battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 1 CONTENTS

Credits and thanks...... Page 3 Foreword by Joe Nazzaro ...... Page 4 Introduction ...... Page 5

Effects in chronological order

1. ‘Haven’t you had your tea?’ ...... Page 6 2. ‘In the garden ... there’s a girl’...... Page 7 3. ‘He’s got an arm off...’ ...... Page 9 4. ‘Which one do you want? Girl or bloke?’ ...... Page 11 5. ‘We take care of Philip.’ ...... Page 13 6. ‘We’re gonna borrow your car, okay...’ ...... Page 13 7. ‘I guess we’ll have to take the Jag.’ ...... Page 14 8. ‘I’ll just flip the mains breakers...’ ...... Page 15 9. ‘I didn’t want to say anything.’...... Page 16 10. ‘Cock it!’...... Page 17 11. ‘I’m sorry Mum.’ ...... Page 18 12. ‘Get away from that door this instant! ...... Page 19 13. ‘...multiple unidentified assailants.’’...... Page 22 14. ‘Shaun, look who it is!’ ...... Page 24 15. ‘I said leave him alone.’ ...... Page 25 16. ‘They’re taking us somewhere safe.’ ...... Page 26 17. ‘I might pop into the garden for a bit.’ ...... Page 27 18. ‘Removing the head, or destroying the brain.’...... Page 28

Cover art by James Greenwood...... Page 29

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 2 Credits and thanks

This little nod of appreciation comes from that place which still makes me warm and fuzzy when I flick through old Fangoria and Gorezone magazines.

Thanks to the folks that have given up time and supplied pictures and information, including Stuart Conran, Dan Frye, Jane Walker, Mark Donovan, Tim Baggaley, James Greenwood and Joe Nazzaro for the foreword.

Joe wrote the original Fangoria article about Shaun of the Dead (#237, Oct 2004) so I was absolutely delighted to have him involved in this little offering.

Thanks as ever to Animated Extras for everything.

Listen & subscribe wherever there are podcasts battleswithbitsofrubber.com Foreword

Shaun of the Dead: An Appreciation By JOE NAZZARO

here’s a shot in the opening act of Shaun of the Dead, which opens on a pair of shuffling feet, gradually panning up to reveal the film’s Ttitle character caught in an early morning yawn. The reason that gag works is because horror film geeks immediately recognize it as a homage to George Romero’s 1985 Day of the Dead, in which a Tom Savini- crafted zombie puppet (nicknamed ‘Dr. Tongue’ after its obvious facial disfigurement) staggers up to the camera, revealing the film’s title.

The scene also tells movie-goers that actor/co-writer Simon Pegg and director Edgar Wright not only had an intimate knowledge of the genre they were parodying, but they also understood the delicate balance between comedy and horror; a balance that countless less successful genre-bending films often fail to grasp. “We just always thought, ‘Let's keep the humor in the situation’ ” Pegg told me during a visit to the ‘Shaun’ set in May of ’03, “rather than have comedy zombies or have funny things happen to zombies. Let's keep all the humor separate from the horror. Occasionally things happen that are funny involving zombies, but it's never at the zombie's expense. They don't really become figures of fun, so it was just a matter of trying to balance the two genres and come up with something that was concurrently funny and scary.”

And that’s the key, isn’t it? While there are moments in ‘Shaun’ that are laugh-out-loud funny, there are also scenes that are genuinely chilling. There’s an old actor saying that ‘Dying is easy. Comedy is hard!’ I would suggest the adage applies equally well to tongue-in-cheek (no pun intended) zombie movies, where the only way to make the humor truly work is to just play it straight. And maybe throw in some awesome zombie makeups for good measure. Working on Shaun Of The Dead was one of the highlights of my life in an already fantastic year. 2003 had been good to me --- possibly one of the busiest I had with Alexander the Great followed by Shaun, then straight to Prague for The Brothers Grimm followed by Batman Begins straight after Christmas.

