STEPHEN WOLF

Zombies Are People Too (ZAPT) was a horror comedy following 6 friends as they venture into an abandoned house to create content for one of their influencer friends. On route to to the house, a zombie outbreak occurs and the friends seek sanctuary inside. Oblivious to the severity of the outbreak, their spirits remain high and they look at the immediate positives from the event. Over time their focus switches to more serious and emotional ramifications and how they will manage to survive during the outbreak.

ZAPT was an incredible project to be apart of. The project was the first film project of 6 graduating actors and actresses with disabilities. I volunteered my time on the project with the understanding of working with familiar talented crew and the opportunity to really create a detailed and unique set. It wasn’t until I met the talent and saw how focused and enthusiastic they were to the project that I realised this was much bigger and important than I originally expected. This project will forever hold a special place in my heart and could very well be the project I’m most proud of throughout my entire career.

A Blank Canvas

The Pitch from the Director, who I have frequently collaborated with at this point, was simple; ‘We have an old empty house that will be torn down soon, we can do whatever we want to it’. Straight away I was in, it’s a rare opportunity to have carte blanche on an indie film project.

What’s The Story?

With every set I produce, I like to process the story of the location like it’s own character, and in-depth complete story that goes beyond the opening and closing credits of the film. In this case, the baseline concept was an abandoned building that the main characters explore. But Why? What’s so appealing about this place that separates it from other abandoned buildings? This is the question I pitched to the Director, which triggered an exciting creative discussion.

The concept we landed on was ‘Indiana Jones vanished 30 years ago and left everything behind’. By creating a story behind the person who used to live there, we were able to build character to the set, a deliberate and intentional style to work towards. A 17th century explorer who collected antiques, books and exotic ornaments showcasing their adventures around the world; which allowed us to create specific themed spaces. Pirates, South Pacific and African sections were just some of the areas that naturally evolved. The next layer was to make the set look abandoned, other people who had explored the place and left it in disarray; torn books, ripped canvases and spider webs covering everything. The finished set delivered on a much greater level than even I could have imagined in the beginning.

Having a strong concept, a story and deliberate intent truly helped steer the creative process in the right direction and allowed for more time to push the details and story for the actors to truly come alive in.