees to look ragged enough. I also had some fun ripping holes in my shirt.
Zombie fight scene! This one isn't in the music video, but it just seemed like there should be a scene where Ryan hits a zombie with a guitar.
The third zombie. I had two running scenes with him. He was very dedicated to his part. He had to drop to the ground and die for many, many takes and did it perfectly every time.
Ryan getting ready to film a scene on the far hill.
We finished shooting the final scene of the music video just in time to catch the last bit of sun.
After the final scene, they decided to film some shots of Ryan playing and singing on top of the structure. I thought the lighting was very interesting here. My camera doesn't quite do it justice in the low lighting.
A collage Ryan made of the entire 3 day shoot. On the middle left you can see a picture of me and my "Mini-Me." Ryan is pictured with his "Mini-Me" along with the father figure from the video. On the upper left is another picture of Ryan getting ready to shoot some zombies. The upper right shot is from the third day of shooting and the bottom right shot is of the younger versions of Ryan and I from the first day.
The video should be finished in about a month. I'll post it here as soon as it's up!
