Stills from Wayne Spitzer & Andy Kumpon's 1994
Dead of Night episode, "Basilisk." In spite of the insipid dialogue and poor pacing, Spitzer cites the episode as being "probably the closest we ever came -- atmosphere-wise -- to my original vision for the show."
The Basilisk, an "inter-dimensional reptile," rears its really not so ugly head. Spitzer and Kumpon built the full-size prop from a design of Wayne's. Its central elements are a dryer hose, the head of an Aurora T. Rex model from the '70s, and bubble-wrap.
Status (Wayne Spitzer) squares off with the Basilisk in a slightly over-produced shot. Pretty slick for two guys (all the early
Dead of Night episodes were performed, shot and edited by the two alone) with no time, no money, and no Hollywood connections.
One of the cool blue crabs. Remember
Rodan? (1956) How the big birds ate the creepy catapillar things? Same idea.
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) is about to "make contact," and how! This shot was inspired by the Plesiosaur attacking the U-boat in Samuel Z. Arkoff's
The Land That Time Forgot (1974).
Another neat shot of the Basilisk, close enough to its prey to strike! The prop was essentially operated as a giant marionette. Note that location is of paramount importance to the success of these shots; it is, in a sense, a character in its own. Spitzer and Kumpon will only say that they "secured" a functioning aluminum foundry for two nights.
Status and A.K.'s mercurial employer, "Viktor," is about to do a vanishing act. The character was named after and performed by Dr. Victor E. Buksbazen (
The Jewish People in a 'Christian World: An Examination of the History and Development of Anti-Semitism in World History). Who says academics are all smug, insecure, fear-driven sociopaths? The big difference here is Buksbazen has a sense of humor.
The Basilisk shows us her pretty profile.
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) hurries to the rescue of his police partner and friend, Status (Wayne Spitzer). Compositing in the Viktor Corp. signage took more valuable edit-time than Spitzer cares to admit.
"Who goes there?" A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) thinks he sees something in the fog. Or maybe he's standing there because both he and Spitzer know that flashlights in the fog just look cool.
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) emerges into yet another long corridor. The idea was to make the night-world of
Dead of Night as labyrinthine as possible; also to save time by turning wide-shots into close-ups without changing camera set-ups.
Status (Wayne Spitzer) descends yet another set of stairs. In the story they are trying to flush out the Basilisk by making noise. In reality the idea was to take up screen time. Spitzer and Kumpon had to deliver a new program every two weeks (for which they were allotted only a few days of camera and edit bay usage) in order to keep their time-slot.
Again, Status (Wayne Spitzer) seems to be asking the time-honored horror movie question, "Who goes there?" John Campbell might know, but he's not around to help Spitzer with manuscripts, much less basilisks!
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) takes a break from wrangling basilisks to pull himself together. Now where'd he put that sack lunch?
Status (Wayne Spitzer) has cornered their prey. Or has it cornered him?
The Dead Men (Wayne Spitzer and Andy Kumpon) show the Basilisk the door...back to its own dimension!
Which happens to be at the bottom of a very deep pit.
The fluxcore opens and closes again...taking our scaley nemesis with it. Time for some grub at Noodle's Chow Stand!
Stills from Wayne Spitzer & Andy Kumpon's 1994 Dead of Night episode, "Basilisk." In spite of the insipid dialogue and poor pacing, Spitzer cites the episode as being "probably the closest we ever came -- atmosphere-wise -- to my original vision for the show."
The Basilisk, an "inter-dimensional reptile," rears its really not so ugly head. Spitzer and Kumpon built the full-size prop from a design of Wayne's. Its central elements are a dryer hose, the head of an Aurora T. Rex model from the '70s, and bubble-wrap.
Status (Wayne Spitzer) squares off with the Basilisk in a slightly over-produced shot. Pretty slick for two guys (all the early Dead of Night episodes were performed, shot and edited by the two alone) with no time, no money, and no Hollywood connections.
One of the cool blue crabs. Remember Rodan? (1956) How the big birds ate the creepy catapillar things? Same idea.
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) is about to "make contact," and how! This shot was inspired by the Plesiosaur attacking the U-boat in Samuel Z. Arkoff's The Land That Time Forgot (1974).
Another neat shot of the Basilisk, close enough to its prey to strike! The prop was essentially operated as a giant marionette. Note that location is of paramount importance to the success of these shots; it is, in a sense, a character in its own. Spitzer and Kumpon will only say that they "secured" a functioning aluminum foundry for two nights.
Status and A.K.'s mercurial employer, "Viktor," is about to do a vanishing act. The character was named after and performed by Dr. Victor E. Buksbazen (The Jewish People in a 'Christian World: An Examination of the History and Development of Anti-Semitism in World History). Who says academics are all smug, insecure, fear-driven sociopaths? The big difference here is Buksbazen has a sense of humor.
The Basilisk shows us her pretty profile.
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) hurries to the rescue of his police partner and friend, Status (Wayne Spitzer). Compositing in the Viktor Corp. signage took more valuable edit-time than Spitzer cares to admit.
"Who goes there?" A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) thinks he sees something in the fog. Or maybe he's standing there because both he and Spitzer know that flashlights in the fog just look cool.
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) emerges into yet another long corridor. The idea was to make the night-world of Dead of Night as labyrinthine as possible; also to save time by turning wide-shots into close-ups without changing camera set-ups.
Status (Wayne Spitzer) descends yet another set of stairs. In the story they are trying to flush out the Basilisk by making noise. In reality the idea was to take up screen time. Spitzer and Kumpon had to deliver a new program every two weeks (for which they were allotted only a few days of camera and edit bay usage) in order to keep their time-slot.
Again, Status (Wayne Spitzer) seems to be asking the time-honored horror movie question, "Who goes there?" John Campbell might know, but he's not around to help Spitzer with manuscripts, much less basilisks!
A.K. Fleet (Andy Kumpon) takes a break from wrangling basilisks to pull himself together. Now where'd he put that sack lunch?
Status (Wayne Spitzer) has cornered their prey. Or has it cornered him?
The Dead Men (Wayne Spitzer and Andy Kumpon) show the Basilisk the door...back to its own dimension!
Which happens to be at the bottom of a very deep pit.
The fluxcore opens and closes again...taking our scaley nemesis with it. Time for some grub at Noodle's Chow Stand!
