User:Demandread

Night Zero is a thrice weekly webcomic and published graphic novel created by Anthony van Winkle. Conception and production began in late 2007, with the completion of the "pilot" episode in May of 2008. The first serial comic began its unline run on September 8, 2008.

Story
Seattle was among the first American cities to fall victim to the unknown -- the infected attacked without mercy, remorse, or fatigue. Hospitals were overflowing with the sick, and the sick only got worse as night fell. Quarantines were established, emergency protocols were enacted, but it was too little too late. The city fell into turmoil, bodies littered the streets, and the casualties began to rise. Key sectors of the city infrastructure and government were plunged into anarchy. The "scratchers," named for the tell-tale self-mutilation they perform on their bodies and faces, made the streets sticky with shed blood.

The power void left by a failing city government was the ideal ground for the Nazarov family, a Russian group that had less-than-legitimate activities before the collapse. Their organization had the muscle, capability, and network to assume control of Seattle, cordoning off a chunk of downtown as a safety zone. Those who could adhered to their rule for the chance at a new life, and their numbers grew. Those who chose to blaze their own trail saw their numbers dwindle.

Today, the New City is a walled-off community with just a fraction of the population of the old Seattle. The apparent security of the wall has allowed the New City's residents to pick up the pieces of their lives, and the outlook is optimistic in the face of uncertainty.

Life outside the city wall's continues to trod along, a wilderness of decaying cars and bodies...

Production
Night Zero is a photo novel (or fumetti) that is collaboratively developed among a team of artists. Characters are developed by the actors who play them, including backstories, superobjectives, and some personality traits. Individual stories are drafted by writers and brainstormed with the creative team to yield a world not created by any single author. Once scripted, each episode is storyboarded and shot in a full production run, including full sets, props, and on-location shooting.

The comic is shot using HDR photography instead of standard single-exposures, which dramatically increases the production time and cost, but yields tonemapped photos that give Night Zero its unique "illustrated look". There is a great overhead to shoot in HDR, because each "photo" require three separate exposures, meaning the actors have to hold position for more than a full second on every take.

Unlike other American photographic novels, there are no green-screens or CGI elements used in creating the photos.

Cast
The cast of Night Zero includes actors, models, and improvisors from the Seattle area, particularly the University of Washington.

Release
The major serial storyline is released as a free webcomic, with three new pages uploaded every week.

Complete serial episodes, alongside as vignettes, short fiction, production notes, and stand-alone photos, are published as Night Zero Volumes.