SPECIAL MAKE-UP FX | ANIMATRONICS | BODY & FACE ART ISSUE 9 WINTER 2017 £6.95
IN THIS ISSUE…
TECH SPEC The
>> The Orville
Dark Tow er’s Taheen T rackers
Academy Award winner Howard Berger discusses KNB’s makeup and creature effects for the TV space opera
>> Invisible Genius
Were Davina Lamont and Göran
Lundström’s prosthetics for National Geographic’s Einstein anthology just too convincing?
>> The Perils of
Pennywise
Industry veteran Bart J. Mixon looks back at his work on the original It mini-series
>> Step-by-Steps
Flat mould prosthetics, latex appliances, blood blasters and the making of Brain Dead
Star Trek: Discovery The Art of Alchemy FX Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page on the cutting-edge creativity that abounds in CBS’s brand new show PROSTHETICS
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R O F I PP ! Y R O VICT
Our custom Skin Illustrator palette was essential for maintaining Winston’s look throughout the filming of Darkest Hour. With 50 shoot days ahead of us we knew this would be the perfect addition to our kit. The signature colour ‘Blenheim Blush’ was created just for this makeup and was named by Gary Oldman himself. This palette, along with Telesis 8 adhesive were an important part of every application.
— David Malinowski
Prosthetic Supervisor, Darkest Hour
www.ppipremiereproducts.com PPI Premiere Products Inc. is an FDA licensed, cruelty-free and vegan approved cosmetic manufacturer. All products are made in the USA and are cruelty-free. 2
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© 2017 Premiere Products, Inc.
WINTER 2017 Publisher Neill Gorton Editor Lisa Gorton Designer Mike Truscott Artwork Assistant Stuart McDonald Sales Katie Gurney Proofreader Mary Loveday
Welcome
to issue nine of Prosthetics Magazine Sci-fi television has been one of the most fertile grounds for prosthetic makeup. As well as an abundance of aliens these shows often also require robots, androids, animatronics, ageing makeups and creature suits.
Contact Prosthetics Magazine 59-61 Killigrew Street, Falmouth, Cornwall, UK. TR11 3PF
Star Trek has always been a platform for prosthetic makeup excellence, right from the first episode and Spock’s Vulcan ears created by John Chambers up to the Academy Awardwinning work of Joel Harlow, Barney Burman and Mindy Hall for the Star Trek movie reboot.
Email info@prostheticsmagazine.co.uk
Subscriptions Subscribe to the magazine and online library at www.prostheticsmagazine.co.uk
Cover image L’Rell played by Mary Chieffo, Star Trek: Discovery (CBS All Access) 2017. Makeup sculpted by Micheal O’Brien and painted by Tim Gore for Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page’s Alchemy FX Studios
Contributors Our sincere thanks to everyone who provided material for this issue and shared their knowledge so generously, in page order: Eryn Krueger Mekash, Whitley O’Donnell, Stuart Bray, Todd Debreceni, Joe Nazzaro, Mike Mekash, Óscar del Monte, Akihito Ikeda, Davina Lamont, Göran Lundström, Anthony Davies, Morgan Kimber, Patricia L. Terry, Gary Christensen and Clinton Aiden Smith
One of Star Trek’s great strengths is that it has continued to evolve and adapt with each iteration over the decades, and so has the makeup. In this issue, new boys to the franchise Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page show us their incredible prosthetic design for the latest evolution in Star Trek: Discovery. Of course every success story has its imitators and Star Trek has had many. With The Orville maybe homage is a better word; this warm hearted comedy has been described by some as ‘even more Star Trek than Star Trek.’ What it has done is provide department head Howard Berger with the opportunity to have a great deal of fun creating a vast array of alien characters, while superbly balancing nostalgia for and love of the genre with the demands of a modern audience. Whichever one is your preference it’s clear the sci-fi series is alive and well and will boldly go on providing us with fantastic prosthetic characters for many more years to come. Hope you enjoy the content on offer!
Content, instructional material and advertised products: 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.
Neill Gorton Publisher
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.
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Contents 06 WORDS OF WISDOM
Eryn Krueger Mekash, eleven-time award winner and 30-time Emmy nominee sets the scene for this issue
08 DEEP SPACE CHUCKLES
Academy Award winner Howard Berger discusses KNB’s makeup and creature effects for high-profile TV space opera The Orville with Whitley O’Donnell
19 LATEX APPLIANCES: Part 2
40 SKINS: MAKEUP FX ON A MISSION
Óscar del Monte on provocative prosthetics that challenge their audience in Eduardo Casanova’s risky exposé of social acceptance
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48 BRAIN DEAD
The making of Akihito Ikeda’s Zombie Boy-inspired masterpiece that stole the show at Monsterpalooza 2016
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Emmy winner Mike Mekash proves you don’t need a lot of money to make effective devices with a blood blaster costing less than $50!
