Interview with Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated’s Mike Schneider

Night of the Living Dead:Reanimated is a revolutionary project that “Reanimated” George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead using art submitted by more than a hundred artists from around the world. Shoot for the Head.com was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview Mike Schneider, the curator of the Night of the Living Dead:Reanimated project.

Tell me what NOTLD:R is all about

Well, Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated is a collection of thousands of pieces of artwork and animation responding to George A. Romero’s film, Night of the Living Dead. Treating the original film’s timeline as a gallery space, over a hundred international artists pulled this classic through every style, media and process you can imagine. The result is an animated/ illustrated response to Night of the Living Dead which is visually experimental while remaining completely true to the story, even to the point of using the original unmodified audio track.

[Note: Reanimated is not a play on the word 'animated' but is in fact it's own process, which was posed by animator/ illustrator Winsor McCay nearly a century ago. Reanimation is the process by which something is given a new life/ presence through art/ animation. The reasoning was simple: An artist does not draw what is there. They draw what they see as they perceive it and that process gives any media (or any thing) a second life by virtue of the artist.]

How did the idea for a graphic representation of NOTLD get started?

Artists throughout time have responded to their world. We have countless paintings of the hunt, nature, war, politics and religion because these things played a major role in the artist’s life. As a horror fan, horror movies, like Night of the Living Dead, are the world in which I surround myself.

Most galleries have an image to uphold so they are dominated by specific artists, specific media, or specific themes to the work. To really do the show justice we needed a space which spoke to the work and what space could be better then the cult classic itself. Physics teaches us that time is a dimension of space and so it stands to reason that if you have something which provides a structure of time, like a movie, that span of time could be considered in the same way you would a defined area of space. More specific to this project, that timeline could be treated as a gallery space and works could be hung on every scene. This places that art in the context of the scene it is referencing and we continued with this process until then entire timeline was buried under all of the varied artwork and animation.

How many artists do you have working with you and are they from all over the world?

How many artists has always been a tricky question because though the timeline itself sports the works of over a hundred artists, there are hundreds more who helped facilitate this project in other ways. Since this project did not touch money from start to finish ( zero budget / zero profit ) everyone involved was a volunteer and this was a labor of love carried by this horror art community. Besides the artists featured in the timeline/ credits, others helped to spread the call to entry, make contact with press, and arrange screenings in an array of venues.

As far as them being from all over the world… that is without question. Not only do we have artists hailing from across the US, we also have artists from Canada, England, Scotland, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy,  Austria, Romania, Greece… all the way around to India, Indonesia and Australia. The original film has inspired people all over the world and so the chance to celebrate it through our art transcended cultural and language barriers.

What is the ultimate goal of NOTLD:R? I know you have the film, what’s next?

Being a mass collaborative project, the artists involved were not hired hands but active participates in the conversation. Though there were goals I had established at the start of the project, we definitely picked up others as we went.

My initial goals were fairly simple:  Find a new platform for horror art and animation. Galleries seemed limited (both by being in a fixed location and by being in a fixed prospective) and web galleries though open to all kinds of work lack the curation which allows works to speak to one another and function as a show. Ideally we needed a space that was not limited in size, location, etc but still had the ability to be curated into a show.

Allow the viewers a new prospective on the original film. The more times you see something the less you watch it. There is an adage that once you believe you fully know something that it is dead to you. Basically, the brain is lazy and it takes less energy to recall then process new information. When it sees something familiar, it fills in a lot of the details… ofter over looking what it right in front of you. This is why we only notice things like age when we spend times apart and many fans only watch their favorite films with they have need people to share it with. The role of artists in post modernism is to show you a new prospective on something familiar. So for example, by presenting Night of the Living Dead through a cacophony of different styles and media as we’ve done here, we have granted the viewers a new lens to see the movie. The true benefit of this to Dead fans is not even in the process itself but when they return to the original film. Artists exaggerate and focus on the details which they see as critical and so their work is largely influenced by their viewing bias. After seeing Reanimated, when you re-watch the original film, you have a new set of associative visual cues your brain is scanning for and that results in you seeing things which you may have over looked even if you’ve seen the film a million times over. 

