Spiked Zombie Head Mace!

It's finally done and I'm pretty damned happy with how it turned out.

I will at some point very soon be selling just one on ebay as part of the fundraiser. And I will be selling a limited number, probably 10, later in the summer on the website. Although if you're reading this and you just can't wait, feel free to email me about it. The price will be $150.00 CAD.

It takes a long time to create each piece, there's 10 in total. 8 spikes, the head and the staff. Right now I only have one mould for the spikes, so that's what makes it take a little long - I'll be creating about 3 moulds in for the future ones.

Each spike is embedded in a whole cut in the head, with a small amount of the foam removed, and where each part joins, it's given a coat with latex. That bonds them together really well - however I'm sure if you really want to destroy it you could - why you'd try, I don't really know.

It's about 45 inches long. The staff is 30 inches - and could be shortened for anyone who wants one, but wants a shorter staff.

A fibreglass rod is placed into the latex skinned mould as the polyfoam is expanding, so it's bonded with the staff really well. Enough of the rod is left extending from the staff and them the head is impaled in it, giving the whole piece some stability.

This specific finished piece only had one rod, so it's a little wobbly - however for the movie I think it just adds another level of campiness, so I'm happy with it. For any sold I'll use 2-3 rods to improve stability. Unless people like wobbly.

Painting took place over 2 days, about 3-4 hours in total I'd guess. I wasn't really keeping tracking. I  just used Monster Makers Latex Paint Base and some acrylic paints, works perfectly.

Also, I think for any retail versions, I'll allow for some customization, colours, spike placement, any damage to the head, blood splatter. I kept this one clean and free of damage since it's part of the movie and it will be getting bloody on it's own.

UPDATE: I'm selling one of these on ebay right now: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/111084065279?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

Latex Zombie Finger Puppet

Just turned the first one out and painted it up. Came out not too bad. It's just barely over 2 inches tall, made of latex rubber as the title would suggest, so if you have latex allergies I don't recommend it.

It's being added as part of the fundraiser for Moonshine of the Damned. For $10 you'll get this guy (shipping is $5 to Canada and the US), a thanks in the credits and a chance to win some props from the movie. Limited quantity of 10 being made, so don't wait too long.

The fit is actually customizable as well, but it can be done only once - it's not permanently adjustable, I just add more latex to the rim to thicken it to make it fit more snug on a smaller finger. So if you want one and you're buying it for someone specifically, like someone with smaller hands, I suggest if you want it to fit well (so it's not flopping around or falling off), you can measure the circumference of the largest finger on the hand, around the last joint (too small and your choices are limited of which finger it'll fit) and I'll do my best to fit it to that size.

To order, just send an email to:brains@themonkeyrodeo.com. Include your preferred payment method (Canada: Paypal or Email Interact. US: Paypal) and your address. They ship out as soon as they're made, which I'm doing right now.

Cthulhu Chess Set Concepts

This is one of those ideas I'm on the fence about, should I or shouldn't I? I want to do a Cthulhu themed chess set. Yes, it's been done before so I know I'm not being totally original here - but that's kind of beside the point I think.

I'm trying to suss out if it's worth the effort or has it been done to death? I'm looking at a limited 5 set edition cast in (most likely) Aqua-Resin, it gives a nice, almost unusual fake stone feel. Estimated price will be $350 and will include a fully sculpted and appropriately themed board as well.

I'm debating on the style. Realistic and slightly abstract have been done, both to very good results. I'm not looking to one up anyone, I just wanted to attempt more functional pieces. I'm not into chess, but I know plenty who are. So my thoughts immediately turned to "what would be the best style for this?" Are people looking for such an item more interested in a semi-realistic approach or would a cartoonish, somewhat Mike Mignola-esque take on Cthulhu be interesting enough?

My concepts are rough, I think the Cartoon version will have somewhat more detail and will also be fully painted with colour variations to represent each side, whereas the Realistic will just be simple light and dark variations with some minor antiquing to bring out the details.

I might, over the next couple weeks, actually sculpt both pieces and look at this again to see what opinions might be.

For those who think $350 is too expensive for something like this, I can't help but point out the sheer amount of work involved and expense of the materials. I won't be getting rich off this. I'm aiming for somewhere below the line of the serious collection (for which this would be easily affordable) and the higher end of the casual collector (those that might not be rich, but appreciate the work that goes into something like this). If I were to do just one set, I would charge way more, but I feel that a limited edition of 5 sets is more than reasonable.

I might also make a couple sets available cast in resin, without the board, to appeal to those with are really interested but feel the price is too out of reach. Don't know for sure, I'm open to opinions on this as well.

Basically, should I do or not? Is there already enough of this kind of thing out there? Is Realistic the way to go or perhaps some want to see a different, more Cartoon approach to it? After collecting a few opinions on pricing, I feel $350 is a very fair price for this - anyone else feel different? Just thinking out loud on this for the moment, it's very possible it won't even happen if I get enough negative feedback on the idea, I don't want to do something that there's no interest in - especially something that will require this much work.

