<<begin
transmission>>
10/28/2002
Hello all! Well, 2 years have gone by since the first version ofreplicants.org
went live. What a difference a couple of years can make.Before it seemed
that silicone was a material that only the truly daring would possibly
consider using as a casting material. Now its becoming
more and more common to read an interview with an effects makeup artist
talking about their gel-filled appliances that are "proprietary
information" and usually are little more than an off the shelf
rubber that they "modified" by plasticizing it. But I digress.
Recently
I discovered a really great message board called the monster
lab. It covers mostly latex mask making, but occasionally somebody
will bring up slightly more advanced materials like elastomeric polymers.
You are probably wondering why I am mentioning this? Well the age old
topic came up about CGI taking over traditional fx and I wrote this
in response:
I'm
not too too worried about having to battle my mac for work. There has
been talk for YEARS that our industry was dying a slow aggravated death,
but in reality WE have more control over it than one would think.
What we are experiencing is the beginnings of a new period for effects
makeup. BUT if we want to stay ahead of the G4 its up to each of us
to look into new materials, and techniques.
Translucency is the key folks. A foam latex appliance (no matter who
paints it, or how well its applied) is going to LOOK like a rubber mask
in HDTV. The demands of the medium are going to force us to look beyond
what is being done now. As the audience's eye becomes more discirminating
we (being the collective of artists) need to step up to the plate and
wow them rather then just give them the same thing they have seen 1,000,000x's
before.
You want to keep working? Start reading about silicone, and start making
gel-filled apliances. Its not as scary as everybody thinks it is. Just
think back to the first time you ran foam... it probably didn't kick,
or it kicked too fast, sometimes you were greeted with the smell of
rotten egg while baking your piece...There were those mishaps, but you
got back on the horse and did it again the next night right?
Thats what I thought
Now I'm not going to say that silicone is the end all be all of materials,
but it IS a new trick to add to your kit. So by all means PLAY! that's
what has kept this industry going as long as it has.
I think its time that we take control again.
I know
there are many of you who read the site, and are doing makeups, so why
not send some pictures my way?
I really enjoy having a featured artist with each update. Its cool to
see what everybody else is doing.
Sadly,
I don't have a new interview this round, or a how to, mainly because
most of what I have been doing over the last couple of months has been
for a film that is in production right now, and I can't really talk
about what i am doing.. I can say this though. If my current experiment
goes well I think we will have a new and EASIER way of intrinisically
coloring appliances... but you'll have to wait a bit. ;)
Any of
you read National Geographic? No? Well you might want to check out this
month's issue with eth "skin" cover story. It features a silicone
face by my friends at Hybrid Enterprises in the UK. It worth picking
up for both pictures and the article.
Oh, yeah.
We changed the look again. :) Whaddaya think? We tried to streamline
it a bit and hopefully its a bit easier to navigate. I'm working on
a materials FAQ right now that is taking it's cues from our old message
board. All of the contributors will be credited for their help.
On a sad
note I would like to dedicate this month's update to the memory of my
father who passed away suddenly in September. While I don't think that
he ever saw the site, he was very instrumental in my interst of electronic
music.
So I guess
thats all folks. As per usual if you have any questions, comments, or
would like to know what its like to be typing an update on a SILICONE
KEYBOARD !! feel free to
drop me an email.
Until
next time remember to eat your cereal with a fork, and to do your homework
in the dark.
<<end
transmission>>