This was a labor of love. Actually, the first short film that I’ve ever made, it wasn’t intended to be anything more than a quick shoot for the sake of finally writing/directing/acting in something. We had time to kill, so let’s do something! My friend and frequent collaborator Elissa Marie had given me a zombie makeover for a friend’s engagement photoshoot, and I was blown away (once again) by her talent and immediately began thinking of ways to harness her zombie makeup skills for a short film. A week later my producer Todd and I sat down to brainstorm some short film ideas and I told him I was working on a zombie sketch, which was originally going to be a typical zombie family breakfast-table scenario. That’s when he thought up the idea of making them part of the office, which uncoincidentally we were meeting at our office (where the short takes place). He wanted to go in a George Romero direction a la “Dawn of the Dead”, but I thought that had been done to death (PUN) and instead thought to give them personalities. We quickly brainstormed a few situational moments, I went home and scripted it in what felt like 5 minutes, but was probably 20. WINK.

I reached out to several actors, but couldn’t find too many crew members. The day of the shoot, we had no sound-man, one camera operator who had to leave early for another gig and shot just the interview section, while the other camera op got sick. So, I’d set the frame and whichever actor wasn’t in the scene became my camera operator. While this film won’t win any beauty pageants, I’m extremely proud of it for my first time effort. I think the performances are funny, and there’s a good layer of subtext for the thoughtful.

I’d love to say why the postproduction took over 18 months, but I’m not a fan of ruining the illusion. Watch, and enjoy!