Moonshine of the Damned, Production Journal #5

Today I did something I've never done before on a project. For Moonshine of the Damned, one of the "bimbos", Jobeth, is supposed to be something of a gun nut, or survivalist even, however the actor playing her, Ancelene, has never had any experience with guns. Last year when we shot I felt the whole experience might've been overwhelming, trying to act, remember lines and feel comfortable holding a gun - for someone who has never acted at all before at least.

So this time around, I wanted to change that. I had a friend of mine, Jeff Gillis, who works with the RCMP dealing with restricted weapons, take Ancelene out to a gun range and give her a very basic crash course in how to handle a gun, some proper shooting stances and allow her to actually feel what shooting a gun is like - to understand the recoil, rather than faking it without any knowledge.

Turns out she's a pretty good shot, her first shot would've dropped a live target, her second shot was pretty much a bulls-eye and she even made a couple long distance shots that surprised Jeff.

I kept trying to get a shot in motion shot, this was as close as I got.

This is what her target look liked after several rounds.

Most of the shots in the lighter blue area were hers.

In the end I think it was well worth the effort. My thinking was that even though we have one of the rednecks, John MacDonald, wielding a shotgun with a rather campy recoil reaction, that's something no one would really complain about, however I just had a nagging feeling that should Ancelene have done the same thing - it would've been the focus on many a negative comment. She's not certified trained now, not by any means, but she has a much better understanding and was actually interested in getting a firearms license after all this.


Next weeks update: severed body parts, progress on the Zombie Gator and a finished Spiked Zombie Head Mace.

Concept: Cthulhu Chessboard

This has been done a few times already, some are just the pieces from what I've seen, some a really good and some are just decent, so I doubt I'll be setting the world on fire with this idea but I'm looking to create a very limited edition Cthulhu themed Chess set along with a board.

Right now it's in the very, very early concept stage - there's nothing even on paper yet. I do know full well if I'm going to do it, it HAS to be awesome to hold up against the work already circulating out there. My basic idea is to do all the pieces, much like the others that have been done and to do a fully sculpted chessboard as well - I've spent more time concerned about the board than the pieces themselves at the moment.

So far I haven't seen anyone who has done a full board as well - but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, I just haven't seen it myself in all the searches that I've been done. I saw something that looked like a custom board, but it didn't really scream Cthulhu when I saw it, so it might have been totally unrelated and just used to show off the pieces.

It will be a non-traditional looking board, at least I'm hoping that'll be the case. The pieces will all be as uniquely styled as I can manage, using various Lovecraft creatures and my take on them - trying to keep them as close to any current ideas of how they should look as well.

I'm going to make 5 of them, cast in aqua-resin. I like the stone type feel of aqua-resin, it's feels more expensive than regular resin and actually is more expensive I believe. And if I can figure out the process, I've seen it done, 1 set in pewter - but it would be tinted pewter to make telling the side apart easier. The pewter set might not happen if I can't figure out some method of tinting, although I've seen other do it a quick search turned up nothing but a few images of it having been done. Nor do I really understand anything about the quality of tinted pewter, other than it does look nice.

The price would be expensive as well, based on the time spent, cost of materials and overall uniqueness of the final pieces and board as a sculptural piece of art, however I'm also trying to avoid overpricing. I did some looking around as well on what some others were charging, some I think were way too high considering the materials used were incredibly inexpensive, and some were very reasonable priced for the exact opposite reasons.

I'm looking for any feedback on the idea if possible. Has it already been done to death? how much is too much to charge? Is 5 sets a reasonable number for a limited edition? Concepts to avoid and ones to focus on that might not have been done yet by other artists? Anything would be appreciated at this point and I'll keep things updated as I work on the idea over the summer - I'm hoping to have them ready in the early fall.

Moonshine of the Damned, Production Journal #4

Lots of pictures this time around.

Things are progressing well on Moonshine of the Damned, we start shooting in a month, June 1st is the first shooting day - well, evening actually. There's been yet another massive round of changes, I think even from the last update. I've settled on a final incarnation of the script, one that had to incorporate certain difficult scheduling issues. All those issues have pretty much been resolved and now I've got a finished script, 37 pages down from 71.

Scheduling will start this week - that'll be fun. I've already got a rough schedule worked out, now it's just time to see what else goes wrong and if another rewrite or recasting session has to happen. It's been a troublesome project already, but I always feel like if pre-production is difficult than the shoot usually goes well. Something always has to go wrong and I'd rather it happen now when it's fixable than when it's too late and we're halfway through shooting.

Location scouting, while partially done, will start soon as well. I'm trying to simplify our locations so we're not running all over the Island. Luckily we don't need anything too crazy, we're just shooting in wooded locales and those a pretty plentiful around here.

So the biggest thing left to tackle are the special effects. While the fundraiser is still going for another couple weeks, I've managed to really narrow down the FX needs of the project without sacrificing my overall goal for them. Some single use pieces have been altered and for convenience (and safety) some will be CG - I wanted to stay away from CG as much as possible, but time and money was a concerned. A $100+ prop for a single shot use didn't seem reasonable.

