Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Makeup combined with CGI


Figure 1: Den of Geek (2009) 
A common use of makeup in film is to age a character. the Curious Case of Benjamin Button takes this to the extreme. Not only does the age of the main character change throughout the film, but he ages backwards. On top of this, all of the various stages of age are portrayed by different actors, but they all had to be recognizable as the same person. To solve this problem, the filmmakers used a technique of imposing one actors face on top of another body.Brad Pitt plays the main character. For some sequences, Pitt could play the character directly with the help of makeup and hair styling, but for others his facial features had to be replicated on another actors body (the filmmakers have said that 52 minutes of the 166 minute film font feature any direct footage of Brad Pitt) - FX Guide (2009)


Figure 2: FX Guide (2009) 
This was the most obvious at the beginning and end of the film. At the beginning of the film the character is a baby who looks aged. For these sequences, the studio took digital images of Pitt's head and aged them with the computer, rather then taking a digital image of Brad Pitt in makeup to look aged. Still, the expressions of the character during those sequences are modeled exactly after Pitt's performance. To make sure all the actors who portrayed the various stages of Benjamin's

life looked similar, they created prosthetic busts of Brad Pitt in various ages for the actors to wear. For other sequences, Pitt himself had prosthesis and makeup applied to make him look older. There is only a short period of time in the film where Pitt plays himself without effects to make him look older or younger.



Figure 3: Digital Spy (2009) 
I also wanted to look into and research Avatar as is uses the same makeup and CGI effects as Benjamin Button. As the makeup department head of Avatar, Tegan worked closely with James Cameron and Weta Digital to create makeup that would work with new technology being used. Her unique skills involving the use of specialized

makeup, lead to the creation of Teagan's virtual makeup lab MoCap FX. There, she created the unique phosphorescent makeup used to capture the amazing images you see in 3D Avatar.

Here is also a walk though video on set with Greg Cammon the head makeup artist for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tQoEJYFjwY

Refrences; 
Figure 1: Den of Geek (2009) 
   http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/14593/ed-ulbrich-behind-the-extraordinary-visual-effects-of-benjamin-butto

Figure 2: FX Guide (2009) 
     https://www.fxguide.com/featured/the_curious_case_of_aging_visual_effects/

Figure 3: Digital Spy (2017) 
     http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/avatar/news/a843698/avatar-sequels-underwater-mo-cap/

Babbage R. Digital spy (2017) Retrieved from : 
      http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/avatar/news/a843698/avatar-sequels-underwater-mo-cap/

Seymour M. FX Guide (2009) Retrieved from: 
       https://www.fxguide.com/featured/the_curious_case_of_aging_visual_effects/

Runway, (2010) Retrieved from: 
        http://www.runwaylive.com/3095-meet-tegan-taylor-the-make-up-artist-behind-avatar.html

Mclean T. (2008) Retrieved from:  
          http://variety.com/2008/film/awards/creating-the-look-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-1117997242/

Rositas111. Greg Cannom - Makeup artist of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) Retrieved from: YouTube 
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tQoEJYFjwY
  







Makeup combined with CGI

Figure 1: Den of Geek (2009) 

A common use of makeup in film is to age a character. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button takes this to the extreme. Not only does the age of the main character change throughout the film, but he ages backwards. On top of this, all of the various stages of age are portrayed by different actors, but they all had to be recognizable as the same person. To solve this problem, the filmmakers used a technique of imposing one actor’s face on top of another’s body. Brad Pitt plays the main character. For some sequences, Pitt could play the character directly with the help of makeup and hair styling, but for others his facial features had to be replicated on another actor’s body (the filmmakers have said that 52 minutes of the 166 minute film don’t feature any direct footage of Brad Pitt). 




Figure 2: FX Guide (2009) 
This was most obvious at the beginning and end of the film. At the beginning of the film, the character is a baby who looks aged. For these sequences, the studio took digital images of Pitt’s head and aged them with the computer, rather than taking a digital image of Brad Pitt in makeup to look aged. Still, the expressions of the character during those sequences are modeled exactly after Pitt’s performance. To make sure all of the actors who portrayed the various stages of Benjamin’s life looked similar, they created prosthetic busts of Brad Pitt at various ages for the actors to wear. For other sequences, Pitt himself had prosthesis and makeup applied to make him older. There is only a short period of time in the film where Pitt plays himself without effects to make him look older or younger. 

I also looked into makeup used in Avatar as it also used the same technology as Benjamin Button. As the makeup department head of Avatar. Tegan worked closely with James Cameron and Weta Digital to create makeup that would work with the new technology being used. Her unique skills, involving the use of specialized makeup, lead to the creation of Tegan's virtual makeup lab MoCap Fx. There, she created the unique phosphorescent makeup used to capture the amazing images you see in 3D on Avatar. 

