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Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

news.ycombinator.com

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Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#11

Post by froo »

michaelneale wrote: post #8
unalone wrote: post #5

I'll be honest - Shaun of the Dead is the only one I've seen. I've always felt weird about zombie movies, because like Westerns, without having seen any they all feel very samey. So I wouldn't know where to start watching.

I have been told by aficionados that shaun of the dead's zombies are pretty good, authentic even. In modern times there is a biozombie trend, when they aren't really "undead" so much as a sick human (eg I am Legend, 28 days later etc). I am not sure if it co-incides, but these biozombies seem to have enhanced reflexes, strength and hearing and speed etc... (whereas the old school ones were slow, sad things).

I do like both to be honest, the shambling ones I like because it looks very well done in large packs of zombies. Also I do understand why people use the enhanced reflex ones, because they can use those traits to startle an audience effectively.

Personally, from a startup perspective, I'd be more inclined to go with a shambling type zombie, purely because keyframing the animation can be achieved fairly effectively with python scripts and then motions adjusted with bezier curves on an individual basis.

Doing more with less basically.

Also, stylistically I think the whole "tortoise and the hare" effect with fast protagonists and slow moving, shambling antagonists is quite amusing.

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#12

Post by noodle »

lionhearted wrote: post #6

I voted no, because I don't really like zombie movies on balance. But I am a lover of film and cinema in general. My beef with zombie movies is that they're usually cliche, and are going for "cheap scares" first and foremost. Often they're punctuated by gore for the sake of gore, and it's done tastelessly. Frequently there's a large cast that you feel no real attachment to and don't bond with, because they need lots…

shaun of the dead, evil dead, dellamorte dellamore, dawn of the dead (only cliche because it created the cliches)

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#13

Post by numair »

The selection bias present in this data makes it pointless for the purposes of a profitable entertainment project. You are better off going to your local middle school and having the 8th grade math class run the survey for you.

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#14

Post by lionhearted »

froo wrote: post #10
lionhearted wrote: post #6

I voted no, because I don't really like zombie movies on balance. But I am a lover of film and cinema in general. My beef with zombie movies is that they're usually cliche, and are going for "cheap scares" first and foremost. Often they're punctuated by gore for the sake of gore, and it's done tastelessly. Frequently there's a large cast that you feel no real attachment to and don't bond with, because they need lots…

But the upside: Apocalyptic scenarios in general give lots of options for plot and character development and interaction. That's kinda what I was aiming at, plus on the upside, one can generate lots of zombie models randomly fairly quickly and use scripts to animate their shambling. What I'd want out of a zombie movie is some focus on some character development and the filmmaker resisting the temptation to have the "…

My pleasure - as for gore, it depends on the audience. I greatly enjoy international films, and personally think that less gore makes it much more effective as a tool - take a look at Japanese horror on one extreme, and compare it to a Schwarzenegger movie. In Total Recall, a guy gets a pipe stuck through his head, and it has no effect on the audience. But it was what was - a fun, man's man action movie. If you produce for intelligent people, you can potentially get a lot of hardcore and intelligent fans. But that means needing to break from the formulas and execute well, neither of which are easy. The mass market stuff works for the mass market of course - so have a think on what you're going for. Maybe take a look at some enthusiast forums or communities - that'd be a smart place to first promote yourself. What are their expectations? What do they like? You can always sell out to the mass market later once you get popular :)

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#15

Post by sharkbrainguy »

Is a digital animation studio a startup?

It doesn't really have a huge scaling potential does it? Your output is constrained by your animation stable surely.

The closest analogue to a breakaway product or hot patent would be a hugely popular IP, but you don't need to be a studio to develop a property.

Perhaps you intend to develop animation productivity tools and the studio provides the opportunity to dogfood. That kind of software still has headroom I guess.

As an animator/programmer I'd be very interested in an animation suite that could do what emacs/vim does for my text editing.

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#16

Post by unalone »

michaelneale wrote: post #8
unalone wrote: post #5

I'll be honest - Shaun of the Dead is the only one I've seen. I've always felt weird about zombie movies, because like Westerns, without having seen any they all feel very samey. So I wouldn't know where to start watching.

I have been told by aficionados that shaun of the dead's zombies are pretty good, authentic even. In modern times there is a biozombie trend, when they aren't really "undead" so much as a sick human (eg I am Legend, 28 days later etc). I am not sure if it co-incides, but these biozombies seem to have enhanced reflexes, strength and hearing and speed etc... (whereas the old school ones were slow, sad things).

I'm an enormous fan of Simon Pegg as a writer. He wrote an incredible article in defense of zombies and convinced me a lot. (His article was actually about how the slow model of zombie is the only worthwhile kind.) And Edgar Wright is a brilliant director: Shaun of the Dead is a very scary movie at the same time as it's incredibly hilarious.

That said, I'd love to compare it to Night of the Living Dead. I'm just scared that it'll be a letdown.

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#18

Post by sketerpot »

The thing I love about zombies is coming up with clever ways of dealing with them. Think about it: the zombies have a numerical advantage, and sometimes decent speed, but they're idiots. Humans have brains, a base of operations that'll be safeish for a while, and a bunch of abandoned hardware lying around. It's like "Junkyard Wars", but spiced up with the living dead.

Also, the single best zombie variety I've seen come from Zombie Hunters: http://www.thezombiehunters.com/

They've got the zombies set up almost like social insects: a vast majority of slow lumbering, easy-to-animate ones, plus a few special zombies to spice things up a little. Like the zombies that can spit acid. And infected people don't turn into zombies until they die of natural causes. This doesn't give you the opportunity for "kill your lived one before he turns" moments, but I'm kind of sick of those; they strike me as cheap.

Best of luck in your project. I look forward to seeing what you make!

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#19

Post by joshsharp »

The zombie TV series "Dead Set" really drew me in, though it did prompt Simon Pegg to write scathingly about its use of "fast-moving" zombies, instead of the traditional shuffling kind (as mentioned by unalone above). Which I kind of agree with. Still, brilliant series made with a small budget.

Re: Poll: Do you like zombie movies?

#20

Post by ericb »

28 Days Later is the best Zombie movie I've seen. It could stand up to a film-class analysis, on top of its scariness. The "sequel" was terrible, though.

Runner up, for me, would be Dawn of the Dead (2004). Resident Evil isn't bad, either.

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