The first big round of supplies cam in this morning from Sculpture Supply. Some various stuff from Smooth-On and Monster Makers - they pretty much make everything I use on a regular basis, I highly recommend their stuff, I've been using it for years now with very few problems or issues.

The Zombie Gator. I've been looking forward to this prop for so long now. It's the biggest thing I've every sculpted and attempted for something like this. It won't be ultra-realistic looking by any means, but that's not what I'm going for. I like my movies with a healthy side order of cheese, coated with melted cheese on a plate made of cheese...I think you get the point.

This here is the upside-down mould, secured together while the latex skin cures in the sun. Normally you'd use latex in an UltraCal 30 mould, however my intention was to originally do this as a urethane skinned prop - I've since made a lot of discoveries through experimenting and found latex was a much more reasonable solution. It's a little more work, but that's not an issue for me.

The latex should be pretty much cured by now, I'm writing this while it's sitting outside right now. I spent yesterday painting several layers on each mould part, assembled the mould and painted another layer of latex along the seams to make sure it's all one decently solid skin before I dump in the expanding foam. I'm really hoping I can get to this today.

A hand. Pretty simple. This was made from an alginate mould from my girlfriend Kim's hand. It'll be used as a stunt hand in the opening sequence, but I've since written a shot or two requiring some random body parts. If time and money permits, I may do couple more body parts.

Foam weapons. Same stuff as last year, I've just updated the method by which I'm finishing them. I have to make a new axe set since I sent the others off to another actor for him to do his shots. There'll be another sledgehammer made for a specific gory FX shot I'm looking forward to.

Here's a closeup of the sledgehammer head. I'm really happy with how it turned out. Last years sledgehammer was given a silver coating, I realized that was just a poor move as I wanted it to look old and used, this will just be given a quick fake rust treatment and it'll be all good to go for whacking zombies.

Finally, I thought I'd show off a couple more shots of this bad boy. I've still got a long way to go in understanding silicone masks. This one here had some really thin spots I tried to patch up as best as possible, but unfortunately this type of silicone, Eco-Flex 20, doesn't adhere to itself very well so patching and seaming was near impossible. Not that it really matters, it's just being used as a background zombie now and does make a decent prop to just have sitting around the workshop. Overall it was a good learning experience in sculpting, moulding and painting.

Up next on the FX list is to start the moulds for the few body parts I have planned and to get into sculpting the new round of zombie prosthetics I'll be making. There'll be a lot more unique, single use makeups this year, I don't want the zombies to look lazy and sloppy, that's not the point of why I'm doing this. I'm doing this to really showcase some of my FX abilities so nothing will be half-assed. The schedule has taken all this into account so I won't feel rushed to get zombie groups done in order to get things done quicker.

That's it for now, it's already been a busy morning getting things worked out and settled and now I need to take a quick break before getting back at it again.

Moonshine of the Damned, Production Journal #3

Very quick, slightly disappointing and at the same time a little relieved, kind of update.

There's been yet another massive change to the project - this will actually be the 4th big change. Due to the fact that scheduling has become near impossible at this point and face with either scrapping the project entirely or doing some drastic alterations to the script - I ended up shortening it to something a little more manageable.

The main point of doing this was to do a bit of an FX show off of some of the work I can do, that hasn't changed. There's still pretty much the same amount of FX in it as there was in the latest version of the full script (and still more actually than in the original script from last year), aside from a few full head makeup pieces - which I'm not upset about losing as they really presented another issue with time and scheduling.

It's been reduced down to the best elements, keeping all the more interesting and silly, campy moments that make it fun, the plot has been severely truncated a whole plot aspect had to be removed as it was just too complicated for something so short - and I guess it doesn't matter if I mention it now.

I was worried in the removal of this one aspect that the movie would fall back into the typical overdone category of zombie movies and it might have to some, but I think it's still got enough uniqueness to it that it will be pretty good. What was removed as the appearance of a character called Abassylar, the Devourer of Souls. Abassylar was a demon, that fed on souls obviously from the name. And his appearance was because of the sudden increase in disembodied souls because of the zombie outbreak - so the bimbo were also having to deal with this guy as well. But, he's gone because he was too complicated.

I'm aiming for a 30 minute short now instead of a 12 episode web series. I'm a little relieved as I was already feeling the stress and I'd really only a couple weeks into just scheduling things. But it's all for the best, short and sweet is sometimes better and the next update will be way more interesting.

Win a Spiked Zombie Head Mace!

I've been mentioning that as part of the Moonshine of the Damned Fundraiser that everyone who helps out gets a chance to win some zombie stuff. Well, I've finally settled on at least one of three possible prizes I'm planning on offering up.

The Spiked Zombie Head Mace is the first prop up for grabs. A limited edition version will be going online for sale later this summer for $150 (this could change slightly), so if you're like it, you got a chance to win this for only $10. Seems like a pretty reasonable trade.