Here is a walk through video with the makeup artist Greg Cammon for Benjamin button 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tQoEJYFjwY

References

Figure 1: Den of Geek (2009) 

    http://www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/14593/ed-ulbrich-behind-the-extraordinary-visual-effects-of-benjamin-button

Figure 2: FX Guide (2009) 

    https://www.fxguide.com/featured/the_curious_case_of_aging_visual_effects/

Figure 3: Digital Spy (2017) 
    http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/avatar/news/a843698/avatar-sequels-underwater-mo-cap/

Babbage R. Digital spy (2017) Retrieved from:
    http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/avatar/news/a843698/avatar-sequels-underwater-mo-cap/

Seymour M. FX Guide (2009) Retrieved from:
      https://www.fxguide.com/featured/the_curious_case_of_aging_visual_effects/

Staff , Runway (2010) Retrieved from: 
      http://www.runwaylive.com/3095-meet-tegan-taylor-the-make-up-artist-behind-avatar.html

Mclean T. Vanity (2008) Retrieved from: 
        http://variety.com/2008/film/awards/creating-the-look-the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button-1117997242/

Rositas111, Greg Cannom - Makeup artist of The curious case of Benjamin button (2008) Retrieved from: YouTube 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tQoEJYFjwY

Thursday, 2 November 2017

Makeup used as a shock device


Figure 1: Girl meets freak (2006) Movie discussion

This is no clearer to many movie makeup artists that horror films make is very clear that realistic, blood, guts, and gore are a pretty effective way of getting a response from an audience. Day of the Dead is one film where makeup effects play a major role in the film. Makeup effects creator Tom Savini was in charge of the special effects here, and would work on other films with George A Romero, (Tom Savini) He also worked on the first four Friday the 13th films and would later go on to work with Robert Rodriguez. Savini was a pioneer of prosthetics, making sure they looked more realistic on films and at times giving them a functional role. He used his experiences as a combat photographer in the Vietnam war to make his effects more realistic. Day of the Dead uses Savini’s talents to great effect, such that his work is the highlight of the film.



Figure 2: Girl meets freak (2006) Movie discussion

As a pioneering zombie film, the film showcases a lot of gag-including moments in order to push audiences towards the edge of their seats. If the visuals were not realistic-looking, audiences would have had a difficult time cheering on the protagonists in their fight against the undead. To accomplish this realism for shock value, Savini and Romero created a lot of sequences where the makeup effects are dynamic. When a character is shooting a gun, the camera isn’t just focused on the person firing the gun, it shows what happens to the zombies, instead of them just fall over incapacitated. The film uses real meat for zombies to munch on to mimic human flesh, including one moment where a zombie takes a bite out of a living person. Another iconic sequence that showcases Savini’s aptitude for prosthetics is when a character is being torn apart by the zombies. Such violent and bloody imagery is difficult to forget since it is executed so convincingly.


Figure 3: Pintrest (2010) glindagb

The makeup for the multitudes of extras in the film was a basic blue or gray tinge to the face of each extra. some featured zombies, who would be seen close- up or on- screen longer than others, had more time spent on their look. Many of the featured zombies became part of the fanfare, with nicknames based upon their look or activity - such as Machete Zombie, Sweater zombie, and Nurse zombie.(Wilson D Blood Disgusting)  



References:

Figure 1:
         Girl meets freak (2006) Movie discussion Retrieved from;
  http://girlmeetsfreak.com/2013/12/17/movie-discussion-george-a-romeros-day-of-the-dead-1985/

Figure 2:
            Girl meets freak (2006) Movie discussion Retrieved from;
  http://girlmeetsfreak.com/2013/12/17/movie-discussion-george-a-romeros-day-of-the-dead-1985/

Figure 3:
       Pintrest (2010) glindagb Retrived from:  
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/61994932344058767/

Tom Savini Retrieved from:
       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Savini 

George A. Girl meets freak (2006) Retrieved from:
          Girl meets freak (2016) Movie discussion Retrieved from;
  http://girlmeetsfreak.com/2013/12/17/movie-discussion-george-a-romeros-day-of-the-dead-1985/      

Wilson D. Blood Disgusting (2016) Retrieved from:
    http://bloody-disgusting.com/mag/3406602/depth-analysis-day-dead-1985/

Thursday, 12 October 2017

X-Men Mystique






  Figure 1: Screenshot Mystique Fan fest (2016) 

The scales that are well known to the character Mystique are hand placed and are more concentrated in certain areas of her body. This process alone takes around 2 hours to complete three layers of dark blue body paint are then placed over the scales, using an airbrush to cover all of her natural skin tone. When dried, 5 more layers are placed on top in a splattering motion to give a a main gloss finish to the body paint. This whole process takes around 8 hours and the help of 6 girls for it to be completed. The body paint is the only thing Jennifer Lawrence wears on set so cover and precision are key.

