Gregory Nicotero is an acclaimed special effects creator. He opens the doors of his studio, KNB EFX Group, to reveal one of the most important details of your favorite series: how the zombies of The Walking Dead are made.
Nicotero began his career with George A. Romero's Day of the Dead (1985). Over the last thirty years he has worked on a great number of films and series, such as From Dusk till Dawn, The Chronicles of Narnia and Breaking Bad. He is currently producer, occasional director and supervisor of special effects on the television series The Walking Dead. On this occasion, Nicotero opens the door of his special effects studio, KNB EFX Group, to show us how the zombies of The Walking Dead are made, which you can see in the following video:
First you can see figures of the walkers (the term used for zombies within the series) that have been most prominent in episodes. Nicotero explains that for each character they make the face to fit the denture, placing a prosthesis on the actors that covers the top of the cheekbones and the eyebrows, making the noses smaller and removing the lips with the characteristic decomposition effect of zombies. This is very important because for Nicotero the main weapon of the walkers are the teeth, so the more the teeth are exposed, the more threatening the zombies look.
For scenes where characters come into contact with zombies whose arms and legs have been removed, Nicotero uses a puppet-like sculpture that is controlled by a switch to move the head and jaw. According to KNB EFX Group, during the five seasons of The Walking Dead, more than two hundred different zombies were created. And speaking a bit about the series, last night was the finale of the fifth season of The Walking Dead.
As expected, the AMC network has already renewed for a sixth season, although for now there is no estimated release date. But don't despair, because this year sees the premiere of Fear the Walking Dead, the new spin-off of the series that follows the story but with a different group of survivors created by Robert Kirkman. The first season will consist of six episodes and Gregory Nicotero will once again be in charge of the special effects. For now there is no estimated release date, though the premiere of Fear the Walking Dead is expected during the third quarter of 2015.