The final prop will be made of polyfoam with a latex skin, it's pretty tough and durable under reasonable use - I wouldn't recommend repeatedly bashing a cactus covered with sandpaper and broken glass though. It'll have a carbon fiber rod in its core to give it some stability. The colouring will differ as well - but that can actually be your choice, as well as the number and even placement of the spikes jammed into the head.

How do you win it exactly? Well, if you hadn't noticed, I'm running a fund raising for a web series I'm doing. Head to www.themonkeyrodeo.com/BZK3 and it'll outline the various ways you can help out and later in the spring I'll be doing a draw to see who wins what stuff.

Some of the other possible prizes will be a bag of Severed Zombie Heads and a foam sledge hammer and hatchet combo or even a collection of body parts. I'll be making a final decision as the props are made and decide what would be most interesting.

If you're interested, you can also email me at brains@themonkeyrodeo.com for more information as well.

Moonshine of the Damned, Production Journal #2

Finally got a finished craft of the script - at least this latest carnation of it. I had added another character to help further complicate things and it seems to have worked pretty well so far. While I won't go into details since I'm trying to keep a lot of things in the series as under wraps as possible, but I will say this new character is called the Zombie Eater. Just another level of oddness to the plot.

It runs about 71 pages, I had hoped to trim it back a bit to make it shorter and easier to shoot, but I've cut back as much as possible without gouging into the story, so this could easily be stretched to a full feature length movie if I wanted - but I'm not too concerned about it for now. 71 pages it is.

In other news, I'm working away on some minor props and designing some makeups. Still struggling with the budget, so I've been working on finding ways of cutting back and doing things a little less expensively. One of the things I'm looking at trying is  making my own plaster bandages - in order to do the life casts, I think I have 4, maybe 5 to do, I'll need plaster bandages for the support shells of the alignate mould - however, that stuff is really expensive when you need the amount I do.

Normally just a single face mould isn't too bad, $20 or $30 usually does it. But I'm doing a full head and shoulder mould of up to 5 people...that's going to suck up a lot of money. So I'm hoping the medical gauze and plaster of paris technique I've been looking into will do it. I budgeted the using regular plaster bandages would have run me round $300, not looking forward to spending that much money on something that I can't reuse. The alginate I have no choice, but I'm fine with that.

As far as the other props go, I've got my Zombie Heads all set to go, just need more latex and polyfoam to crank out more. And while this wasn't written into the script, I feel I need to do this to add a little more flavour to some shots, so I'm making a few body parts. I've got a hand, that's need as a stand-in first and foremost, but I'm going to throw in a mangled up version in there somewhere as well. I'm looking at possibly doing a foot and maybe even a whole leg if the budget happens.

At lot of these props are just background stuff, not plot crucial.

Here's the Zombie Heads, at least 4 of them. I'm planning on making a whole lot more and eventually jamming them on pikes. The original one, the upper right, was painted somewhat more natural flesh colour, but the others I went with a greenish tone that I really like. There's a cartoonish quality to them I really like.

Another prop I did this week, a fake rock. Pretty simple stuff, but it was in the script and while not totally necessary to have done it in foam, I like to do things safe - a foam rock is way safer to have the actors waving around than a real one. If you're interested in how it was made, I did a post on that earlier this week: http://bureau51.blogspot.ca/2013/04/making-fake-rock.html

Clay hand. I didn't sculpt this entirely, it's from a life cast, I did need to clean it up a bit since the clay didn't settle properly in the mould leaving some gaps and ridges here and there.

And, I did up a quick concept for the Spike Zombie Head Mace for the series, I'm hoping to get this made as soon as possible, just need more supplies.

I'm hoping to get to doing some prosthetics sculpted this week, I'm doing some of the hero zombie characters and mostly likely starting with the Pale Zombie character.

Making a fake rock

Without a doubt the most boring prop I’ve ever made I think – at as far as descriptions go. There’s a short sequence in Moonshine of the Damned requiring some violence and a rock, so for safety’s sake we’re going fake

It was a pretty simple prop to make as well, finding the perfect rock was just as simple. It was in a pile by the car during a shoot last summer – so it wasn’t like I even had to hunt for one.

First thing I did was give it a bit of a cleaning. Most all of our rocks here are sandstone, not the easiest to clean – luckily this bad boy was granite – at least I think it’s granite, I’m not a geologist. Once it was all cleaned up I made a two part silicone mould – you’ll have to imagine that part, I didn’t take pictures because I didn’t think it’d be that interesting…and it might not be.

Once the mould was done I actually abandoned the prop once the web series was cancelled and only began thinking about it just recently. I had been making some other simple props and thought it was time to crank this out. It also helped that I finally had a handle on painting it.

It was easy enough to cast, but one thing to note about using Flex FoamIt, that I only found out last summer - I don't know how widespread this information is, but I didn't know this - the material, once cured, can sort of shrivel into itself, this can easily be fixed by crushing the piece, squeezing out supposed gases that cause the shriveling effect. So far it's worked well for me nearly 100% of the time.