he best thing about sleep-deprived characters table. Two inches of printed SOTD for me was that I (having spent all night playing paper listings bound into a Twas already a Spaced fan Resident Evil) hallucinating book– no smart-phones here to - the TV show directed by Edgar and mixing zombie attacks into find Fulci's restaurant, (the place Wright which had put the cast an otherwise routine day. The that does the fish). into public consciousness and glorious sequences helped align rekindled the (at the time) quiet the stars and planets to create Shaun works at a small zombie genre. what became SOTD. independent electrical outlet store, (a pre-Amazon world) and To 'top and tail' the SOTD I thought it would be fun to chat the thickness of those rentable experience for me was the fact with Stuart Conran and Dan (yes, rented!) cathode ray tube that a few years earlier, I had Frye, two FX buddies who I have TV's compared with the cheap applied a fake chest to Simon known and worked with for wafer thin screens we are Pegg for Guest House Paradiso many years on many projects. accustomed to now.... for one of the many gags in the We all worked together for slapstick storyline. Animated Extras at Shepperton How’s that for a slice of fried Film Studios on the build and gold? He told me they were editing a shot at Ealing Studios. show he'd just finished called This, then, is a love letter from Spaced, which of course at the Re-watching the movie, one me to a great time on a great time meant nothing to anyone. of the biggest surprises to me movie, for the enjoyment of It went on to be a much-loved was just how much things have other nerds who like to know cult classic and I urge to track it changed over the years. Seeing how stuff is made. I hope you down if you haven't seen it! Shaun in the opening sequence enjoy it. smoking a cigarette and sipping Within that show was an a pint because then you could - Stuart Bray episode (called 'Art', series 1, smoke in pubs! We see a full- April 2020 ep. 3) which centred on the sized yellow page on the phone

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 5 1. ‘Haven’t you had your tea?’ hen Shaun is shortly afterwards is a couple the hapless victim was the commiserating necking outside the pub. zombie choreographer, Litza Wwith Ed about Bixler. his break-up, they see When the focus is on the two the shadow of someone leads, you see the blurred Dan Frye responsible for this thumping on the pub figures in the background gag, using generic moulds window which is obscured, clear enough to spot the from Animated. It was frosted glass so we see only a guy’s head flip right back over an articulated body with silhouette. as his neck was eaten away. silicone hands & head with a fabricated wound. This was going to be a This was a fake body, and jawless head gag, but was the zombie holding him up scrapped. What we do see and responsible for eating

(Above) Litza Bixler handling the rather heavy ‘Pez Dispenser’ headed zombie with a weighted skull to ensure a speedy flipping action.

(Right) The jawless head silhouette gag at the window was scrapped. This test was in the workshop. You can just see me red toolbox and blowtorch to the left of that wooden screen. Still got them!

(Left) One of the many memes bouncing around which prompted discussions about this podcast episode.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 6 2. ‘In the garden ... there’s a girl’.

ary (played by Nicola This is the pivotal moment practically, a prosthetic to Cunnigham) is the when everything changes, create a gory surround and Mfirst zombie we see marked by a moment of digital magic from Double which confirms things really silence as Shaun and Ed Negative blending these are not well with the world. freeze, watching in horror as elements together with The boys know her name by Mary slowly pulls herself up, some blood spurts, pole her work name-tag which crablike. replacement and seamless reads LANDIS – integration into the footage. Happy To Help- Mary. She now stands, revealing the gaping hole in her torso The costume was fixed to The store name may be a play through which we see ensure everything stayed on the convenience store Shaun’s horrified face. in alignment so the jacket chain ‘Londis’ here in the UK Prosthetically speaking, there didn’t slide around and cover and director John Landis of wasn’t too much in the way the hole made during the American Werewolf Fame). of rubber stuff. fall, which of course is what would happen. A struggle ensues, and Shaun This neat effect was a pushes Mary away where she combination of elements, There are often things like stumbles, falling back and is with a fake torso section this which need practical impaled onto a steel umbrella rammed onto a real pole, a considerations to enable the holder. retractable pole enabling the effect to appear as intended. rising up action to take place

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 7 (Left) Dan babysits the dead things until they are needed for a shot. Hurry up and wait, the mantra on any set.

(Below) Setting up the shot. Lighting plays such a big part in filming, keeping the light consistent when filming outside where the light changes constantly is a challenge. Done right, you don’t notice.

Testing the ‘Mary’ pole rig.

You can see how the denim jacket obscured the pole, making it necessary for it to sit tight against the body or else hide the effect.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 8 3. ‘He’s got an arm off...’

he one-armed groom Stu C: “Dan made the arm The nernies were attached to played by Tim Baggaley stump for Tim. The head the tray & could be flipped Tgets beaten to (another) effect was a fibreglass plate, back in to re-set. death with an ashtray. What with a tray or cup built in a way to go. Again. that could hold nernies/ The ashtrays were breakaway giblets & blood….a tube ones built by Paul Dunn & Having worked with Tim leading out of the bottom special effects who also made before on a BBC show called fitted to a pango which was the soft props that were Strange, I was luckily able to filled with compressed air…. thrown before the inevitable suggest the perfect candidate this could then blow the ashtray based coup de grâce.” when we needed someone to material out & onto Tim’s be a zombie with a missing head, along with a spurt of arm. blood. Tim in full get-up as zombie groom.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 9 Checking the take at the monitors.

