SPECIAL MAKE-UP FX | ANIMATRONICS | BODY & FACE ART ISSUE 11 SUMMER 2018 ÂŁ6.95
THES APE E ISSU The Ultimate Ape Suit
Industry giant Rick Baker on a subject that featured regularly in his magnificent career
Teaching and Tech
Creating burn scar effects, the nuts and bolts of awards and building a gorilla suit
Planet of the Apes
The Titan
Millennium FX on making mutants for the new Sam Worthington starrer
The Man in the Magic Store
A two-part journey through the career of master sculptor Don Lanning
Anniversary of an iconic franchise As the 1968 film celebrates its 50th year, the original makeup team share their thoughts on a cultural phenomenon PROSTHETICS
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PROSTHETICS
Summer 2018 Publisher Neill Gorton Editor Lisa Gorton Designer Mike Truscott Sales Katie Davies Proofreader Mary Loveday
Welcome
to issue eleven of Prosthetics Magazine Gorillas, Titans and Oscars, oh my!
Contact Prosthetics Magazine 59-61 Killigrew Street, Falmouth, Cornwall, UK. TR11 3PF
So this is my ‘self-indulgent’ issue and one I’ve wanted to do for a while. The 50th anniversary of Planet of the Apes presented the perfect opportunity and I’ve seized that opportunity with relish.
Email info@prostheticsmagazine.co.uk
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Cover image Stan Winston in fully animatronic ageing ape makeup with actor-driven facial articulation, a new method he devised for early tests on Tim Burton’s Planet of the Apes (2001). Image courtesy of Stan Winston School of Character Arts.
Contributors Our sincere thanks to everyone who provided material for this issue and shared their knowledge so generously, in page order: David Malinowski, Joe Nazzaro, Louise Tutt, Vincent Van Dyke, Kate Walshe, Rick Baker, Don Lanning, Chris Walas, Tom Woodruff Jr., Todd Debreceni and Stuart Bray
Content, instructional material and advertised products:
The highlight of this issue for me was the two hours I spent over lunch with Rick Baker discussing all the ape suits he’d created across his career. It doesn’t matter that I’ve been working professionally for over thirty years myself, I’m still a fanboy at heart and moments like that are very special. You might think The Titan is a particularly self-indulgent piece as the work was created by my company Millennium FX, but there’s more to it than that. For me, The Titan is a coming of age story for two reasons. Firstly, as preproduction ramped up on that project, Millennium was in the throes of moving from our old studio in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, which had been our home for over fifteen years at that point, to our new premises in Aylesbury, also in Buckinghamshire. The buildings in Chesham were a ramshackle affair and showing their age. Our new main property in Aylesbury is a modern, light and airy glass-fronted 10,000 sq ft edifice. Our moving there marked a sense of the business coming of age for me. Secondly, this was the first major movie production we did that I had basically nothing to do with. My co- director Rob Mayor and company director Kate Walshe have been running the show at Millennium for a lot of years, so it’s a proud papa moment to be able to feature the work they did and show just how they’re knocking it out of the park. As a quarterly magazine, sometimes the timings of articles in relation to production releases don’t always work out, and Darkest Hour was one of those projects that became problematic for us to cover. We published too early for it the first time around so couldn’t get material, then by the time our next issue was due there’d been so much coverage of it already we felt we had nothing new to say. Still, you just can’t ignore such wonderful work and the incredible achievements of Kazu, David and Lucy. I’ve been fortunate to know and work with David Malinowski for a number of years now, so my final indulgence in this issue was to feature some home team and have a chat with him about just what it’s really like to go to the Academy Awards. I hope you enjoy my issue 11 indulgences!
The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material, technical/artistic instruction or materials cited or promoted herein and does not endorse, guarantee, provide assurance of or recommend any products advertised or techniques described. All contents © Prosthetics Magazine (a subsidiary of Neill Gorton Prosthetics Studio Ltd) or published under licence. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without prior written permission from the publisher, including for storage and transmission purposes. All rights reserved.
Neill Gorton Publisher
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Contents
“There’s something in you that knows they’re very close to us.” Vincent Van Dyke
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WORDS OF WISDOM
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THE ULTIMATE APE SUIT
David Malinowski, recent Academy Award winner for Darkest Hour, sets the scene for this issue
Industry giant Rick Baker discusses an aspect of his magnificent career that he revisited time and time again
08 ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES
As Planet of the Apes celebrates its 50th anniversary, the film’s original makeup team reminisce about a cultural phenomenon
23 ANALYSING AWARDS
Louise Tutt and Neill Gorton give us an insight into the workings of some of the industry’s key awards, and recent Oscar winner David Malinowski explains what it’s like to win a major gong!