So, here’s some pictures:

The mould, made of silicone with a support shell.

I bolted it together, seemed the simplest thing to do.

The original rock (left) and the unpainted soft foam rock (right).

The fake rock - the detailing is what helps it, even this doesn't look too bad.

 The original and the final fake rock. Didn't come out too bad.

And here it is, in all it's artifical geological glory. The Fake Rock.

So there you go, a fake rock. It's only needed in a very short sequence, but it's one of those thing that you might write in a script and not really think about how you'll accomplish it, let alone accomplish it safely. This is something I couldn't have done a couple years ago and now it's a completely simple process to create a tiny bit of movie magic.

Chances are when you see the scene it's in, you won't really think "How'd they do that?" Most people will just assume it was a trick camera angle, or some folks who don't really understand FX might even think it's CG - nope, it's a chunk of soft foam. It can be throw right at a person's head if needed and it'll be relatively safe - at least moreso than lobbing a real rock.

Technical Info: The whole thing was done using Smooth-On products. The mould was Rebound 25 with a Plasti-Paste II shell. The rock itself is made from Flex FoamIt V and painted using Monster Makers Latex Paint Base tinted with acrylic paints.

This isn't something I'll ever put on the website for sale, but if you've stumbled upon this and think it'd be a whole lot easier (since the mould is already made) to just buy one instead of making one yourself, feel free to send me an email. I reckon I'd sell it for about $25 - it's a bugger to paint decently and does take awhile. Email: foxhenderson@themonkeyrodeo.com.

Note about cost: Just an FYI concerning the cost of making one of these. It's not too bad, but even using the minimum quantities available of the products, you're looking at over $100.

Brain Keychain and Zombie Head Magnet Combo

I made these a while ago and really never did much with them, I decided to give them a proper paint job, gloss them up and now I'm going to offer up some Zombie Head Magnets for sale as part of the Moonshine of the Damned Fund Raiser.

The Brain Keychain and Zombie Head Magnet combo is being sold for $15, only 10 sets are available. The Zombie Head Magnet is made of the same resin as the Brain and given a gloss coating as well, and the magnet is a pretty strong as well.

Or, you can just get yourself a Zombie Head Magnet by itself for $10 as well, there's only 20 being made. They're all hand painted and the dye for the resin is mixed by hand as well, so there's a bit of variety to the colours, but I'm trying to keep them as close as possible - you can see they're all various shades of greenish though.

As usual, payments can be made through Email Interact and add $0.50 per item if you're using Paypal. Shipping in Canada is $15 and in the US is $10 - at least it should be, I haven't shipped on yet but they're close in size to the Brains and will ship in the same sized padded envelope - so I'm hoping for the best.

You can email me brains@themonkeyrodeo.com if you'd like one.

One Month to go on the Moonshine of the Damned Fundraiser.

I'm hoping we can raise the minimum amount needed by end of April, so we're putting a bit of push on this whole thing and hoping for the best. I was aiming for $2000, but I'm pretty sure we can pull it off  if we can raise another $1000 right now.

There's the official site:
www.themonkeyrodeo.com/BZK3

The Etsy Shop:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheMonkeyRodeo

Everyone who pitches in will get a thanks in the final credits and a chance to win even more unique zombie gear, some props created for movie, maybe t-shirts - we're still pinning that down. Also, this doesn't work like a typical Indiegogo or Kickstarter campaign, you place an order for any of the three items we have offered up and it'll be shipped out as soon as possible, no waiting until months after the project is over or if the project even succeeds.

And I feel I really need to point out that Moonshine of the Damned is not going to be just another zombie movie, far from it. I did a rant some time ago about how I'm pretty tired with zombie movies myself as about 90% of them don't even try to be vaguely original. They all follow the same tired plot outline, they think they can stand out by doing a "insert stereotype here" VS Zombies plot, or they find a new way to make zombies cute and likeable by making them the main character. The later isn't worn out just yet, but well on its way.

If you can't be unique, have some great writing. If you don't have great writing, at least have good effects. If you don't have good effects...why are you bothering? Now I can't say I've got a brilliantly written movie here, but it's not supposed to be - the feel of it is more like a 80s horror movie, it's meant to be fun and campy - not a gorefest necessarily - and it really does go beyond the expectations of a typical zombie movie. Far beyond I believe. And I won't say the FX will be outstanding, we've got a limited budget - but it will be fun to watch.

It's sort of more like a zombie movie with a touch of the 80s, mixed with a bit of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer approach in places with a hint of some Clive Barkeresque ideas rolling around. It won't be brilliant, it won't win an Academy award, it will be amusing and a little bizarre perhaps.

1st Official "Moonshine of the Damned" Production Journal

So, I figured it was about time to get to doing this, a production journal, diary, blog - whatever you want to call it.

I've been working away one several small parts of the series, trying to get it all to come together in time for our first scheduled shoot on June 1st, 2013.

