Battles With Bits of Rubber

What was of note for me was how particular and precise everything was. Care was taken at every turn, and it struck me that the amount of effort that takes must come from a deep well.

So it was a great pleasure to sit and chat with the man himself, and I could ask if he thought of this about himself and if we could pick apart where that comes from. As you'll hear, Richard had a career as a dancer before he embarked on makeup, and his training was thorough. I think that experience and also working for a makeup brand such as Lancôme meant his work doesn't start and stop with bits of rubber!

Follow Richard on his Instagram to see just how versatile this chap is.

A Devil mask sculpt completed recently for Immortal Masks.

Claudia Alta (Lady 'Bird' Johnson) wrap-around prosthetic sculpt ready to mould.

Zombie makeup on Eva Minaeva for TUSH magazine.

Phantom makeup from Monsterpalooza 2016.

A 1920s beauty makeup on Sarah Sokolovic from the NBC show Timeless. Sarah plays Grace Humiston (the first female Special Assistant United States Attorney). Makeup was usually done by Peter DeOliveira, and Richard filled in on this day. It's quite a responsibility to fill in seamlessly on a show with established looks.

Another beauty makeup on Bianca Lopez from NBC show Timeless. Makeup by Richard Redlefsen. Debbie Zoller makeup dept head.

We chat about a Facebook post which got a lot of people's back up, as a freelancer or anyone with a creative spark, you may have been approached to do something which gradually expands into a lot of somethings, and payment is strangely far from the table.

Email us with your stories, screenshots or anything regarding that. We'd love to do a post focussing on that and read some of the best ones out, and formulate an appropriate response to arm you if you find yourself in that position of feeling bad for wanting fair compensation.

Email us direct at [email protected]

Facebook page at Battles With Bits Of Rubber

If you enjoy this, PLEASE help us grow by telling someone about us and posting on social media!

We had a lovely message from Charlotte Annice Spruch who mentioned the formula for finding your worth from a few episodes back on a Facebook group. Cheers Charlotte!

That kind of sharing is what helps us grow, and we get heard by the people who would be glad to find us!

Till next time!

Stuart & Todd

That aside, he also recalls exactly how he got there and can track back the step by step process of how he got there.

It’s a wonderful thing when someone can trace back their steps and know how they got to where they have and are keen to help others understand what is important.

Steve talks about the importance of knowing how to make things work rather than always relying on an endlessly supplied workshop to solve every problem. Knowing how to pull things together on the spot is a great skill to have on set but ironically is how most people start out when they don’t have a lot of kit.

Hearing who he has worked with is like a who’s who of the makeup effects world. Knowing good, solid makeup skills as well as using appliances and working in a workshop come together to make a very capable artist whose versatile skillset make for a great resume.

We see again and again in these conversations with makeup artists how living a little life first and getting involved in the real world before settling on a career path can be so beneficial, as you can figure out who you are a little clearer before throwing yourself into an industry.

Steve also goes a little into his interest in the circus and particularly clowning, and how learning from the people around you is important. It really helped set him up for working within the film industry and dealing with people and appeal to their better nature. Clowns nowadays are often seen more as scary tropes, like Pennywise from IT and Killer Clowns From Outer Space.

Clowning was designed for fun and joy, to create laughter and cause people to drop their guard and experience joy, and Steve looks at how he wants to reclaim the clown for laughs rather than screams.

Like he says (Steve credits Leonard Engleman with this maxim), "Retire to something rather than from something." He is a busy chap, and has plans to bring some very cool things into the business. Steve has such a pleasant manner and it really was a joy to speak with him. Todd and I were grateful that he gave up his time to chat to us so candidly.

He mentions a book by Wayne W. Dyer - The Shift: Taking Your Life from Ambition to Meaning, and I link it here if you want to check it out.

Many thanks for listening!

Til next time

Stuart & Todd

With a long career spanning every aspect of makeup, he comes from a several generation deep family which practically bleeds greasepaint. Many know of his work on Star Trek, but the breadth of his experience is quite something.

To read more on the subject, check out a brief history of it here, on Wikipedia or track down a copy of 'The Westmores Of Hollywood'.

Awared the Academy Award in 1985 for Mask, a moving story of Roy L. "Rocky" Dennis who suffered from Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia, Michael is well placed to comment on extreme prosthetic makeovers to subtle, undetectable straight makeup corrections.

Michael has recently told his own story in 'Makeup Man', a memoir made up from a collection of stories charting his progression in the industry, and I would recommend it as a great read for anyone with an interest in makeup and how it works within the film industry!

It's taken 14 years to assemble the stories, going from the 60's to the 2000's with loads of extra snippets. It really is a complete work covering the celebrities he worked with and doesn't shy away from the warts and all experences of a working makeup artist who deals with celebrity skin. A complete reliving of a career!