Tim stumbles up to his mark in full zombie regalia.

Tony Lilley finishes up before a take at the Ealing Studios set.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 10 4. ‘Which one do you want? Girl or bloke?’

Stu C poses in front of the Animated Extras workshop at Shepperton Studios. All this was sadly flattened in redevelopment. The amazing memories made in that space...

he Hulking Man work from Taxi Driver & the zombie played by Mark Exorcist as inspiration. That TDonovan became the effect is totally cribbed from recognisable face of Shaun Of both of those films!!!” The Dead. This makeup was created by Stuart Conran, For the battering scene and consisted of foam latex where Shaun and Ed beat the appliances with removable zombies to a pulp (although teeth created by Chris Lyons that bit is not seen). dummy of Fangs FX. bodies were built of both actors…waist up in fibreglass, Paul Dunn’s Special FX with silicone heads & generic department made the flying foam arms to be posable, records, some rubber and with a silicone cast of Mark’s some wax so they shattered make-up attached., all of the on impact. team chipping in.”

The record hitting Mary’s On the shoot days, it was face was a thin strip of cap operated by art dept/props, plastic whipped away on a with Dan & Stu C re-setting. monofilament line so the red mark appears on camera. This was such a quick shot; you barely see it as it’s so fast.

As Stu C said, “I should The Hulking zombie totally credit Dick Smith’s sculpt in progress.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 11 Bright eyed and bushy tailed. Younger versions us contemplative the impending destruction of our dummies.

The upper body dummies ready for bashing with shovel and cricket bat. Stu C’s makeup (and the amazing Mark Donovan) made it to the cover of Fangoria #237 in October 2004. Bucket list stuff!

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 12 5. ‘We take care of Philip.’

hilips head This neat effect was smashed in the a mixture of swift Pnow famous editing, safe props montage. created by Special FX dept and a non- The famous sequence flinching stunt of grabbing Mum, performer wearing killing Philip and a great wig courtesy getting to the of Jane Walker in Winchester to wait Makeup. A beautiful for this to all blow combination of many over sees Philip being departments working dispatched with a together. shovel and cricket bat.

6. ‘We’re gonna borrow your car, okay...’

eter Serafinowicz plays shower. again later in The Winchester Pete, the grown-up This awesome body paint when he is dispatched in Pin a house-of-fools. job was the work of makeup glorious fashion with a well After being bitten the night designer Jane Walker, placed gunshot blast through before, Shaun discovers his complete with direct applied the eye, blowing his brains housemate (un)dead in the bite wound. We see him out..More on that later.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 13 7. ‘I guess we’ll have to take the Jag.’

haun’s step-father isn’t resettable chunk that gets take. the easiest man to bitten out, ready for multiple Stu made a fitting that could Splease if you’re Shaun, takes. be held in the hand to divert but it’s still a pity when a blood between the fingers, zombie comes up out of the He made a piece for the this same rig was also used blue and tears a huge chunk actual bite but the bleeding for Ed bleeding in the pub out of his neck. in car was a rig set up by basement at the end. special effects dept. Stuart Conran created the The shots inside the car were effect with a wraparound Nernies (small shredded a handover of blood rig to art foam latex appliance, rigged pieces of stringy latex) dept/props who operated on with blood tubing and were threaded back into the those days. nernies, attached to the prosthetic & bladder for each

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 14 8. ‘I’ll just flip the mains breakers...’

The scene with a pic of that shot as seen from behind (inset).

nce in the a horde of zombies waiting Laverne, Garth Jennings and Winchester, Shaun outside. Coldplays’ Chris Martin. Orealises the power may be out due to a circuit Among the crowds of These were all out of the break so tries the fuse board, zombies throughout the kit paint jobs designed and flipping switches until the scenes were uncredited overseen by Jane Walker and power comes back on. cameos by friends to the her makeup team. cast such as Paul Kaye, He briefly illuminates the Paul Putner, Joe Cornish, yard outside which reveals Russell Howard, Lauren

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 15 9. ‘I didn’t want to say anything.’

