Q. How does an aspiring artist get a footing in the small world of special makeup effects? A. I watched the end credits of BBC shows and wrote to the people that came up on the screen! I’d just write to whichever name came up, "Care of the BBC". And you could actually get things to people like that back in the 1980s! I received a letter back and the response encouraged me to continue honing my craft and to create a portfolio of work. By the age of 15, I had enough work to take to studios in London. Two years later, I got my break. Established British makeup artist Christopher Tucker (Elephant Man, Phantom of the Opera) was impressed by my portfolio and gave me two weeks of work experience. After I’d done the work with him, I just thought, I can’t go back to college now! I have to keep doing this.
UNDER THE SKIN OF PROSTHETIC EFFECTS WITH ARTIST
NEILL GORTON
With more than 35 years of experience in the film industry, prosthetic effects artist Neill Gorton has enjoyed a career that's included working on blockbuster projects such as Saving Private Ryan and Doctor Who as well as running the Prosthetic Effects MA at Falmouth.
While back home in Liverpool, I was at a famous comic bookstore called Forbidden Planet when I saw a guy I recognised: Bob Keen (Hell Raiser, Candyman). I accosted him outside the shop and he agreed to view my portfolio at his studio. The following Monday, he took a look at what I’d done and hired me on the spot to work on Waxwork a horror-comedy film.
Q. What led to more work in a profession where jobs were scarce? A. I took every opportunity I could. I scrabbled about doing physical effects – wetting down streets to make it look like it’d rained, generating wind effects by operating huge fans, that kind of thing. I actually got hired to operate the wind machines purely because my van had a tow bar on the back – the special effects supervisors knew they wouldn’t have to go out and hire a van!
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