Virus Girl is an anti-war movie about the limits of morals and humanity from the point of view of a scientist tasked with finding a new and innovative way to gain an edge in the fight to save her nation.

It all starts with a sketch…

The first step in the production of the film focused on putting everything into paper. Every idea, every possibility. At this point in development imagination runs free until landing on the final concept that eventually became Virus Girl.

At this moment, figuring out a way to convey the body horror and atmosphere while maintaining a simple and appealing design for both the character and the framing of shots were the focus.

Iteration

Originally Virus Girl was written as a three chapter horror comic about a young woman who finds herself living once again in her family’s house after having to drop out of medical school in order to take care of her sister after her mother’s passing and her father’s neglect.

In this early version of the story the protagonist, Camelia Fernandez, was not the Doctor she became in the final version of the film. Instead, it was her father who was at fault for the biological disaster that ensued as he attempted to save the nation from the ongoing war. Even in this early stage, the anti-war sentiment of the story can be felt. That said, this left Camelia in the role of a civilian, a victim, as she uncovered the truth about her family’s misfortune. This was one of the more drastic changes in the story and the one that shaped the vision for what came to be Virus Girl. As in the end, Camelia found herself the perpetrator and cause of her own chaos and success. No longer the victim, now something more akin to a villain.

reframing

Virus Girl was re-written to present a tale of isolation and the extremes of the human condition subjected to a sense of hyper-nationalism that causes the stretching of morals and ethics in order to achieve a goal.

This time, with no cliched female victims kidnapped in basements as are often seen in this kind of horror settings. Instead, a mad scientist at the peak of her career.

Finalizing the look

Once the early concept sketches were made and the story was figured out, the next step was to finalize the look of the girl and the room.

At this point it was very important to ensure that everything felt like it existed cohesively, not only within the same universe or world, but quite literally within the same room at this medical facility.

At this moment, Camelia also went through her final design change. Going from a preppy scientist in civilian clothes, to the test subject in her own medical trial.