All filmmakers are magicians. They let the viewers immerse themselves in fictional worlds, believe stories that don’t exist, and feel things they didn’t know they could feel. Yet some artists in the industry have an even more hands-on approach to magic than others. Let’s talk about the craft of prosthetics – the area of filmmaking that has existed forever and still achieves practical effects that will blow your mind. I must admit, I’m an absolute fan of all things practical in film and can talk about them for ages. It’s incredible to discover how a smart trick works and creates a phenomenal scene, without being visible to the audience. Makeup artists play a crucial role in this universe of magic, especially when they not only enhance the look of actors and actresses but also perform a task that makes them totally unrecognizable. This is the area we’re going to explore in this article. Prosthetics and how the craft started Prosthetics and special effects makeup in filmmaking are as old as the world. Although Rick Baker was the first Academy Award winner for the masterful use of it in “An American Werewolf in London” in 1981, you’ll have no problem finding much earlier examples of impressive looks achieved with this craft. For instance, in the silent cinema classic “The Phantom of the Opera” (1925), the director Lon Chaney appears on screen as a ghoulish phantom himself. Apart from directing and acting, he did his own makeup, and in fact, is considered...
Published By: CineD - Today