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They’re Coming to Sketch You, Barbara

By Brian Prisco | Posted Under Trade News | Comments (11)

nightofthelivingdeadreanimated.jpg

I was fooled in the best possible way by this panel. What I expected was something akin to the Animatrix for the Night of the Living Dead: short films that referenced or reviewed or reimagined characters or moments from the original Romero Night of the Living Dead. What I got was so much fucking cooler.

150 different artists, who never met each other, were asked to recreate scenes from the original movie in their chosen mediums — mixed media painting, cartoon sketches, comic book panels, claymation, stop-motion model manipulations, whatever. Then the brainchild behind this product, Mike Schnieder, assembled the finished products and animated them, either through still animation or through the artist’s own efforts. And he dubbed it to the original soundtrack of the film, dialogue and all. So what results is this sort of patchwork golem that rolls through the entire archetypal film in a haunting and beautiful and sometimes hilarious way. There are scenes that are almost abstract, simple shape and line and scribble dancing like candleflames over the screaming and arguing of the original. There are scenes played out with Legos and cannibalized Furbys, scenes done with paper stop motion, action figure stop motion, clay stop motion. Some are just stick figures, some are fully realized illustrations. They even use the fucking SIMS and video game models to recreate scenes.

It’s a fascinating result, and while there were some folks sighing and walking out, I think the overwhelming artistry and accomplishment of the product merits a view. It blew my mind in the best possible way. The next project for this creative team is called Unseen Horror — they’ve taken old radio plays and animated to the soundtracks of those. If you get a chance, visit the website for details.










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Comments

GOD I hope that's going to be available on DVD.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverdouche at July 23, 2010 4:20 PM

....and I just got SO EXCITED because I found an item about this being shown two towns over, and then discovered the item is from October 2009. DAMMIT.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverdouche at July 23, 2010 4:24 PM

P.S.: It was at a Lutheran church.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverdouche at July 23, 2010 4:25 PM

That looks awesome! Who the hell woul dwalk out of that?

Posted by: admin at July 23, 2010 4:33 PM

Holy crap... The Walking Dead, Scott Pilgrim, Paul, Fear Agent, Threadless comics-on-tees, a Burn Notice prequel, and now this??? Not to mention all the other awesome shit I'm forgetting about at the moment. *le sigh* I usually just feel a slight twinge of jealousy around this time of year, but this year I'm really kicking myself for not going.

Posted by: just me at July 23, 2010 4:34 PM

The DVD will be out within a month from Wild Eye Releasing loaded up with about 3 hours of extras.

Being a zero-profit project, it will also be available free online, is doing rounds with public-access horror hosts, appearing at a number of genre events and is opened to any free to the public or charity-based screenings. So, if you've got a space to show it, just shoot an email to screenings@notldr.com and we'll hook you up with a screener, some posters, and help announce/ promote it.

-Mike Schneider
Curator of NOTLD:R

Posted by: Mike Schneider at July 23, 2010 4:40 PM

So, if you've got a space to show it, just shoot an email to screenings@notldr.com and we'll hook you up with a screener

I really need to get out of accounting and buy a theater...

Anyway, SCHWEET. Thanks for the info, Mike Schneider! This project looks AMAZing.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverdouche at July 23, 2010 5:15 PM

You don't need to buy a theater. In fact, since you mentioned the Church of the Redeemer screening we did with SFSNNJ, I'm guessing you're in New Jersey. If that's the case, it's regularly shown at Clash Bar in Clifton.

We've screened at conventions, festivals, libraries, schools, indie theaters, galleries, museums, bars, night clubs, churches, film groups and even in a virtual theater inside of the MMORPG Second Life (Phantasmagoria Theater) and a virtual convention (Facebook Comic Con). Our definition of 'space' is very liberal.

With a data projector, some bed sheets (or a white/ light colored wall), and a posting on craigslist inviting people to join you, your backyard can be a space.

It's so much more fun to see what people come up with then trying to dictate things.

-Mike

Posted by: Mike Schneider at July 23, 2010 6:34 PM

Mike,

This project/concept is nothing short of a new brilliance.

The header pic & title excited me while I was skipping through Comic-Con articles; I love Brian's writing, but much of the Con's news was not for me (just for a few million others).

As I was reading I was wondering what this would look like, then I scroll down and see there's a clip, then I REALLY flipped!

Thanks to Priscoe for showcasing this, and to you for all the extra info. On average, I actually buy 2-3 DVDs a year, and this one is automatically on the list.

Posted by: abliac at July 24, 2010 11:28 AM

even in a virtual theater inside of the MMORPG Second Life (Phantasmagoria Theater) and a virtual convention (Facebook Comic Con).

God I love living in the future.

I *am* in New Jersey, and not far from Clifton, although Clifton terrifies me a little because of its proximity to Paterson, in which I have been lost ONE TOO MANY times in the middle of the night. BUT, thank you AGAIN for these suggestions... they're rather inspiring.

Posted by: Anna von Beaverdouche at July 24, 2010 12:06 PM

YEAH!! our puppet made the trailer clip! I is sooo excited!!

Posted by: evilejfan at July 25, 2010 9:06 AM