arbara, Shaun’s mum without the arm being built effective but not much is was bitten back at the up as would be the case with seen as it is dark in the scene. Bhouse, but she kept this a straight appliance. secret from everyone as she It’s often the case the exact didn’t want to cause a fuss. This was a clay press of circumstances of the shot Revealing the bite by rolling Penelope Wilton’s arm, can’t be determined until up the sleeve, we see a deep lifecast in position. Her real they are ready to shoot, scoop missing from the arm, arm was hidden behind her and this arm gag is a prime although the lighting doesn’t back and poked out of a hole example. As a result, much make it obvious how deep in the costume with the fake more goes into making the bite is. arm strapped onto the elbow something to cover all complete with a gaping eventualities. The gag was a fake arm prop wound & blood tubing for a allowing real depth of bite gout when it’s exposed. Very

Stu Conran testing out the Barbara arm. These are stills from a low resolution video clip we took in the workshop.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 16 10. ‘Cock it!’

here were a number This showed a great mix The fella shot in the neck of head-shots in the of techniques…forehead at the window was a last- Tpub skirmish with a prosthetics erased & opened minute addition, using a Winchester rifle. by VFX. The appliance is prosthetic/bladder & pango on, and then the wound is blood squirt…I still cringe Stu C: “These were a mix of digitally hidden before being because you can see the SFX squibs & blood mortars revealed just as the blood bottom of the tubing!” for the most part, all with splat is set off. bullet hole prosthetics.

One of the many head-shots, a combination of practical and digital effects. Speed and safety are big considerations in deciding what method to use.

The bloody aftermath. This is why blood gags make a crew nervous. Imagine cleaning this lot up to reset.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 17 11. ‘I’m sorry Mum.’

ot too long after or not…. but I don’t think so, unblocker) which fired a Barbara reveals her because camera would have burst of air/hair debris out on Nbite, she turns and had a shit fit! cue, with a flap cut into the is now a zombie among the wig weft. living inside the pub. The stunt performer was wearing a wig with a tube This was mostly for timing Stu C: “This was a stunt underneath. This was of the shot & for VFX to have double wearing a wig…I connected to the pango something to add on to”. honestly can’t remember if (a hand-held, pump-up there was blood used on this compressed air drain

I got very messy - often - testing out the blood gags from bites, gunshots and The mighty bludgeoning. It ‘Monument Pango’ was so much fun. drain unblocker.

All these splats powered by the Pango.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 18 12. ‘Get away from that door this instant! ’

avid's gory After a few ‘skin’ coats, layers costume on the fake body dismembering and built up using a paint spinner which then hid the join. Ddisembowelling after dunked into the molten A sequence of beautifully being pulled through the vinyl. Held inside the cavity edited shots included the window (my screen debut!) and spun using a power drill, glass window being blown the resulting strands cooled by detonators on cue, a stunt An awesome, orgasmic as they hit the inside of the performer bringing Dylan crescendo to the previous mould, building up spongey safely over the window sill tension, this effect was a layers which held their shape into the crowd, and a switch fibreglass articulated body but were easily torn when to the fake body as the guts minus head and arms, with required. are torn out. detachable legs so they could be pulled off on cue (carefully Blood was poured into the To help with the effect, cut Ziplock ties!). softened mass, and sealed Stuart Bray, Brian Best, Ian from the back with more Morse from the prosthetic The guts were a mixture of molten vinyl and allowed to department were themselves latex nernies, hot melt vinyl cool. Once required, the body made up as zombies and poured into a bucket of cavity was filled with stringy placed in the crowd to ensure cold water guts which then lengths of fake guts and the stomach was opened in cools instantly into amazing, blood, before being covered the correct place, allowing organic shapes. in the vinyl skin. the ‘cats’ cradle’ of intestines to fill the shot as he is pulled The torso was scooped out Pre-cut costume was then apart by the ravenous horde. to make a hollow and the dressed onto the body, and chest part of the fibreglass Dylan Moran’s real head and Holding onto the body, the body was cut and dremelled arms are used to supply reverse angle shows the to make ribs, painted white correct articulation and legs breaking off as they are with bone coloured gelcoat performance. He wore a tugged hard, breaking the resin. The skin was made by foam latex neck appliance prepared Ziplock ties holding painted layers of hot melt (pictured) on his real neck the legs in place whilst vinyl into a body mould. and tucked under the allowing articulation.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 19 David’s fake head sculpt (cleaned up from lifecast)

My one and only screen role - as a zombie. Good times.

My makeup was done by fellow artist Brian Best (here with me on set), and I did his.

These are stills from a ‘gut tearing’ test for the scene. The vinyl tears so well, and layered to have different densities.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 20 The foam appliance that Dylan Moran wore to obscure the join between his real head and the fake body.

Dylan Moran’s character, David, is torn to pieces and his limbs passed around. Made from Silicone.

