Special Make-up Effects and Creature Effects — KNB EFX Group
In the history of storytelling the monstrous has always bared a human likeness. Whether in religious iconography or cultural mythology the shape of evil very much resembles ourselves; the psychology of why we associate our form with the malevolent and grotesque is open to discussion. In the medium of film the most widely recognized monsters — vampires, zombies and ghosts — were once human, but have been corrupted and changed into forms that prey on the pure, the virginal. The fear of the human body experiencing pain, mutilation and transformation by the monstrous has been the foundation of authorial explorations of mortality and identity in the written form for centuries. In the 20th century the cinematic form had visualized the monsters of myth, theater and literature for the mass audience.
The creation of fictional and fantastic forms during the silent era of film was crude and simplistic; the infrastructure did not exist for early filmmakers to source the artists and techniques to transform an actor into a physically changed character. For the 1922 F.W. Murnau horror Nosferatu the actor playing the role of Count Orlok, Max Schreck, created and applied his own make-up, including the iconic bat-like ears and hook nose to make the creature even more terrifying. In the sound era James Whale’s adaptation of Frankenstein required actor Boris Karloff to wear uncomfortable prosthetics and dangerous lead-based paint to become the pieced-together and mistaken creation.
As the demand for special effects make-up in horror and science fiction films increased during the following decades the sophistication and artistry of the process evolved. Pioneers like Jack P. Pierce and John Chambers paved the way for special effects artists in the 1970s like Stan Winston, Rick Baker and Tom Savini to create more elaborate and impactful characters and sequences. In 1988 Robert Kurtzman, Howard Berger and Greg Nicotero, who had worked for Tom Savini and starred in George A. Romero’s 1985 film Day of the Dead, created KNB EFX Group. The company would go on to create the special effects make-up for hundreds of productions, designing and building a massive variety of characters and creatures both real and fantastic across genres. Over 25 years later the company continues to create award-winning practical effects for film and television in an age of digital expansion.
The creative demands and intentions of one production can vary wildly from another which KNB can accommodate. The conventions of a genre can dictate the authenticity and originality of a make-up design. The context of how make-up and appliances are used in a narrative can affect the emotional impact of a story whether for entertainment or dramatic purposes; accurate attention to human anatomy and bodily response can invoke a greater sense of realism to a war film, whereas a cartoonish geyser of blood from a human decapitation can elicit a humorous response in an action film. In partnership with the production the make-up design can be reactive to the emotional tone and viewing demographic intended for consumption — an adult-rated horror can be more visceral compared to the dark fantasy in a children’s film, for example.
Make-up effects can be needed to create realistic analogs of human likeness and natural wildlife, whereas other productions may need completely fictional creatures interacting in a physical space with real performers. The complexity of the make-up design can be broken down into three levels to assess the investment of resources, manpower and research necessary to realize a finished product. This is an analytical view of make-up design rather than a practical outlook used by effects artists.
Make-up Effects
It is often considered among the most simple applications a special make-up effects artist is responsible for, but it remains invaluable to visual storytelling. Body painting, fake blood and freeform latex sculpting directly onto the actor can simulate a variety of effects that includes:
- bruising
- open wounds
- scars
- skin conditions
- decomposition
- tattoos
Research into real-world biology and medical texts using reference imagery influences the creative application made by the artists. Continuity is important for make-up effects that need to be repeated over days or even weeks to maintain the illusion of realism.
Prosthetics and Appliances
To create elaborate character designs built on an existing human form the process of moulding, casting and sculpting for each actor is needed. The unique shape of every person’s face and body requires specialized appliances that fit exactly to their individual form and requires an exact copy of the actor who will be beneath the prosthetic make-up. Prosthetics can be superficial to alter the appearance of an actor such as Anthony Hopkins’ to appear more like Alfred Hitchcock, or they can be used to transform the performer into a mythical or monstrous creature such as the fawns and centaurs of the Narnia series.
Depending on the degree of transformation an actor may only be partially covered in latex and silicone appliances, or may need to be completely masked to create a fantastical creature. Sometimes a head cast is all that is needed whereas other projects may require the entire body to be transformed.
Sculpting life-like textures and forms demands extensive research and interpretation of how the final product will appear when photographed. Micro-detailing in the sculpture, painting and blending of the prosthetics will imbue a greater sense of believability to the finished result. In addition fake hair, contact lenses and the industry favourite KY jelly may be needed to fully realize a complete character.
Dummies, Puppets and Animatronics
In many productions the best solution to creating a fictional character or achieving a visual gag is to remove a human actor from the performance. In situations where it would be impractical, dangerous or physically impossible to place an actor into a scene the fabrication of human analogs, mechanically-driven puppets and animatronics is a necessary measure.
In films where a person is physically injured or killed on screen physical doubles will be built that are expressly designed for each cinematic gag. Depending on the size of the gag either a partial or full body mould is needed to duplicate the physical properties of the actor and achieve the desired shot. The final effect is often designed to approximate real world results without endangering actors or stuntmen.
