whole day of shooting, when their skin is a little more sensitive, it's not
going to get beaten up. The prosthetic goes in the trash, you put some
cold cream on the actor and send them off to take a shower. And get
ready to do it all over the next day."
Shooting days are long for makeup effects artists. If the production
were shooting 14 hours, from 7:00 A.M. until 9:00 P.M., special effects
might arrive around 4:00 A.M. to begin applying makeup, so that the actor
can walk on set by 7:00. At the end of the day, another hour or two may
be required to remove the makeup and prepare for the following day.
"The hours can be grueling," Bartalos says. "The way I look at it is, I
think makeup effects is one of the fun-est forms of the arts for cinema, so
I figure the long hours are the trade off. If you're getting to do something
this cool, they're going to make you earn it."
Special Skills
Makeup effects artists should be skilled in sculpting and have the
ability to sketch their ideas. They should possess an understanding of
cosmetic chemistry, makeup application, lighting, anatomy, and color
theory.
Advice for Someone Seeking This Job
"Get your hands on a camera and start creating effects for your own
movies. It's a great way to see what works and doesn't work, at your
own expense. Take risks and try anything, just to see what you can do.
Then, put your name up on the board at film schools and volunteer to
work on independent student films to gain more experience. Once you
have footage of some work you've done, start applying to work at a big
effects shop to gain professional experience, or try to land work on an
independent film. Look for a mentor--someone who has been in the busi-
ness for a while that you can learn from and go to for advice.
"This job is all about your sculpting and painting talents. Get a block
of clay from an art store and start modeling a face, a hand, a character,
trying to get what's in your head through your hands into the clay. Take a
pad and a nice pencil and start doodling and doodling. Start practicing;
tighten those skills. Spend hours making some cool drawings and some
sculptures. Take pictures of your work or a color copy. Then take the
images and photos you've created and start banging on some doors
because everyone, including me, is always keeping their eyes open for
new talent to surround themselves with--to be inspired by, to be sup-
ported by. You never know what the next job needs. It may need a bunch
of new people to crew up to get through the job."
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