Me modelling the rig on a test day at Pinewood Studios.

(Below) It was important to get the timing right. Stunt performers were nearest the window on the other side of the glass prepared to pull Dylan up and over the sill safely so he can be pulled apart by the crowd.

Obviously it needs to look violent whilst remaining safe to do repeatedly, so rehearsing and dry runs were important so everyone knew what to do, and when, without it looking deliberate.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 21 13. ‘...multiple unidentified assailants.’

or the zombies crowding decomposition. Costume made a big to get into the pub, For speed, a lot of airbrushing difference, and as many of Fa large crew call was and blood strategically the supporting artists were needed. The make-ups were placed, messed up hair and recruited from Spaced fan relatively simple as the lenses for those closest to forums, and supplied their time frame hadn’t allowed camera. Plus 0f course, lots own clothes for breakdown for a huge amount of of blood! and mess.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 22 battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 23 14. ‘Shaun, look who it is!’

n the final battle, extra takes. Nick’s arm was Pete returns and Ed hidden behind his back & Ioverpowers him, but it was attached by straps & forgets about zombies and webbing. teeth. For the same shot, there He also gets chomped on was also a wraparound neck the neck so it’s not looking prosthetic with a blood good for him. This was a full bladder/tubing underneath. dummy arm in silicone with a fibreglass core, from a clay Blood from both was press. supplied with a Pango for a safe spurt without too much There was a separate plug pressure or explosives. Tests at Pinewood to figure out camera angles and timings. that could be replaced for

This time Me again, getting with blood, messy testing out I tear into Stu C’s arm rig. a test arm This first test used whilst trying just water (easier not to get to clean up) before blood down trying again with the inside of fake blood. my shirt.

The neck bite gag was a messy fountain.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 24 15. ‘I said leave him alone.’

ete’s head shot was a with hair. This was jerked squirts, as well as beefing up vengeful payback and away with a fishing line/ & shifting the wound around Pdamn fine shot by all monofilament…again another at the back of the head). accounts. nod to Dick Smith!

Stu C: This was a low- This was not shot properly profile prosthetic that was on the day because of time glued to the back of Peter constraints, so the ‘money Serafinowicz’s head…luckily, shot’ was completed as a he has very thick hair, so pickup during re-shoots. it could be gathered up around the piece to give the He also had a simple impression of depth. prosthetic on his eye. Again, great work by A fibreglass skull section VFX, who erased/added was made to fit & covered the eye wound & blood

(Right) The head shot appliance was beautifully executed (no pun intended) by Stu C. (Right) Dan wearing the test piece. The appliance is glued onto flattened hair and dressed. A small rigid cap with fishing line attached is placed over the piece and has hand laid hair applied. Yank the wire on cue, and boom, the injury appears.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 25 16. ‘They’re taking us somewhere safe.’

Pick-ups for the bloody Lots of paint jobs, a couple of In the DVD extras, you can conclusion were shot at ‘back-of-head’ Pango blood spot Barrie Gower, Simon Shepperton, near Christmas squirts through wigs. It was Webber and Sunita Parma. 2003). For the finale of the a busy year, and Stu C was film, squibs and out of the kit tasked with getting crew and The back of Pete’s head was zombies were the order of kit together at a time when also done during this shoot. the day. many people were working on other shows.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 26 17. ‘I might pop into the garden for a bit.’

dger Wright was keen appliance which covered the shot during the same time to create a Neanderthal brow and crept down onto as the exterior scenes with Elook (remember Ed did the cheeks. the Hulking Zombie/Mary/ a ‘Clyde’ impression earlier Record throwing in the in the pub?) and Stuart Although it was seen at the garden. Conran created a single foam end of the movie, it was

(Left) The quick Photoshop composite image to establish the look.

(Right) Stu C’s finish makeup applied to Nick Frost. Utter Legend.

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 27 18. ‘Removing the head, or destroying the brain.’

hroughout the film, Shaun kept Ed safely chained One bit of fun was creating various bits of news up in the shed as a game some scenes where SWAT Tfootage and scenes buddy, we see snippets of teams dispatch zombies in a from around the world tell ‘Trisha’, a reality shame- raid, and as you can see, Stu the story of the zombie show like Jerry Springer in C masterminded the messy apocalypse, and documented the UK at the time with a girl head trauma than ensued. the eventual integration as who married a zombie, and they became part of the new game shows using them as Glorious fun on Z Day. world. contestants. Mobile Deceased!

battleswithbitsofrubber.com Page 28 Special thanks to James Greenwood (check him out on Instagram) for the awesome comic book cover art.