56 INVISIBLE GENIUS
Veteran makeup effects artist Bart J. Mixon looks back at his work on the original It miniseries with Joe Nazzaro
Glenn Hetrick
35 LET’S MAKE A BLOOD BLASTER!
26 THE PERILS OF PENNYWISE
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In the second of a two-part tutorial, Stuart Bray and Todd Debreceni take us through the process of applying the latex prosthetic nose they made in part one
“It’s a dream come true to be involved with this franchise…”
Neill Gorton talks to Davina Lamont and Göran Lundström about their ageing and character work on National Geographic’s anthology period drama series Genius
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92 65 FLAT MOULD PROSTHETICS: Part 1
In the first of a two-part tutorial, Anthony Davies and Morgan Kimber create an entire full head makeup using only flat moulds
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THE B-SIDES
Film and TV prosthetics that didn’t make the screen. This issue’s subject: Todd McIntosh’s work on the little known and short lived 2004 revival of Dark Shadows
76 STAR TREK DISCOVERY: THE ART OF ALCHEMY FX
Glenn Hetrick and Neville Page explain the cuttingedge creativity that abounds in the adventures of the spaceship Discovery
89 LEADING LADIES OF MAKEUP EFFECTS
Excerpt from a brand new book by Patricia L. Terry and Gary Christensen showcasing the award-winning women of our craft
92 PROSTHETICS TECH SPEC
Clinton Aiden Smith breaks down Cosmesis Advanced Prosthetics Studio’s work on Stephen King’s self- proclaimed magnum opus The Dark Tower
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FOReWORD
Words of Wisdom
An industry leader sets the scene for the issue
Eryn Krueger Mekash, eleven-time award winner and 30-time Emmy nominee on common sense wisdom, work ethic and the importance of living your life
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Regrets, I’ve had a few” is the first thing I thought of when Neill and Lisa asked me to write their ‘Words of Wisdom’ column. I have a few opinions on being wise, especially having been around for a good many years now. Surprise!
friendships end up on the back-burner, and children don’t get to see at least one of their parents every day. It’s one of the reasons the people who I have on my teams are artists whose company I enjoy. I don’t want to spend all those hours with people who are crabby and bitter. Prioritize your community and your off-time. Treat your crews to something fun once in a while. If possible, let your crew have a day off or come in later when you are able to. It keeps morale high when you can actually live your life.
The only regrets I’ve had are to do with taking time off and not asking more questions of my mentors (age and confidence levels have rectified the latter regret). It’s hard for young people to listen to the wizened oldies, but if at all possible, don’t exchange family events or a pre-planned trip or fun adventure for work. The work will always be there. The memories you have later are always based on these events and not that you worked all weekend or through a holiday on a thankless job. This business makes you sacrifice a lot for success; relationships collapse with lack of care,
I’ve also noticed recently that there seem to be two types of artists that I encounter. One type takes classes on their off-time, goes to seminars, puts themselves out there in any position in a makeup department, and creates on a daily basis. The other type does the exact opposite with their hands out. Artists who sit at home and turn down jobs because they are above wrangling masks or watching set will not be rehired by me. If you aren’t working full time you should be practicing on anything and everyone. I’m not a strong airbrush painter but I practise and my skills have improved
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in the past five years. The differences between these two types of artists are vast in attitude and talent. You cannot expect to be handed a multi-piece character prosthetic if you’ve never done one well. Prepare for the job you want. Listen to the critiques of people who have more experience without getting your nose out of place. Prove to me you actually want to participate in your career. You will never know what saying yes to a job with smaller responsibilities will lead to. My last bit of wizard knowledge is very basic: don’t be a jerk. My father Richard is a brilliant engineer who in his ‘retirement’ is a professor of business ethics. He taught me to think before I speak and to evaluate situations and people before judging them. Show up for work on time, be prepared, and do everything you can to support production but don’t get taken advantage of by bad decision making. It’s common sense in a world of chaos. I don’t know what other kind of job I would’ve loved this much for this long. Eryn Krueger Mekash Makeup Designer
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