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Abertay student artwork fronts Dundead horror film festival
Dundead is an annual horror and cult film festival that has taken place in at Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) since April 2011. It brings together a mix of previews and premieres of brand new genre titles as well as specially selected horror classics. This year, Dundead runs from Thursday 16 May until Sunday 19 May and offers a long weekend full of thrills for horror fans.
The artwork for the festival this year was designed by Liam Doyle – an Abertay Computer Arts student in his final year. We spoke to Liam to hear more about how the artwork came around and what was the inspiration behind it.
‘Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) this year announced the dates for this year’s Dundead festival alongside an appeal to find a new artist to design the logo. I sent them my portfolio website thinking that it would be a fun opportunity to do but honestly did not think that I was going to be chosen. I was actually away at this year’s Edinburgh movie Summit when I got the call back that I was one of the finalists chosen.’
Liam was given early access to the programme for this year so in order to find inspiration he watched every movie on the list. He wrote down some common themes throughout all the movies and made some rough designs in a sketchbook as he watched. The instructions for the logo were that it has to look good on a cinema screen as well as on merchandise, such as T-shirts and prints which are to be sold during the festival.
The original submission was 6 unique designs which varied a lot in styles, most of them were to do with the film ‘Candyman’ but the chosen one was the knife design as it captured the theme of ‘slasher’ instead of being focused on a single film.
‘The knife design was actually the first I had sketched out, and originally was a knife stabbing into a television and cracking the screen. There was a lot of communication back and forth about the level of violence in the design, till we settled on the knife on its own. This was great for me, as in my opinion the final logo looks way better than the original sketch! The official design was released on Saturday March 23rd during the 25th anniversary screening of ‘Ravenous’, which funnily enough is my favourite comedy horror movie, so it was a perfect night for me!’
‘Dundead has always been something special to me whilst being in Dundee. It is pretty surreal to me as I have wanted to make the logo for the past few years, and I am actually amazed that this dream came true. The most surprising element for me was that the response has been so positive and lovely.’
The weekend begins with the Dundead Film Quiz on Thursday 16th May 2024, where fans can put their horror film knowledge to the test for the chance to win prizes, and the festival atmosphere continues with a 90s tunes and spooky horror film influences DJ set by Dundee musician Theo Bleak in Jute Café Bar after the Saturday night screening of Scream.
Horror fans can enjoy the whole terrifying weekend with a Full Pass for £102. This includes a ticket to all 12 films, plus a t-shirt and special edition print. For those who want to pace themselves, a Half Pass will also be available for £54 which also includes a Dundead t-shirt. Both passes will be available to buy in person and online.
Additionally, Liam is showcasing his last year's project at the Abertay Digital Graduate Show 2024 - a 2D animated pilot with the hopes of pushing it towards a television network. Called 'Deadwood', the project is about hunting monsters such as the Mothman, Fresno nightcrawlers and other mythological creatures. It takes elements from the graphic novel Hellboy and the television show supernatural to create an entirely new story based around these concepts.
Liam's main ambition for the project was to make a show that was funny as well as creepy. There is a pitch bible to further help understand what the show is, as well as free merchandise. Come along!