32 PROSTHETICS TECH SPEC
Vincent Van Dyke on the creation of the industry’s newest gorilla suit
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EVOLUTION EXPERIMENT
Millennium FX’s Kate Walshe on how the company tackled mutant making for The Titan
68 THE MAN IN THE MAGIC STORE: Part 1
Master sculptor Don Lanning talks about his journey into the industry, his passion for sculpture, and the joy of teaching
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APE SUIT ARTISANS
An insight into the appeal of apes and the challenge of building primate suits - an industry staple and the subject of many passion projects
91 CREATING BURN SCAR EFFECTS: Part 1
Todd Debreceni and Stuart Bray share their intricate technical knowledge of burn scar anatomy and how to emulate it with prosthetics for stage and screen
98 THE B-SIDES
Film and TV prosthetics that didn’t make the screen. This issue’s subject: Stan Winston’s series of cutting-edge makeup techniques developed for Planet of the Apes
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R O G 08
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FOReWORD
Words of Wisdom
An industry leader sets the scene for the issue David Malinowski, RECENT Academy Award winner for Darkest Hour on process, practice, and the privilege of doing what you love… s the alarm goes off at 1:09am I think to myself ‘why am I doing this again?’...and I’m sure I’m not the only makeup artist who thinks that. But the answer? Because I love what I do. It’s the essential ingredient to a career in this industry. It fuels all the hard work and incredibly long hours.
in a good mood and other days they will be tired or distracted. Over the course of filming you will probably see their full range of emotions and you need to be able to adapt your communication depending on the situation. It’s important to build trust and I believe this starts with you as the makeup artist showing a great deal of respect for the actor. So be patient and listen. If you’re lucky, like I was with Gary, every so often you will meet someone who you really connect with.
opportunities to develop my skills – he’s one of those really talented people who also wants other people to do well. If you get the chance to work with someone like Mark then do your best not to mess them around. Of course, being freelance isn’t an easy gig and sometimes the timing of jobs starting or finishing can be difficult to manage for both yourself and your employer. My advice would be to honour the commitments you make as much as possible. Remember, loyalty works both ways.
And so, my words of wisdom are about the privilege that we as makeup artists have – an opportunity to do what we love.
Get involved wherever you can
Embrace talent
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My advice to anyone is to make sure that people you work with can see how much you care. If you don’t care then what’s the point? Here goes, my top tips...
The whole process matters People might be surprised to hear me say that taking a makeup off is just as important as applying it. With Gary Oldman’s makeup on Darkest Hour, although we had very long days doing the application and looking after Gary on set, Lucy [Sibbick] and I wanted to be the ones to also take the makeup off at the end of the day. That way we could make sure it was done in such a way that his skin would be preserved for the following day. It was a unique situation that involved Gary being in makeup for over 60 days, something that was both physically and mentally taxing for him, so it required a unique approach – we looked after Gary from start to finish, each and every day. Put your care and attention into every detail and it will show. Get stuck in and be willing to do the mundane jobs as well.
Respect the person in the chair As a makeup artist, you spend a lot of time in other people’s personal space. Some days they will be
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This is not an easy industry to get into and you need to make an effort. Nowadays there are so many ways you can enhance your learning – unlike when I was starting out. Reading this brilliant magazine and article for example! But seriously, go to all the makeup shows, watch the demos, ask questions and take notes. Offer to do work experience – you will be hard pressed to find a successful makeup artist in this industry who didn’t start by offering their time for free.
Practise Something I love to see is an artist who shows their own work in their portfolio. By this I mean work they did in their spare time because they wanted to learn more, try something new, or figure out how something is done. So if you sculpted a head in your parents’ kitchen then show it with pride. It will demonstrate that you’re dedicated and that you understand the only way to become a brilliant makeup artist is to practise, practise, practise. And when you have the opportunity to train others and pass on your skills, don’t forget to pay it forward.
Loyalty counts I’m very fortunate to have worked with some amazing makeup artists throughout my career. Someone I’ve worked for quite a lot is Mark Coulier, and I’m extremely grateful to him for giving me
When it’s your turn to run a project and bring others on board, go and find talented people and work together as much as possible. Having Lucy work with me on Darkest Hour was critical to the success of our makeup. I know her well and trust her skills 100%. Don’t be afraid of working with people who are equal to or better than you in certain areas.
Get it right There’s nothing wrong with creative tension, in fact quite the opposite – it’s essential. Sometimes it’s about having the confidence to say when something isn’t right even if it upsets people, and on the other hand it can be about being able to take criticism. If a team’s working with the goal to create an amazing piece of work then creative tension is inevitable and necessary. I was reminded of this whilst working with Kazuhiro Tsuji, someone who I’ve always admired. The reason Kazu’s work is so exceptional is that he’s always looking for ways to improve.
Get support For me this is my wife and parents. They are truly amazing! Without them I most certainly wouldn’t be sitting here now writing this article. Whether you’re tired and grumpy, working in another country, or doubting whether you’re good enough (we all have those days) then you need support. David Malinowski Prosthetic Makeup Artist
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