As I mentioned we picked up other goals as we went.

Teachers gravitated to this project because it offered the ability to use NOTLD:R almost like a Rosetta Stone for visual media. Most students understand movies more then they do art so when you have a segment of video which you can show next to a piece of artwork which was created in response to that clip, it allows students to decipher the visual language of that style and that helps them approach other similar works and decipher/ translate their meaning.

For many artists, there was an element of exposure involved because unlike a brick and mortar gallery space this show had the ability to enter people’s homes and travel around the world. In fact, when you total viewers for webcasts, broadcasts, and screenings together by the time the DVD is released, this project will have had more viewers then your average museum show.

Many animators took this as an opportunity to play and experiment. The history of animation is rich (in fact it predates film by hundreds of years) but many processes have been all but abandoned by mass media because they are too time consuming and often have a crude handled feel to them. These processes however are what inspired many of us to get into animation and though they are impractical to do at length, with no minimum or maximum length of submissions, this is our chance to play with the processes we’ve only heard about/ seen in archival catalogs as well as explore new processes and combinations.

The list goes on from there… as everyone was invited to bring their philosophy and opinions along with their artwork.

Why NOTLD? There are hundreds of zombie movies including its sequels what made you pick this one?

Well, originally, I was going to do this project solo. I locked myself away and set out to find a cure for remakes through art. The film which seemed to fit that was ‘Last Man on Earth’ and I adopted many of Morgan’s eccentricities, save the pit of burning bodies. I locked myself up in my studio with my work and interacted with people through a stack of movies I brought in there with me.

A few weeks went by and isolation kicked in. I figured out that it would take me a few decades to complete the project but I was buckled in for a long production. During a break from working, I popped in Night of the Living Dead and Cooper’s line, ‘That’s my point… there’s not going to be 5 or even 10…’ hit me. Artists aren’t holds outs squirreled away. We are the other. Artists are those half-crazed unstoppable things which bang on the windows and doors as they push society forward. We see the world that was, we consume it, we infect it with our prospective, and then we move on to consume the next thing with those we ‘inspired’ taking up the march. The whole production model was based on the ghouls and like them we just continued to grow as more of us stepped out of the woodwork and with our bare hands and simple tools we took over the movie one bite at a time. In effect we turned Night of the Living Dead onto itself.

Well, if the artists are ghouls what would that make the production but an outbreak. Dead fans following the project may have noted hidden cues through the production news. From our first round which featured a small group but established the rules and site, the second round of submissions entered with press but left with the store going online. The third was when we started closing the gaps on unsubmitted scenes, and after an extended span of time the forth has us fleshing out the last segments. Then we enter post where there was another round of submissions as we reviewed our notes and revisit the process from the beginning with a new site and revising previous works. That 1, 2, 3…. 4 then revisions should reflect a pattern familiar to any Dead fan. It’s all self referencing.

Were you surprised at all the art work you were getting not only in the amount and caliber, but possibly the artistic styles?

Yes and no. The variety was part of the plan from the beginning and the amount was a given by the length of the project. What did surprise me was the speed of it all coming together. From concept to screenings in under 18 months and to have it see it’s wide release in under 2 years still astounds me. It goes to show how strong this community really is.

The other thing which still surprises me is the press and fans. Coming from the Fine Arts, generally if you get a few shows in a year, make a few contacts, and get a press clipping for your portfolio then you’re golden. The idea that there are dozens and dozens of articles and we’ve been seen all over the world is amazing. Heck, we actually received fan mail before the project was completed. This community is really something.

Did you ever talk with Romero or any of the cast about this? If so, what were their reactions?