Todd and I recently had the pleasure of sitting with the man himself at Monsterpalooza 2018, and chatting about:

• How practice is the key
• The increase of materials available
• How to get the best from time at makeup schools
• The importance of art and art schooling
• The new adhesives developed by Westmore Effects
• The amount of available talent now

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Michael Westmore Jr was present also, and as the force behind Westmore Effects (check the facebook group) he chatted to us later about the developments coming up and the new exciting materials he has developed to addess the issues those of us who stick rubber onto skin face on set.

(Click here for retailer info nearest to you).

We hope you enjoy listening to this one!

Till next time

-Stuart & Todd

This is the first of a series of interviews Todd and I did at Monsterpalooza 2018, a three-day event in Los Angeles which was busting at the seams with visitors, demos and vendors. It was amazing, and Todd and I applied my Bela Lugosi makeup for the Rick Baker Tribute on the enormous PPI Premiere Products Inc stand.

Blogpost: http://www.learnmakeupeffects.com/fangsfx/

We grabbed Chris for a chat outside the venue as it was far quieter than inside, and talked teeth, drill bits in the mouth, loose teeth, missing teeth and how much hiding in plain sight takes place.

Making and fitting teeth requires the use of some pretty serious chemicals and hardware, and putting these things into performers mouths is a serious responsibility as you will hear.

Fangs FX was established in 1984, and has an outstanding list of credits. If you have never heard of Chris or his team, then you will certainly have seen their work. Check out their facebook page and Instagram @fangsfx.

Richard Coyle from BBC TV show 'Strange' which maks use of swelling provided by a dental plumper rather than an appliance. Makeup by Jan Sewell.

You know who wearing some makeup by Mark Coulier. Nose wiped out digitally, teeth made grim practically.

Michael Rooker from Guardians of the Galaxy, makeup by David White.

Demo by Mark Coulier, reimagining the Nosferatu style Barlow from Salems Lot.

Makeup demo by Stephen Murphy for PPI. Model Ben Palmer.

A Cure For Wellness featured some neat teeth gags.

Paul Kayes' teeth for Mutti Voosht in 'Pan'.

The test makeup with teeth in place for Paul Kayes character Mutti Voosht for Pan, cut ultimately. Makeup by me.

Spencer Wilding wearing a Rick Baker wolfman makeup and some oustanding Fangs FX Dentures.

Tim Vine comedy sketch show wth removable tooth gag.

Naomi Harris in drama series 'White Teeth' missing the front four teeth - a worst case scenario for a practical tooth gag if all real teeth are present.

Gags, where something has to happen, move and perform on cue is a tough thing to pull off...

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... but even a moving drill bit appearing through teeth live in-camera is another day for Chris and the team. The stuff nightmares are made of!

As ever, email us at [email protected] or drop us a comment our facebook page.

Remember to floss regularly!

Stuart & Todd.

And, depending on responses to my musings, perhaps Stuart and I can extend this into a longer broadcast with tips from you all on how to get rid of unwanted and no longer needed stuff.

Hi. My name is Todd. And I’m a pack rat. (Hi, Todd!)

Let’s face it, most of us have too much stuff. Stuff we don’t use, stuff we don’t need, and stuff we don’t even remember getting.

So how do you get rid of it?! I can look around my office, shop and studio and wonder when the crew from Hoarders is arriving. Maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, because at least I’m not navigating through canyons of stacked magazines and newspapers, but... it’s easy to lose sight of my office from certain vantage points because of props, molds and masks... I can be looking for something - and it can even be in plain view - but it will take me a bit to see it amidst everything else. I either need more space, or less stuff. The answer is less stuff.

But how do you part with something you may need later? There’s a psychology to it... maybe even a pathology... I’ve been collecting and adding to bins of doodads and thingamabobs (I swear they even multiply by themselves!) for what seems like eons that I know I’ll find a cool use for someday.

I need help. I’m never going to use that shit. Who do I think I’m kidding? 2018 may be the Year of the Dog for China, but for me it is The Year of the Purge. I started reading a book by Japanese author Marie Kondo called The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up - The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.

I haven’t finished it yet, but the gist of it is this: Figure out which items ‘spark joy’ and which don’t. The items that don’t, heave ho! I’m still trying to wrap my head around that, but I confess I am making headway.

Perhaps I need to put in a call to American Pickers. It’s just that I’m in a business that requires stuff, and lots of it. There has to be a way to make do and do well with a leaner inventory and library of stuff. This is my start. Take a listen and let us know what you think.

Cheers,

Todd

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For the blog post on this, check out http://www.learnmakeupeffects.com/packrat/