Have you RSVP’d for the upcoming VFS Open House yet?
This Wednesday, July 23 event is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to get a first-hand look at all 13 programs at VFS, meet their Heads of Department and senior faculty, and see award-winning student work.
You’ll also have the chance to meet students and grads, including some we’ve profiled on this very blog - Nicky Forsman and Tihemme Gagnon are but two examples!
VFS Open House
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
6pm – 8pm
VFS Café
390 West Hastings Street
To register for this Open House, email openhouse@vfs.com or call 604.631.3590.
Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer is about to make its theatrical debut.
The action/horror/comedy feature starring genre legend Robert Englund is the work of Brookstreet Pictures: Filmgrads Jon Knautz (director) and Patrick White (producer), along with producer Trevor Matthews, who also plays the titular plumber-turned-monster-slayer. (Jack Brooks Key Makeup Artist Brandi Boulet is also a VFS grad, out of Makeup Design.)
Now it’s hitting select theatres in Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal on July 25th. Click for the details.
This is Brookstreet’s first feature after several well-received shorts: a huge transition.
“It was daunting,” says Patrick. “It was a long process, and definitely a lot more risks, but that much more rewarding.”
“We’ve been making short films. We’ve been working on this stuff for a long time. To get a 35mm print that’s going to be shipped to theatres… It’s fulfilling the dream.”
Jack Brooks should appeal to anyone who remembers the great popcorn horror movies - Patrick cites The Fly, Gremlins, and Evil Dead. “It’s a real fun movie. It definitely is a throwback to movies we enjoyed back in the ’80s.”
“I think what we’re trying to capture is fans from the ’80s horror but also people who might think that the so-called ‘torture porn’ has gone too far. We don’t hurt people - we hurt monsters.”
The trio started Brookstreet in 2004, but Jon and Patrick go back a couple of years earlier, to their VFS days. “Jon and I met at Vancouver Film School then Jon met Trev, and we all came together,” Patrick explains.
“Really, this project kind of birthed itself. Jon and Trev kind of had an idea down at Trev’s cottage, so from there, we all drew on our ideas. I started thinking, ‘Okay, well, how do we get the cast involved? Where do we shoot it?’”
A key part of that cast was Englund, a fixture of film and TV best-known for playing Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street films: probably the most familiar face from that era and genre.
“We never thought we’d ever get him,” says Patrick. “We had a list, and everybody was on the left and he was on the right. The shorts came in handy, because we were able to send him a short we made called Still Life that did really well in the festival circuit. He read the script and saw that it was a meaty role. He was going to have some fun.”
Audiences are loving it, and Patrick, Jon, and Trevor are enjoying the ride. “We just came back from Fantasia in Montreal,” Patrick says, “And there’s nothing better than being in the theatre with people screaming at the screen.”
What’s next for Jack Brooks? Well, after its run in theatres, it’s bound to have a long life on DVD - Patrick hopes it becomes one of those staples, like Evil Dead, of teenage parties: “It’s going to be a great party movie down the road.”
Recent Makeup Design for Film & Television graduate Crissy Renaud placed 2nd in the 2008 Make-Up Artist Magazine International Student Make-Up Competition, taking place at IMATS in Pasadena on June 21st and 22nd.
The competition was open to makeup students and recent graduates from around the world, with only 8 competitors accepted for participation. The theme in the character makeup category? A Werewolf in London.
The contest was hosted and judged by renowned makeup artist Michael Key, who is also the Editor-in-Chief of Makeup Artist Magazine and the founder of IMATS.
We had to ask Crissy more about her werewolf…
What was the process like on the day of the competition?
Hard! Michael Key selected 2-5 foam pieces varying in size, edge, quality, and air bubbles that fit our model. When we had our pieces, they started the clock and we had three hours to complete the look we were going for. In the Werewolf category, they added that they’d be judging the hair laying.
How did you decide what style of werewolf you wanted to create?
I watched almost all the movies I could get my hands on that had Werewolfs in them and picked things that I liked about them — like hair color, the ones that were more wolf than human, teeth, eyes, hands, and skin color. I spent hours on the internet looking at pictures of dog hair to see the direction of hair growth, as well as different variations of wolf men. We worked on a werewolf at work [WCT] for the show Reaper, and I always loved that it had a mohawk, so I knew I wanted to have that. But it all came down to a clean, simple look on the day, which meant a lot of prep work.
Tell us about your preparation process.