Script:
The script is coming along really well. It's way more complicated and I think a lot more interesting than the original - which is really good, that means last year was worth it and cancelling was worth it. I'm hoping to wrap up a final draft of this current version this coming week, with the possibility of minor rewrites to clean things up over the next couple months.

Props:
The props are little different from last year as well, there's been a few new ones added, some changed and I've altered the production method and materials quite a bit to get the most out of what little budget there is. Over the course of the next couple months, I'll be sure to add some pictures and whatnot as this aspect progresses - there's going to be some interesting stuff being made.

Makeup:
This is the part of the whole thing that has be a little anxious. The whole series can be done without elaborate makeup, but that would be incredibly disappointing and don't want to have to cut this part back at all. There's lots of generic zombie makeup, false teeth, a few custom full head prosthetic appliances (this is the part that will get get depending on the budget).

Locations:
I haven't put a tremendous amount of thought into this yet as I'm waiting to get the script wrapped up and once that happens I'll start figuring things out and the locations will be soon to follow.

Cast:
There's been some major changes here. I've had at least one person have to drop out and replacing her has been a bit of a challenge. There's a lot of new parts I'm trying to get cast as well. And of course the zombies. I've mentioned this several times before, I believe, but the zombies are being handled much differently this time around and so far it feels like it's working - we'll see if that continues once we start shooting stuff.

Costumes:
I really want to work on this a little more than last time as well. Everyone was too clean last time, the rednecks are going to be pre-dirtied so they won't look too bright and shiny. And the girls will also be getting grimier over the course of the shoot (which I'm planning to do in order - hopefully that won't backfire).

I'm getting some donations of old clothes to better outfit the zombies as well, I'm hoping to avoid that "hacked up with scissors 5 minutes before the shoot" look - the clothes will be distressed and properly stained this time around. I want the zombies to feel a lot more filthy this time around, I wasn't happy with how they looked last time in this department.

If you're reading this and you live on Prince Edward Island or intend to be here this summer, and think you'd be up for coming out for a day to be a zombie, feel free to email me at casting@themonkeyrodeo.com

That's more or less where things are right now. I'm still trying to push the fund campaign, we've got nowhere near the budget needed to pull this off properly. I'm always looking for suggestions and any help in getting the word out, if you know of something that might work or have a blog or website and would be interested in helping out, please let me know - you can email me at foxhenderson@themonkeyrodeo.com.

Pile o' Zombie Heads

I have a long, long way to go for pre-production on Moonshine of the Damned, but it's kind of fun so far and a great learning experience. A lot of the props will be very efficiently  made - I won't say cheap, but efficient in terms of cost vs quantity vs needs. I'm find the latex skin polyfoam style props to be a really great way to crank out some very simple props.

My first major delving into this method was making the Shrunken Demon Head props while I was really happy with and I never gave it much thought as a method to do more - but that's all changed. There's going to be way more body parts than originally planned as using this method yields some decent and quick results. The moulding process is much cheaper than using silicone, the casting materials are also really affordable and go a long way - plus I'm get a lot more used to painting latex and experimenting with "adjusting" the final pieces.

I'm pretty sure I could almost do the same thing with other materials, such as silicone or urethane, but there's pretty expensive to just play around with. And to produce as many pieces as I'd like would be incredibly expensive, so latex and polyfoam it is. I don't know about the long term durability of these products, but I do have one of the Shrunken Demon Heads hanging in our front door getting assaulted by direct sunlight, so far it's just fine.

So here's what's become of the final Zombie Head props. They were once all normal and intact looking, the one in the upper right corner was the original, the other three have all had "battle damage" done to them to add a little variety and character to them.

Broken Jaw Zombie Head.

Axe Fight Zombie Head.

Original Zombie Head.

Shotgun Wound Zombie Head.

The Original Zombie also has a different paintjob, since then I've gone with a greener look, as it lends to the campier feel I'm going for with the web series. And if you saw some of the early images of the Shotgun Wound Zombie Head, it looks much "juicier" in the beginning, that has dulled a little with age - and could be the picture - but I will get getting some material that will add a permanent gloss to the bloodier spots on the heads. It might not be realistic since the heads would be dried out by the time they're found in the course of the series, but it does look good onscreen if they're a little shiny.

Now, if you've read through all this and you came here wondering about what I meant by "customization" when I refer to selling the limited quantity for the web series, this is all what I mean. Customization does have limits, basically anything I can remove from a single solid original head, holes for wounds, shotguns blasts, axes or what have you, can all be done really simply with a little re-sculpting with latex and cotton.

These pictures should give you a good idea of what I mean by customizing, but feel free to ask any questions should you want one. The main colour scheme can be altered as well, but if it doesn't turn out as awesome as you'd hoped when you ask for a blue zombie head, that's not my problem - so be careful what you ask for.

For more info on purchasing the heads (for the web series fund raiser) you can check out the website: www.themonkeyrodeo.com/BZK3.

