Editing Dawn of the Dead (1978 film) (section)

==== Make-up and effects ====
[[File:Machetezombie.jpg|thumb|left|An example of the bright hue of the fake blood, gray face make-up, and special effects in ''Dawn of the Dead'']] [[File:Dawn of the Dead Headshot.png|thumb|right|upright|Special effect of an exploding head during the tenement building scene]] [[Tom Savini]], who had been offered the chance to provide special effects and make-up for Romero's first zombie film, ''Night of the Living Dead,'' before being drafted into the [[Vietnam War]], made his debut as an effects artist on ''Dawn of the Dead''.<ref name="lord of gore">''[http://www.slasherama.com/features/savini.HTML Lord of Gore] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517013729/http://www.slasherama.com/features/savini.html |date=May 17, 2008 }}'' Slasherama.com</ref> Savini had been known for his make-up in horror for some time, prior to ''Dawn of the Dead'', and in his book explaining special effects techniques, ''Bizarro'', explains how his time in Vietnam influenced his craft.<ref name="Bizarro">[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0911137009 Tom Savini, ''Bizarro!: The Art and Technique of Special Make-Up Effects'' (New York: Harmony Books, 1983), 11.]</ref> He had a crew of eight to assist in applying gray makeup to two to three hundred extras each weekend during the shoot. One of his assistants during production was [[Joseph Pilato]], who played a [[police captain]] in the film and would go on to play the lead villain in the film's sequel, ''[[Day of the Dead (1985 film)|Day of the Dead]]'', Captain Henry Rhodes.<ref name="pilato interview">{{cite web |last=Mason |first=R.H. |title=An Interview With The Villain |url=http://www.geocities.com/zodiaczombie/joeinterviews.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091026220308/http://www.geocities.com/zodiaczombie/joeinterviews.html |archive-date=October 26, 2009 |access-date=May 12, 2008 |publisher=[[Fangoria]] (reprinted)}}</ref>

The makeup for the multitudes of extras in the film was a basic blue or gray tinge to the face of each extra. Some featured zombies, who would be seen close-up or on-screen longer than others, had more time spent on their look. Many of the featured zombies became part of the fanfare, with nicknames based upon their look or activity—such as Machete Zombie, Sweater Zombie, and Nurse Zombie.<ref name="zombie names">''[http://www.gamingreport.com/?sid=13241 Carnival of the Damned at Origins becomes a "Cast Party!"]'' GamingReport.com {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527220541/http://www.gamingreport.com/article.php?sid=13241|date=May 27, 2014}}</ref> "Sweater Zombie" [[Clayton Hill (Actor)|Clayton Hill]] was described by a crew member as "one of the most convincing zombies of the bunch" citing his skill at maintaining his stiff pose and rolling his eyes back into his head, including heading down the wrong way in an escalator while in character.<ref>Balingit, Moriah. [https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/09208/986678-122.stm "Obituary: Clayton Hill / Played a lead zombie in 'Dawn of the Dead'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212021629/https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/09208/986678-122.stm |date=February 12, 2021 }}, ''[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]]'', July 27, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2009.</ref>

A cast of Ross' head that was to be used in the original ending of the film (involving a suicide rather than the escape scene finally used) ended up as an exploding head during the tenement building scene. The head, filled with food scraps, was shot with an actual shotgun to get the head to explode.<ref name="lord of gore" /> One of the unintentional standout effects was the bright, fluorescent color of the fake blood that was used in the film. Savini was an early opponent of the blood, produced by [[3M]], but Romero thought it added to the film, claiming it emphasised the comic book feel of the movie.<ref>''[https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/30623/dawn-of-the-dead-1978/ Dawn of the Dead (1978) (Blu-ray)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115051849/https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/30623/dawn-of-the-dead-1978/ |date=November 15, 2019 }}'' DVDTalk review</ref>