For fully non-humanoid creature design, engineering comes into play. Without a human performer underneath the movements and performance of a creature must be designed, constructed and choreographed to deliver a living, breathing character to the audience. In some instances it may be as simple as a hand and rod-operated puppet, or it may be as sophisticated as using hydraulic and electric motors to enable a wide range of movements driven by remote control via several operators in unison. In modern filmmaking the interplay of physical effects and computer generated imagery enable the greatest freedom in presenting fully realized creatures and performances.
The following examples represents only a taste of what KNB has accomplished in film and television over 25 years:
Sin City (2005)
When director Robert Rodriguez and comic book creater Frank Miller came together to translate the pulp noir vignettes of Sin City to film they commited themselves to retaining the look and feel of the original panels. The artists of KNB EFX were tasked to transform actors Benecio del Toro into the corrupt cop Jackie Boy, Mickey Rourke into street thug Marv, and Nick Stahl into the demented child molester Yellow Bastard. Fidelity to their appearance in the comics was of great importance to the filmic adaptation.
Yellow Bastard has a caricatured face and a mustard yellow skin tone after numerous surgeries to reflect his monstrous inner psyche, and the special make-up effects artists also created a distended belly appliance to make the character more physically repulsive. Greg Nicotero also instructed actor Nick Stahl how best to deliver his performance through the thick make-up. On the set the Yellow Bastard was actually painted blue, which was easier for the visual effects in post production to isolate and digitally shift into the sickly final colour.
Mickey Rourke had extensive appliances that captured the scarred and haggard face of Marv in the vignette The Hard Goodbye, and Benecio del Toro had Jackie Boy’s large, pointy nose created to match his comic book counterpart in The Big Fat Kill. A head cast of del Toro was also made for the scenes after Jackie boy is decapitated and sought as a prize for separate crime factions. The profile of these characters in the comic was accurately translated via the special make-up effects design.
Piranha 3D (2010)
Alexandre Aja’s 2010 sex and gore monster extravaganza provided KNB the opportunity to showcase their creative and technical abilities using traditional approaches and hybrid techniques that blended special make-up effects with CGI. Where the titular creatures were predominantly computer generated the result of their bloody carnage was largely created using special make-up effects and human analogs.
The bloody set piece in the final act of the movie involved hundreds of actors and stunt performers that sees dozens of make-up effects gags of varying complexity and brutality (Greg Nicotero himself appears as someone carrying a half-eaten torso to shore). One of the most memorable and disgusting gags has two men carrying an injured women out of the water only for her to break in half at the waist; the effect was accomplished using a practical/CGI hybrid approach that involved digitally painting out the actress’ actual bottom half that could not be disguised or hidden during principal photography. In a darkly humorous scene the porn producer Derrick, played by Jerry O’Connell, is pulled from the water alive with his legs eaten to the bone sans penis; in context Derrick’s hostile and misogynistic actions prior to this scene are met with an excessive measure of comeuppance that the audience calls for when he is attacked.
In the slasher and monster movie tradition Piranha 3D is a pinnacle of the invention and talent of special make-up effects artists.
The Walking Dead (2010 — present)
Among the most popular television series in the world every trick has been used by KNB to bring the dead to life and the living into death. Make-up effects, prosthetics, dummies, puppets, animatronics and CGI have all been used to realize the hordes of walkers that terrorize the series’ band of survivors, and in more recent seasons the barbarism between rival groups of the living.
Over the series walkers have appeared in various conditions and levels of decomposition that conveys an expanded world and continuity to the events the viewer experiences. In season two a bloated walker is found at the bottom of a well; when the group attempts to remove the corpse the body breaks in half and falls back to the bottom of the well. In other episodes walkers have been burned, melted, dismembered and pulverized amongst other gruesome dispatches.
Human injury and death is treated with equal detail but also greater emotional impact. Character deaths have come at the primal desire to feed by the dead, and by the hands of other humans driven by self-preservation, revenge and mercy. The cruel and uncertain fate of life in this apocalyptic world is captured in graphic detail by the skills of the special make-up effects artists of KNB. Special effects supervisor Greg Nicotero has also taken his hand to directing several episodes of The Walking Dead alongside his role as director on the short companion webisodes between 2011-2013.
The sheer number of films KNB EFX Group has completed work for since 1988 is astonishing. Their contribution to the work of directors such as Frank Darabont and Quentin Tarantino is diverse in its scale and creativity, and no small writing can do justice to the artists and man hours that have been given to their craft.
References:
Frank Miller’s Sin City: The Making of the Movie, by Frank Miller & Robert Rodriguez
KNB with Greg Nicotero, The Walking Dead — Craft Truck — Meet Your Makers — Season 1 Episode 4
Hollywood Goes to Hell documentary
Don’t Scream, Just Swim: Behind-the-Scenes of Piranha 3D documentary
The Many Days of the Dead documentary
(note: this is only a partial list — additional information was obtained from further books, documentaries and articles but these details weren’t available at the time of writing)
Coming soon: A Balancing Act — Practical Effects and Visual Effects