First Zombie Eater Concept Sketch

The latest, and hopefully final, rewrite of the Moonshine of the Damned script sees the addition of a new antagonist, the Zombie Eater - himself an undying monster, cursed to consume the flesh of zombies. There's a lot of integral plot details surrounding the origins of the Zombie Eater are being kept secret until the series finally is finished - however, he's also the only new addition since last summers version of the script I can actually show or discuss without spoiling everything.

I don't have the patience to draw like I once did and as much as I'd love to do proper character sketches of some of the stuff I do, I just get bored with it so fast now once I start.

The character will involve a full head prosthetic, possibly some hand prosthetics as well. The sack he carries around will be filled with zombie heads, either as trophies or future snacks.

I'm hoping this addition to the script, as well as the other unmentionable ones, will set Moonshine of the Damned apart from being just another typical zombie movie.

Blown out Zombie Head

I've started work on making the Severed Zombie Head props unique looking, I can't have them all looking exactly the same with just a slightly different paint job - something a little more drastic was needed.

So I started with the base here, seen here next to the first painting attempt.

And he ended up like this. I went with a slightly greener colour this time around as well. What I did was simple cut the latex skin out and rip out chunks of the foam inside, which was then coated with a thin coat of latex to seal it back up. I then took some cotton balls and latex and just ripped up strings of the stuff and very crudely sculpted around the wound and added some stringy bits.

After I painted the whole thing the trick worked really well. I'm pretty happy with the result. Looks pretty grizzly.

Once I get more heads made I'll just do them all up in one batch over the course of a couple days and I'll end up with a decent pile of messed up Zombie Heads. Should be fun.

Bad day on the forums...

A little while ago I had posted about the Brain Keychains on a couple horror/zombie movie forums. Maybe 5 or so I think. And while I didn't scour them to see what the fine details of what their posting policies were, I did post in what I felt, given the board descriptions, what I thought would be the best place to hopefully get the word out. Some where about plugging your own projects, independent movies and stuff like that - so I thought I thought I was pretty safe. Some didn't really feel appropriate so I moved on.

Now, I don't know if this was part of the problem, but at the time the best shipping rate on average to the US was $25 - since than CanadaPost has come out with a new method that is on average $10, much better. In any case, there was one incident on another forum that someone was rather shocked about that price - and rightly so, that is insane.

Today I was looking through some zombie/horror related blogs and stumbled across one of my previous posts and saw it had a couple replies, so I check it out and wow...I was not expecting the hostility my post had created. I don't know if it was the insane shipping rate - which as I said is understandable, but anyone who does a lot of buy and shipping internationally should be well aware of those costs. Or if it was because someone had seen another post of mine and felt I was spamming - I didn't realize 5 posts on 5 forums (assuming he/she saw them all) constituted spamming, but I guess I know now that some feel it does. Lesson learned there.

I rechecked what the this particular board was about and it said Indie movies and stuff like that, I thought saw other folks promoting their Indiegogo/Kickstarter projects at the time I posted mine - but for some reason these folks took an instant dislike to my particular post. I closed the window before seeing what site it was and quite honestly don't feel like finding it again just to read some hate posts directed at me for doing something I'm not really sure why was so wrong to cause such a backlash. That was certainly not my intention and if it was against their policy I don't know why they didn't just delete and be done with it, instead it was left so people could be annoyed by it. I don't see the logic there, unless an admin thought it was fine and this was just coming from other posters.

In any case, it left me feeling a bit gutted, I didn't intend to annoy people and certainly don't feel like I was "begging for money" as one person said - it's closer to a retail transaction, if you don't want it, don't buy it. I guess I'm wrong about that or maybe it just came off wrong or this person just took it wrong or, even, for some reason he/she took particular offense my wording or their interpretation of it. I don't want anyone reading this to come off with the opinion that I'm making myself seem totally innocent here either. I posted the same post on a couple forums, I didn't realize that was wrong, apparently it is - supposing that's what the issue was, I'm not really sure to be perfectly honest.

I do feel bad about annoying these people, even though anyone with that quick of a hostile reaction might not be someone I'd ever be able to appeal to anyway no matter how delicately I worded something. Maybe they felt their reaction was legitimate or maybe it was just bad timing because they had one too many incidents like that similar to my post - who knows. They certainly were angry and seemed very adamant I had violated their forum, if I did and I'm totally in the wrong (and it's entirely possible) I'm really sorry for having caused a problem for them. I don't mean to make that sound fake or patronizing, I just don't see what was so horrifically wrong to be insulted for having posted about a fund raiser.

I guess that's the internet for you. I don't know these people and for all I know they're pretty decent folks, but with forums you can never really tell. I've seen my fair share of knee jerk reaction assholes who overreact or misinterpret a situation with a sense of superiority that disallows any opportunity to defend against. My first feeling was that I intruded on their personal secret club without knowing the right handshake, maybe I did. I really don't know what was the case here or if I was the one totally in the wrong, either way it has left me hesitant to try posting to forums anymore regardless of how well within their guidelines I might be, just doesn't seem worth it and justifies my distaste for internet forums- won't be doing this again any time soon.