I have had the privilege of talking with some of the ’68ers however I respect their anonymity. Basically, there are too many people out there exploiting quotes for self promotion and so if they choose to comment, their responses are theirs to make.

The one thing I will note in regards to the original cast is that viewers may note the figures featured in some of the stop motion sequences are in fact the officially licensed figures which Fearwerx is putting out. They were kind enough to provide these figures to some of our animators and allow us to use them for the project… so if you’re looking to pick up a set of them for yourself, they are available at http://www.fearwerx.com and a percentage of their sales do in fact go to the original cast.

8.Tell me about the film itself. How did you narrow down all these different mediums and images to create a cohesive story?

Well, to be honest, I didn’t. The story was already told wonderfully by the original cast. I encourage anyone who might not have seen the original film to do so prior to watching Reanimated as the stylistic shifts can be jarring if you don’t already know the story inside and out. For fans, who enter the project already knowing the story, Reanimated provides numerous ways to view and consider it. To extend the gallery metaphor: We didn’t build the walls; we made the art which hangs on them.

Is the film completed? Do you have a completion date? What are your plans with the film once it is completed and released?

The project is in a fixed form which has been showing in an array of venues and is scheduled for wide release this April.

I phrased it as a ‘fixed form’ rather then using the word ‘completed’ because of the nature of the project. The first screenings of this project were in Fall of 2008 (a few months after we began) though this version featured the handful of works which had been submitted at that time with the showing the original film with subtitles explaining how people could take part in the project. This traveled through various galleries and museums but was more invitation then reanimation at that point in time. As the project developed it continued to show in progress proofs because it was an open invitation for anyone to participate. By September of 2009 we had the first full screener which premiered at Revenant Film Festival, in October a second version with numerous refinements was pulled, and in November I pulled the version which is screening now and will be included on the DVD and available for streaming/ download at it’s wide release.

With that said, the idea has already been kicked around to approach this idea again in a few years after artists see this version of the project. Even with the same concept and production model, the nature of this kind of art show would allow it to be done a million times over and be different every time. In fact, to that point, I will be releasing my full production notes online so that anyone wishing to turn a similar process on their favorite film can do so with the aid of what we learned throughout this project. In fact, after speaking with him, Charles Gray ( one of the zombies from the Canadian movie, Fido ), has already began the early prep work for his reanimated version of the 1941 classic ‘King of the Zombies’. 

As for NOTLD:R, we have and will continue to give free screening rights to independent/ non-profit theaters, art centers/ galleries, film groups, etc as well as free broadcast/ webcast rights to any and all horror hosts and public access stations. All they need to do is shoot an email to screenings@notldr.com and we’ll set them up. The wide release both online and on DVD is scheduled for April. This DVD is loaded with over 2 hours of supplements, multiple commentaries, and more horror comics then most anthologies… so look for it coming soon from Wild Eye Releasing.

As for Neoflux Productions, we’re stepping even further back with the next project of this sort turning our collective talents towards animating/ illustrating visuals to be paired with old time horror radio dramas. The project is called Unseen Horror and anyone interested in participating should email mike@unseenhorror.com .

You can learn more about NOTLD:R at their Web site http://www.notldr.com/. Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated is currently up for a Rondo Hatton Award for Best Independent Production of 2009. Votes will be accepted until April 3rd here .

NOTLD:R will be screening at Cinema Wastland and Horror Realm. Anyone interested in having their independent productions (shorts or features) presented by horror hosts through webcasts, broadcasts, and live in theaters should email Corpse S. Chris of Horror Host Graveyard ( films@horrorhostgraveyard.com ). There are over a hundred active horror hosts out there… some with over 100,000 regular viewers each week. By going through Horror Host Graveyard, film makers can offer their productions to all of them in one big swing and potentially be seen by millions of viewers… all with a campy but informative introduction to frame that movie with a familiar face. There is no submission fees or compensation… but this is exposure which can’t be bought and supporting horror hosts helps to keep the community strong.