No clue what year this was, but it's definitely not one of my finer moments. A small trick-or-treater, wearing a Casper mask, surrounded by zombies (where one of them has the boy's pant leg in its teeth).
I recall kids and visitors really enjoying the humor element, but I think I was bothered by the stillness of it all. The fact that this moment, which should have movement and flailing and horror, appeared frozen in time really detracted from the point of it all. I think that was where I started to process just how does a person make a static prop appear to be something other than a snapshot of a moving object? And that's where building a prop that appears to be at rest is the key - a creature that has momentarily paused. Maybe a better presentation would have been if a bunch of the zombies were cradling a dead or unconscious child. Like a bunch of hyenas protecting a fresh kill? I kind of like the idea of seeing all those boney arms and hands clasping a motionless figure.
Some observations about the photograph... You can see a standing zombie in the background. I hung it from a rope and made the limbs very loose so it would sway in the breeze and appear to be a reanimated corpse. The wind never came.
You can see me to the right, standing up (dressed as Michael Myers). If I had to guess, I was rising to tell my mother to stop taking flash photos, as she was ruining what little atmosphere there was.
And my dad's garage door desperately needed some paint (though that definitely was adding back the atmosphere my mother was destroying).
.jpg)
9 comments:
I think it's awesome! I would have loved it had it been on my Halloween path.
Haha thanks!
These evolutionary glimpses are always a treat.
It's enjoyable on so many levels, but one key part of the enjoyment is that it's just so much fun to relive some of the familiar elements of the time era (actual film vs. digital imagery, the flashes being used, prop elements such as gloves on the hands of the figures, early foam tombstones, etc.)
I fervently wish I had more photos from the time myself, so seeing this stuff is such a vicarious thrill; it's like stepping back in time.
Yeah, I'm very glad we kept a photo album with these old photos. I'll have to post some of the early play props we made while we were in high school. I think you'd get a kick out of a few of them.
Would LOVE to see early photos of yours, RM!
Thanks for sharing this neat memory :)
Yup! Going to be posting more stuff like this
I wish I was more diligent about getting / keeping photos in the olden days. :(
In the early days, I was just plain negligent (not to mention flat-out terrible with a camera); and when I did remember, downright careless about getting the film developed, etc.
However, I really like these old school posts. So much so that I think I'm inspired to try to crowd source some photos from family and friends (I've always had it in mind to do, but just never really got around to it). If I have any luck, it might be fun to throw some of it up on Instagram.
FWIW- I'd be 100% jazzed to see some of those play props, too.
I love these early photos! Shows the drive and progress! 🎃🎃🎃
Thanks!
Post a Comment