I did two solid weeks of prepping after work. I had already made a hair cowl and hands for the werewolf that I did at London’s IMATS [the London IMATS competition in January had the same theme; Crissy's werewolf in that competition was a female model]. The hair cowl just needed a hair cut and I put work gloves over the werewolf gloves I made. I did a teeth casting of Sean, my model, and sculpted upper and lower full dentures. I ended up making a latex chest that I ran from a mold at work that was from Smallville, then painted it up and laid hair on it. Finally, Bill Terazakis from WCT lent me a pair of contacts from Wrong Turn 2 that had just finished a werewolf look.
I learned from the last two IMATS shows that I did that the more prep you do, the faster you’ll be, and the better your final character will look.
Any particular challenges and/or aspects of the werewolf makeup you’re really proud of?
I like the hair work I did. I had Michael Key and Leonard Engelman both come up to me to tell me I did a good job on my hair work. That was a great moment for me!
And we can see why — incredible work, Crissy!
Here’s a final shot of the full werewolf group. If you see this gang headed toward you, you might want to cross the street…
Join us on July 23, 2008 to experience a behind-the-scenes look inside all 13 of Vancouver Film School’s programs: an unparalleled introduction to a one-year education in every dimension of film, TV, games, and design, all under one roof.
This evening is not to be missed.
At this unique VFS Open House you will:
- Hear about our 13 programs: 3D Animation & Visual Effects, Classical Animation, Digital Character Animation, Acting for Film & Television, Acting Essentials, Digital Design, Entertainment Business Management, Film Production, Game Design, Makeup Design for Film & Television, Sound Design for Visual Media, Writing for Film & Television, and Foundation Visual Art & Design
- Meet our award-winning leaders, including the producers, writers, sound designers, makeup artists, and execs behind Zoolander, Three’s Company, The Butterfly Effect, Whale Music, EA’s NHL video games, and countless others
- See amazing examples of student films, reels, and portfolios from all of our programs, including incredible never-before-seen work
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
6pm – 8pm VFS Café
390 West Hastings Street
To register for this Open House, email openhouse@vfs.com or call 604.631.3590.
Makeupgrad Michael Nickiforek has been keeping very busy… since graduating, he’s become a T.A. in the Makeup Design for Film & Television program – you might remember seeing some of his work at Halloween last year.
But Michael has also been doing contract work at WCT Productions, working on makeup effects for productions like Reaper, Smallville, the pilot for The Middleman, the feature I Love You, Beth Cooper – and some projects that can’t yet be discussed (but you can be sure we’ll let you know when they can!).
Michael, tell us how you got hired on at WCT.
I knew they were looking for workers at the shop, as another VFS alumni Crissy Renaud was working there. I had been working at another FX shop, SFX Studio Inc., prior to WCT. So I emailed WCT my resume and then went for an interview, of course bringing my portfolio. At a shop you are usually only going to show off FX work, plus sculpting and mold-making capabilities. The interview went well… I think the best thing you can do is let them know and feel how excited and interested you are in your work. I can talk anyone’s ear off about makeup FX for hours.
Do you have an official title? What kind of work, generally, are you doing there?
There’s no title, really. If you only sculpt and make molds, then you might say you’re a sculptor/mold maker. I do it all though, from sculpting to painting. I just consider myself a makeup effects artist. The one thing you really don’t do much of in the shop is application. I have done some for make up tests, but not too often.
I usually sculpt, make molds, and run molds, in either foam latex, gelatin, or silicone. I seam props or prosthetics, whether it’s foam latex or silicone. I help paint the silicone props, and have pre-painted a bit of foam appliances. Most of my painting has been with silicone, though. The other thing I do is fabricate directly out of silicone. An example would be if you had a fake arm, you could then create the gory stump by building up silicone and sculpting it while it sets up.
We also create colour-matched gelatin and silicone to have on hand for when we need to run it in the molds.
What’s been the most fun makeup you’ve done at WCT?
The most fun was actually the most recent thing I worked on there. [A co-worker] Erin and I had the task of creating a expanding bleeding bladder for a silicone chest cut appliance. The appliance was a full torso-covering prosthetic made out of platsil gel 10 silicone. Before the silicone piece was made we had to create the blood bladder that would go underneath it. So we ended up pumping blood for a good few hours trying to get the results we needed. There were so many times the blood came out too hard and too far and got us both. I spent a lot of time laughing that night, it was awesome. You forget this is “work” sometimes.
