Berger: WHEN YOU PUT A MASK ON,
YOU CAN BE ANYBODY,
EVEN IF IT'S JUST LIKE
A SMALL LITTLE MASK,
YOU KNOW, ON HALLOWEEN.
WHEN WE DO SOME SORT OF
VERY LARGE MAKEUP,
YOU START BASICALLY
WITH A CLEAN SLATE.
YOU HAVE THE ACTOR
AS YOUR CANVAS,
AND THEN YOU'RE ABLE
TO CREATE WHATEVER YOU WANT,
WHATEVER YOUR IMAGINATION
BRINGS TO THE TABLE.
THAT PERSON BECOMES
UNRECOGNIZABLE.
I'M HOWARD BERGER.
I'M A SPECIAL MAKEUP EFFECTS
ARTIST AND MAKEUP ARTIST.
WE'RE HERE AT MY STUDIO,
KNB EFX GROUP,
AND WE MAKE MONSTERS
ALL DAY LONG.
SPECIAL MAKEUP EFFECTS
IS RELATED TO
SPECIAL CHARACTER DESIGN.
LET'S SAY, LIKE,
WHAT JACK PIERCE DID
FOR FRANKENSTEIN.
ANYTHING SPECIAL THAT GOES
OUTSIDE OF WHAT CAN BE DONE
IN A MAKEUP TRAILER BASED ON
WHATEVER THE FILM'S NEEDS ARE.
THE FIRST STAGE IS SCULPTURAL.
YOU WILL START WITH CLAY
AND START ADDING CLAY
TO THE ACTOR'S LIFE CAST
UNTIL YOU BUILD UP
THE FORMS THAT YOU WANT
FOR THOSE PROSTHETIC MAKEUPS.
TO ME, FORM IS
WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.
YOU CAN DO AMAZING DETAIL
BUT HAVE REALLY KIND OF
A VERY LOOSE, YOU KNOW,
NONDESCRIPT FORM,
AND IT DOESN'T REALLY WORK.
YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY STAND BACK
FROM THE SCULPTURE
AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT
AS A WHOLE,
AND IF IT WORKS WITHOUT
THE TEXTURE AND THE DETAIL,
YOU KNOW YOU'VE GOT
SOMETHING COOL THERE.
ONCE THE SCULPTURE IS DONE,
THEY GO TO THE MOLD DEPARTMENT,
AND THERE IS WHERE WE TAKE
THE NEGATIVE IMPRESSION
OF THE SCULPTURE,
AND THERE'LL BE A VOID
BETWEEN THE ACTOR'S POSITIVE
AND THE NEGATIVE IMPRESSION.
WE'LL INJECT
THE FOAM RUBBER INTO THAT.
THAT FILLS UP THAT VOID,
AND THAT'S WHAT
CREATES THE PROSTHETIC.
IT THEN GOES INTO THE OVEN.
IT GETS BAKED IN THERE FOR
LIKE SIX HOURS AT 165 DEGREES.
ONCE THAT'S DONE,
WE PULL IT OUT OF THE OVEN,
OPEN IT UP, AND YOU HAVE
YOUR FOAM-RUBBER PIECE.
FROM THERE, YOU DO PRE-PAINTING,
AND THEN IT COMES
INTO APPLICATION.
A MAKEUP UP LIKE THIS,
I'M ESTIMATING
WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT
AN HOUR AND A HALF, TWO HOURS.
THE DAY COMES
WHEN YOU FIRST APPLY IT,
AND THAT'S VERY EXCITING.
YOU START, YOU KNOW,
GET YOUR ACTOR PREPPED,
YOU SIT THEM IN THE CHAIR, AND
BALD-CAP THEM,
AND START APPLYING THE PIECES.
IT JUST FITS RIGHT OVER.
I'LL JUST TACK IT
AROUND THE EDGES.
WITH EACH PIECE,
YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE.
YOU KNOW, UP UNTIL THAT POINT,
IT'S JUST A SCULPTURE,
IT'S A MOLD, IT'S FOAM PIECES
OUT OF THE OVEN.
WHEN YOU START SEEING IT
BECOME APPLIED, THEN YOU GET IT.
THE ACTOR STARTS HIS DAY WITH US
AND FINISHES HIS DAY WITH US.
HE COMES IN, WE ALWAYS
HAVE A NICE ENVIRONMENT.
SOMETIMES WE'RE KIND OF
LIKE THE BARTENDERS OF A FILM.
EVERY TIME I DO A MAKEUP,
I DO WHATEVER WORKS.
IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE SAME THING.
AND EVEN EVERY DAY
I DO THE MAKEUP,
SOMETIMES I CHANGE IT
A LITTLE BIT,
YOU KNOW, MAKE IT
INTERESTING FOR MYSELF.
SO WHAT I'M DOING NOW
IS I'M JUST DOING
LIKE A LITTLE SPLATTER THING.
IT'S JUST AN OLD TRICK
OF USING AN OLD CHIP BRUSH.
THIS TECHNIQUE
HAS REPLACED MY AIRBRUSH.
IT'S KIND OF LIKE
THIS IS THE WAY I USED TO PAINT
WAY BACK WHEN, AND IT'S
ONE OF THOSE THINGS
WHERE YOU REDISCOVER
A TECHNIQUE.
YOU'RE LIKE, "OH, YEAH.
I FORGOT ABOUT THAT."
WHY DON'T WE DO THE WIG?
COOL.
Woman: YEAH?
Berger: YEAH.
WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO NOW
IS PUT THE CONTACT LENSES IN.
WHEN YOU DON'T USE
CONTACT LENSES
AND YOU HAVE A YOUNG PERSON,
THEIR EYES STILL LOOK YOUNG,
EVEN IF YOU HAVE
AN OLD-AGE MAKEUP.
SO IT'S ALWAYS NICE
TO TEMPER THE EYES DOWN
AND JUST KIND OF TAKE
THE LIFE AWAY FROM IT
TO JUST ADD
MORE TO THE CHARACTER.
GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF A SNARL.
[ SNARLS ]
A LITTLE SNARL.
I LOVE MONSTERS, YOU KNOW?
AND I LOVE CREATURES.
I COME FROM A GENERATION
KNOWN AS THE MONSTER KIDS,
PEOPLE THAT ARE
SO YOUNG AT HEART,
AND IT'S JUST COOL
THAT THERE HAPPENS TO BE
A FACET IN THE FILM INDUSTRY
THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT,
THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW,
BREATHE LIFE INTO OUR CREATIONS
AND THEY GET TO APPEAR ON FILM
AND AUDIENCES GET TO SEE THEM
ALL OVER THE WORLD.