The process of this transformation took Jennifer and her team around 7 hours to complete (excluding time for hair and contacts). To prepare for application of the body paint, Jennifer would either be leaning on a tall board or sitting on a bicycle seat. However, in the latest X-men movie "Days to Future Past", Jennifer wore a full body suit up to her shoulders due to the body paint irritated her skin, because of this the body paint was only applied from the neck above, decreasing makeup time from 8 hours to 3 hours.  Makeup and hair for 'X-Men', Frances Hannon tried to perfect 20 different shades of blue placing it on 20 different girls so she could find the right shade of blue for the 'Days to Future Past' Mystique (Business insider, 2014). 

Mystique's character has had a noticeable change throughout the different X-Men movies. Many fans and critics have commented on the different colour and overall look from different actors that once played Mystique in the past. This was because in production of the 2014 film "Days to Future Past" they could not find any of the original makeup artists from the past 3 movies, this made the team start from scratch and decided to create a more modernised look for Mystique. 

There have been a few changes that happened over the years with Mystique, from the actresses to the colour and look of the body paint. However, the changes have not been drastic, as you can see from the picture below, the body paint which once used to be a dark glossy blue has not changed to a matt vibrant blue. The scales, on the other hand have stayed the same shape and position on the face and body as well as the style and colour of her hair. 
















Figure 2 : Every adaptation of Mystique Top funny (2017) 

To get a better look at the process of Jennifer Lawrence's transformation into Mystique, I have posted a video which shows the step by step look in the make up chair.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xksaqb

References 
Figure 1: 
Fan fest (2016) Screenshot Mystique. Retrieved from 
      http://fanfest.com/2016/06/01/is-there-a-mystique-standalone-movie-in-the-works/
Figure 2:
Top funny (2017) Every adaptation of Mystique. Retrieved from 
      http://www.tintucquanhta.xyz/2017/06/x-men-every-adaptation-of-mystique.html

Kristin, A. (2014) Business insider Entertainment. Retrieved from 
       http://www.businessinsider.com/jennifer-lawrence-x-men-mystique-makeup-2014-5

Katey, R. (2012) Cinema blend. Retrieved from 
       https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Watch-Jennifer-Lawrence-Arduous-Naked-Makeup-Process-X-Men-First-Class-26492.html

X-Men first class makeup tests (2011) YouTube video. Retrieved from 
     http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xksaqb

Sunday, 1 October 2017

The basics to Film makeup

When thinking about the basics of makeup within Film, there are 3 broad categories:


Basic: designed to compensate for undesirable changes in appearance introduced by the television process. 
Corrective: deigned to enhance positive attributes and downplay flaws. 
Character: which introduces major changes in appearance.   


All play a big role within film as all are present and important when first starting out within Film makeup.



BASIC, makeup is to smooth over and create natural and everyday looks within film. This example from  She's the Man shows Viola's transition into her brother Sebastian. Even though it was a change in gender, the makeup was kept minimal using a base foundation and gentle contour to broden the face to give a masculine look. The basic step is used in many productions for a soft look when picked up by camera. 
Figure 1: She's the Man screenshot (Enews 2006)



CORRECTIVE, is makeup focusing on sculpting the face, defining and creating bone structure. Within this example of Angelina Jolie in Maleficent, the use of skin prothetic was used to sculpt her defined cheekbones. However, the use of corrective makeup was used to deepen and exaggerate her facial structure. the black corrective lines on her cheekbone and jaw line against the white base extended the look to harden overall appearance giving her a mystical alien feel to her character. 

Figure 2: Maleficent (Fanpop 2014)



CHARACTER, this step is mainly seen in big feature films and Sci fi genres, due to the extent of work that makeup artists have to go though to create the character. A good example of this step is in Hellboy. Jake Garber explained that he needed Ron Perlman 4 hours before shooting was scheduled, to help get him into his skin prosthetics. In the video linked below shows a a few screenshots of the process of Hellboy's character transformation, from measuring skin for prosthetics and applying correctly for Ron Perlman's comfort throughout shooting. 
Figure 3: Hellboy (IMDB 2008)


References: 
- Cyber collage (2013) Makeup for television and film. Retrieved from 
      http://www.cybercollege.com/makeup.htm
- How stuff works (2009) Hellboy Makeup: An interview with Jake Garber. retrieved from 
       http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/arts/comic-books/hb-makeup3.htm

- Enews (2006) She's the Man screenshot retrieved from; 
http://www.eonline.com/photos/8948/amanda-bynes-biggest-roles/288508
- Fanpop (2014) Maleficent retrieved from: 
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/maleficent-2014/images/36791235/title/maleficent-photo
-MBD (2008) Hellboy retrieved from: 
http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0411477/mediaviewer/rm298518784

- Hellboy (2009) YouTube 
Retrived from:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzbzOFKQQcU

Makeup combined with CGI

Figure 1: Den of Geek (2009)  A common use of makeup in film is to age a character. the Curious Case of Benjamin Button takes this to the ...