Thanks, Michael! (Stay tuned for more stories about big projects later this summer…)
The new Narnia movie, Prince Caspian, is coming out next week, and to celebrate VFS grads’ involvement in the making of the film, Disney has provided us with some advance screening tickets and swag to give away!
The first 5 VFS students to email Student Services Manager Liz McDonald at lmcdonald@vfs.com will win a Narnia t-shirt, a movie poster, and 2 tickets to the advance screening of Prince Caspian Monday night, May 12th, at 7pm. (How fast can you type?!)
A number of graduates worked on The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, including Andreas Hikel (Previsualization Artist), Christoph Schinko (Character Animator), and Jami Gigot (Senior Layout Artist/Crowd). Makeup Advisory Board Member Howard Berger was the Creature Supervisor, and his company KNB Effects worked on many Special Effects for the film.
If you were confused at all by our Makeup Swap Meet blog post from last week — that is, if you were wondering how on earth you could come out on Tuesday, April 14th, 2008, a day that does not exist — well, you’d be right to be confused! Apologies, all… the Swap Meet is TONIGHT! Come out and pick up some great deals!
Those who attended last fall’s Makeup Swap Meet, hosted by the VFS Makeup Design for Film & Television program, know exactly what to expect of this upcoming event: great bargains on makeup for kit use, personal use, or even gifts, as well as a whole lot of industry networking!
The Swap Meet is perfect for makeup & hair artists of all levels - student and professional - and is completely open to the public.
There’ll be refreshments and snacks, and raffle prize draws. Come on out, say hello to old friends and future colleagues, and pick up some great deals.
Makeup Swap Meet Tuesday Monday April 14th, 2008
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM VFS Café, 392 West Hastings Street (corner of Hastings and Homer) Admission: $2 (all money from admission & raffle tickets goes to the Oppenheimer Christmas Fund)
Each term, the graduating Film Production class participates in the VFS 48 Hour Film challenge. Teams have a mere weekend to create a short film from start to finish; films often star current Actingstudents, are sometimes written by Writingstudents, and now involve Makeup for Film & Television students as well.
Pictured are current Makeup students Sarah Jordan, Ana Hibbert, and Aeni Domme, with awards they won (acknowledging their makeup contributions) at the completion of the festival. All three women had a blast during their manic weekend, and Aeni walked us through the experience – and shared some of her pictures!
Tell us a bit about the Film program’s recurring 48 Hour Film Festival.
The contest was actually the 10th round. It’s basically to make a film within 48 hours - to write the story, including all required sounds, images, props, and locations, shoot it, and edit it before 5pm Sunday. It sounded very ambitious!
And how did Makeup students get involved?
Our Program Manager, Laura, was asked for 3 makeup artists to fill out the film crews. This was the first time Makeup was included in the festival. An email from Laura was then sent out for anyone interested – Sarah immediately responded while her roommate, Ana, was a little hesitant but signed on as well. It took some persuasion from both of them for me to commit (the deal was I could stay over at their house, as I live near Burnaby and would be out of the way for any of the film crews).
We then went to a large interdepartmental meeting of all the people involved and were assigned to each team accordingly. Props, sound bites, locations, and images to be featured in each film were drawn. Afterwards, teams began to banter about storylines and how to include different elements.
Directors and writers were excited to have us on and hoped we could do many different things for them within the time allowed – such as certain MUFX, tattoos, distressing, character makeups, corrective makeups, etc.
Sure you do. The last time we touched base with Chad and Nicky, the crew was about to start principal photography in Manitoba. Well, a lot’s happened since then - just take a look at the awesome new trailer at the official site.
Hear that buzzing sound? Yeah, that’s the buzz. 11/11/08 can’t come soon enough.
Have you RSVP’d for the upcoming VFS Open House yet?
Jack Brooks should appeal to anyone who remembers the great popcorn horror movies - Patrick cites The Fly, Gremlins, and Evil Dead. “It’s a real fun movie. It definitely is a throwback to movies we enjoyed back in the ’80s.”
“We never thought we’d ever get him,” says Patrick. “We had a list, and everybody was on the left and he was on the right. The shorts came in handy, because we were able to send him a short we made called Still Life that did really well in the festival circuit. He read the script and saw that it was a meaty role. He was going to have some fun.”
A chance like this doesn’t come along every day.
The new Narnia movie, 
Those who attended last fall’s Makeup Swap Meet, hosted by the VFS 
Each term, the graduating 
