It's the day of the living dead
ONE can only imagine what passers-by might have thought as filming for the youth-driven zombie flick One Infection took place in Market Square at Grafton on Saturday.
Local artist and movie special effects maestro Stuart Payne is deep in post production at the Grafton Regional Gallery today and said Saturday's shoot went off pretty much without a hitch - aside from the odd lost limb (but that was part of the plan).
Mr Payne, fellow partner in film mischief Marty Wells and a group of volunteers ploughed through more than 30 shots for the five-minute film, which is due for its first screening in late September.
"We might have to do a few pick-ups (short shots to help gel the storyline) but most of the filming has been done," he said.
Mr Payne, who gained notoriety with his life-like drop bear models at the Grafton Regional Gallery last year, has worked in the film industry for 15 years, on films including The Matrix, Phantom, Mission Impossible 2, Star Wars III and Wolverine.
"I haven't directed a film since uni and the first film was awful," he said. "All the technology has changed since then."
A self-confessed lover of horror and gore films, Mr Payne found a core group of 12 teenagers who shared his passion - although 26 people turned up for filming at the weekend. "They just loved the blood," said Mr Wells who will now focus on music for the film. "They just couldn't get enough of it, in so many different ways in so many different flavours."
The One Infection storyline is loosely based on a zombie virus spread through mobile telephones.
The project is jointly funded by Clarence Valley Council, the Federal Government's Regional Art Fund and the Grafton Regional Gallery with sponsorship from Grafton Shoppingworld.
