Apocalyptic Shooting Locations

[Dave]

We talked somewhere here about the difficulty of finding shooting locations for TWD and apocalyptic shows in general. There has been some online criticism of the the neatly mowed lawns which would be now wildflower meadows, and the grass free paving and roads. And I wondered why the houses are pest free and have undisturbed larders.

I'm sure it would not be hard for them to find better locations or even to create a standing set. Anyway, if they want to employ me as a researcher I'm available anytime. There are plenty of rural roads in the UK and Ireland that were once major thoroughfares in Roman and middle age times, even pre-industrial revolution, that are now overgrown. Surely, there are places in the US. They have ex-mining ghost towns in California and the West.

Here are my top suggestions if they wish to travel a little further. I may add to it from time to time as I find more, and feel free to add more.

Traffic Jam in a Belgian Forest for 75 years: http://www.boredpanda.com/chatillon-car-graveyard-abandoned-cars-cemetery-belgium/

Chernobyl Pictures: http://www.kiddofspeed.com/chapter1.html

Also Kolmanskor, Namibia and San Zhi, Taiwan: http://www.oddee.com/item_96462.aspx

US Ghost Towns: http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Northern Ireland's 'bandit country' - Portadown and what not. Rolling hills, footpaths overgrown, abandoned watchtowers optional.... Also, some of the forested regions of Poland where the death camps were are seriously eerie.

 

[markpud]

I have the same feelings - the golf club last season was a bit of a sore thumb with its lawns looking far too well-maintained.

And the houses - yeah they should stink (heck everything in that world should stink) but characters rarely react that way so either they're so used to it by now, or it just gets forgotten in the visual/audio medium of TV. Not saying I'd enjoy smell-o-vision but it would be visceral!

Some great links above, thanks. I think Revolution could have learned a few things too, their roads were in far too good condition too.

TV has a budget and we have to accept that, but GOT is showing what can be done in terms of split locations and making good use of historic locations.

 

[Dave]

Some more here: 10 Most Abandoned Places on Earth: http://dynamicfacts.com/top-10-most-haunting-abandoned-places-on-earth/

Also if you take the District Line tube East between Bromley-by-Bow and West Ham, look out of the left-hand side just before you pass over the River Lea.

 

[Susan Boulton]

In season two of The Walking Dead they had a stretch of newly laid tarmac, some six months plus into events, complete with tyre tracks where cars had gone over it.

 

[Dave]

The current Season has improved. They built the church from scratch

Spoiler

(as a real church wouldn't have allowed them to film those scenes.)

Which puts to bed the idea that they can't afford to build other more realistic sets.

 

[Lenny]

Spoiler: From 5.06: Consumed

Remember the road into Atlanta that Rick took in the very first series? Looks like highway maintenance may have forgotten about it: http://i.imgur.com/IBFlCdo.png

 

[AnyaKimlin]

The abandoned Santa Land in Aviemore (Scotland) was an option for a post apocalyptic my daughter's film group made. In the end they used some land and barns.

 

[Dave]

Spoiler: From 5.06: Consumed

Remember the road into Atlanta that Rick took in the very first series? Looks like highway maintenance may have forgotten about it: http://i.imgur.com/IBFlCdo.png

In the current Season they do seem to have taken the criticism on board and improved. They are still missing the packs of former domesticated dogs turned feral (which I think might be a larger problem than slow zombies.) In fact, where is all the animal wildlife that would now be living in the city; horses, deer, bears, cougars and coyotes?

 

[Culhwch]

Eaten by zombies, perhaps? The zombies aren't aware of the danger wild animals present, so likely if it moves, they'd go for it. I feel like that's a fair explanation.

Though I am shocked that they haven't come across anyone using trained dogs as an early warning system.

 

[Ice fyre]

Think I'm more amazed they arent using the sword weilding girls trick. Surely they could be using a couple of shamblers easily enough. Kinda amazed they are still using guns, would be using any spare bit of sharp metal, discared pipes, putting up trip wires more. I would be using guns as a last resort! You only really need to slow em down. Smashing legs at the knee with a bit of heavy tube. They cant climb so secure roop top doors , anything tires to break through have wire spaced evenly so they kinda mince themselves! After a while the press of bodies would create a barrier. I agree also on the dogs, the only draw back is you would to have to feed them!

 

[markpud]

Dispatching the dead is generally easy for survivors at this point. Other survivors are more dangerous and more armed. In a gun-crazy country like the USA it wouldn't be that hard to find guns given the small number of living people left to use them... the comic series does address the ammo issue but I don't want to get into anything spoilery!

And I agree regarding animals. Eve n if dogs etc would have learned to stay far away from the zombies, there should be rats everywhere in the city, and lots more wildlife out of the city. But animals are very hard to work with, especially on TV budgets...

 

[oorang]

I would think there would be a lot more destruction caused by unattended machinery and whatnot. Pesticide plants leaking toxic chemicals, dams that burst, lots and lots of fires, nuclear plants that melted down, oil spills, etc.

 

[Dave]

I agree, and it only takes one flood to completely remove any memory of civilisation. Just take a look of the Tsunami pictures from 2004 with the houses gone but trees still standing. Floods, either natural or as a result of broken dams, would take far more roads out than we have seen. I think travelling to Washington by road was a plan that was never going to work.

 

[oorang]

Given that they're in the south, mold and whatnot would be a huge problem too. I doubt any food would still be ok unless it was absolutely sealed up. Even if the particular item was still within its shelf life, in that humidity I imagine that the cupboards would look like moss covered hillocks by this point. Even just bring indoors would probably make breathing hard in most houses.