1. Individual Production Project Project Proposal Alex Welch - 12416098

2. What is Life After Death? Short Film. Different take on the Zombie genre. Hyper-intelligent Zombies evolved from cannibalistic Zombies that have formed a new civilisation. Peaceful world. Looks into control of society through Mass Media.

3. The Story Geoff awakes from a deep sleep. No longer in the same world. The dead rose and took over. Left the human race on the brink of extinction. Soon became hyper-intelligent. Created a Utopian civilisation.

4. Claimed to be an evolution of Homo sapiens. ‘Homo Infinitum’ Geoff is introduced to the world by George, a Homo Infinitum ambassador. Geoff finds sanctuary in the familiar world. However, suspicious of how good the world is now. Decides to investigate. Is it really an evolution, or are there greater powers at play? The Story

5. Research Question Can a Zombie Film work with minimal use of typical conventions of the genre? I will look at what the conventional traits of a Zombie are. I will attempt to complete my film with these traits either being non-existent or extremely subtle. If traits need to be used for the film to work, I will look to early films of the genre.

6. Conventional Zombie Traits Harris (2014) has suggested that typical zombies have evolved with the genre over time and can fall into 3 categories; o Early Zombies (1920s-1950s) o Romero Zombies(1960s-1990s) o Modern Zombies (21 st Century)

7. Conventional Zombie Traits Early Zombies (1920s-50s): o Animated by Voodoo o Mute o Slow-moving o Mindless o Controlled by a master White Zombie (1932)

8. Conventional Zombie Traits Romero Zombies (1960s- 90s): o Hunger for the living o Explicit detail of attacks o Killed by damage to the brain o Spread by bite o No Master o Slow-moving Night of the Living Dead (1968)

9. Conventional Zombie Traits Modern Zombies (21 st Century): o Contagious diseases o Physically quick and agile o Infected by a virus 28 Days Later (2002)

10. Life After Death Zombie Traits Homo Infinitum – ‘man indefinitely’: o An evolution of Homo Sapiens o Hyper intelligent o No hunger for the living o Function like the living o Cannot die of natural causes o Controlled – are any of these traits true?

11. Critical Context The use of mass media to control a society. The Homo Infinitum are not truly intelligent. They were created by governments around the world in an attempt to instil world peace. Mindless zombies are easier to control than free- thinking humans. Is world peace a good thing if it has been achieved through the removal of free will? Early films had zombies under the control of an outside force, a ‘zombie master’ is always in control. (Christie 2011)

12. Critical Approach Surreal Approach The juxtaposition of zombies acting as humans, in a familiar, non-apocalyptic world. The Homo Infinitum will be seen going about daily tasks and activities that a human would: o Watching TV o Checking phones o Going to work o Going shopping o Going to school

13. Additional Outcome Online viewing available on YouTube, Vimeo and DailyMotion.

14. Intended Audience 18-26 Year Old Males. Based on an investigation of fans of The Walking Dead on Facebook by Schenker (2013). The Walking Dead is arguably the most popular zombie based franchise at present, would be wise to target a similar audience. Age choice (18-26) based on story. Control through mass media. This age group could be considered the most involved. Wake up call to make a change. Gender (male) based on investigation. Males make up roughly 60% of the demographic across The Walking Dead’s various mediums. Not a large majority however, some interest from females.

15. Thank you for listening. Any questions?

16. References Christie, D. (2011) Better Off Dead: The Evolution of the Zombie as Post-human [online]. Fordham Univ Press. Available from: http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0oZIlm84F2oC&printsec= frontcover&dq=better+off+dead&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0L1OVOTE CML3apfqgOAC&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=bett er%20off%20dead&f=false [Accessed 24 th October 2014]. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=0oZIlm84F2oC&printsec= frontcover&dq=better+off+dead&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0L1OVOTE CML3apfqgOAC&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=bett er%20off%20dead&f=false Harris, M. (2014) Zombie Movies 101: Wanted: Dead and Alive [online]. About Entertainment. Available from: http://horror.about.com/od/horrormoviesubgenres/a/zombies.htm [Accessed 25th October 2014]. http://horror.about.com/od/horrormoviesubgenres/a/zombies.htm Schenker, B. (2013) Facebook Demographics: The Walking Dead, Not All Media Are Created Equal [online]. The Beat. Available from: http://comicsbeat.com/facebook- demographics-the-walking-dead-not-all-media-are-created- equal/ [Accessed 25 th October 2014]http://comicsbeat.com/facebook- demographics-the-walking-dead-not-all-media-are-created- equal/