Casting Call for Moonshine of the Damned

Some might be aware I'm shooting a web series on Prince Edward Island this summer, called Moonshine of the Damned, a third and final entry into the Bimbo Zombie Killers! series.

I'm still working on the script and as of today just made some major changes to really bring up the weird factor of the whole series. I'll admit Zombie related TV shows, movies and web series are all becoming a little too common - however Moonshine of the Damned is far from a typical Zombie story. I can't go into too much detail without spoiling some major parts of the series, but I can say, yes, this is a web series about Zombies. The basic story is a group of girls go camping in the deep woods and discover a small war between rather sinister rednecks and the undead, who the rednecks are inadvertently creating by testing their "foul" moonshine on unsuspecting trespassers in their woods. And that's a very small part of the overall plot.

There's been some changes in the last two weeks or so and I need to cast some new parts and recast some old, here's a basic list. We're shooting on weekends for the most part, starting in June and going until we're done (no later than September), so if that works for you, keep reading.

All this is on a volunteer basis, we just do this for the experience and for fun.

~

ANGEL - one of the lead bimbos of the series. A bit of an idiot obsessed with stories of a backwoods circus/freakshow. Looking for someone mid-twenties and someone who's not afraid to get bloody and messy. Should only be 3-4 days shooting involved, plus another one for redubbing all their dialog.

Costume and hair will reflect the ditzy simplistic nature of the character. Possibly pigtails and bright clothes. And you will be dying horribly.

There are some large monologues for this character, so someone who's good at memorizing lines would really be an asset.

~

The MINION - female, looking for someone tall and thin. There's no dialog, but this will possibly involve some serious makeup and will be needed for several scenes as a silent, but integral character.

Costume will be decided upon casting, but will be darker simple attire, could possibly be rather strange looking depending.

~

The ZOMBIE EATER - male. Looking for someone large and imposing, doesn't have to be exactly muscular, but not overweight either - height is important, 6'2" and over would be best. Minor speaking roles, possibly a very physical acting role, as well as messy.

Costume will be very simple "redneck" attire, a shirt and overalls if possible.

This part isn't full written yet, so I can't exactly give a time frame needed.

~

As well, ZOMBIES. We still need a few zombies. I'm casting the Zombie roles much like the others, rather than simply put a call out to see who shows up, you'll be put in a specific zombie role and your shoot will be schedule well in advance.

~

We need reliable people who are willing to make a commitment to the project, if one person decides not to show up to a shoot without any notification, we have to cancel it for the day and that's just not fair for many of the people involved with are scheduling around work and family. This works both ways as well, should I have to cancel for any reason, I'll be trying to give as much notice as possible, however in the event of emergencies and weather - we'll do the best we can.

Again, this is being done on PEI, this summer from June to Sept, shooting on weekends and is on a volunteer basis. No major acting experience necessary, but of course if definitely an asset - you can email me with a current photos, and if you have an experience, even a resume at casting@themonkeyrodeo.com. I can also give you more information about the roles if you want, I'm keeping certain details quiet so there's no spoilers.

Also, I thought should whoever be reading this never have seen either of the previous two Bimbos Zombie Killers! short movies, here you go:

Quasi-disturbing silicone imagery.

I was planning on keeping things simple and cheap as I'm getting deeper into the special effects for Moonshine of the Damned.There's a quick sequence where I thought having a fake hand would help things, so using material onhand (as usual) I was hoping I could manufacture a decent silicone hand for the scene.

Well, it looked alright, but I was using a really stretchy silicone and it came out like a jello hand. Too bad, bit of a waste of silicone, but  you never know what I could end up using this for. I've already re-used the alginate mould and made a clay version which I'll be making an Ultracal 30 mould of and making a latex hand instead.

The shot it's needed for is so quick and darkly lit that a latex hand will more than suffice, which is good since I've no intention of wasting time, money and material trying this again. And the Ultracal mould will yield several hands - so I can even make several and reuse them elsewhere in the series.

And here's the quasi-disturbing silicone imagery. I made up way too much silicone when I did the hand above and didn't want it to just go to waste curing in the container, so I grabbed the nearest mould and used it. What I used was the Mayan Cthulhu Totem and now I have what can only be described as possibly an ancient Mayan Cthulhu sex toy.

It actually just looks like it was made from Sculpey, but it's stretchy and wobbly and in person just kind of looks wrong.

St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun Toe Special

Since it seems appropriate, for tomorrow only, from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM on March 17th, I'm selling the Leprechaun Toe props for 25% off, so a single toe that's normally $10 is only $7.50 and the earrings, normally $25 are $18.75. Shipping (hopefully) worldwide is a flat rate of $5. Place your order here.

If you order today, it's the normal price, if you order at 12:00 AM, March 18th, it's normal price. Only orders between the hours listed above will be offered the discount.