Now entering its eighth season, Syfy’s special effects makeup reality competition challenges artists to spawn stunning, sometimes horrifying, creatures. During BuzzFeed News’ set visit, judges Ve Neill, Glenn Hetrick, and Neville Page explained what it takes to win.
Start with a strong concept and design.
Because of the pace of the Face Off competition, Neville Page believes contestants often feel like they don't have enough time to do a substantial design, but he told BuzzFeed News that planning is essential to the finished product. "I'm gonna gravitate toward design more than anything else," he said during an August set visit to the show's studios in Sylmar, California. "It actually creates a stronger foundation that the rest of the stuff you're going to add artistically can hang on to, versus a very, very tenuous concept that literally unravels as they get close to the presentation."
Jordin Althaus/Syfy
Pay close attention to the challenge.
The judges have something specific in mind for each weekly challenge. While creativity is important, Ve Neill advised contestants to be aware of what's being asked of them. "Our decisions are based on many things. Sometimes it comes down to, 'OK, we like both of these makeups, but which one really fulfilled the challenge?'" she said. When it's between two equally good creations, Neill explained, "We have to go with the makeup that actually fulfilled the challenge because the other people strayed a little bit."
Jordin Althaus/Syfy
If your makeup looks good, you can get away with anatomical issues.
Neill is less of a stickler about this than Page. "I don't need a reason for it to look good," she said. "If it looks good to me, then it looks good. It doesn't have to make sense. It doesn't have to be like, 'Well, he'd never be able to eat like that.' I say, 'Well, maybe he doesn't eat the way we eat, so he doesn't need a mouth.' Who cares?"
Jordin Althaus/Syfy
Take risks.
Because Page puts a lot of emphasis on the creativity of the original concept and design, he's somewhat less bothered by mistakes in execution. "I want to work with an artist that is gonna be that bold," Page said. "But with Glenn and Ve, they might be thinking, How close is this to being a usable thing right now? So I applaud the adventuresome approach that some contestants have."
Jordin Althaus/Syfy
No comments:
Post a Comment