Special Effects Makeup and Its Many Uses

By Pete Mitchell

When I visited Blood Mansion (the countrys first nonprofit haunted house) back in the early seventies, I was frightened by the setting, the people, and actors inside, but a visit backstage opened a door for me. I eventually became involved in this new style of Halloween entertainment and gained insight into production.

For Medical Training

After doing makeup, acting, and producing rooms for Blood Mansion, I worked at Kennestone Hospital and decided to become an emergency medical technician (EMT). Though EMT training teaches students what to do on the scene of an accident, illness, or crime, it doesnt fully prepare them for the visual trauma and life and death experiences they will see. It seemed as though more could be done to help prepare students for those experiences, which spurned the idea of melding makeup artistry with medical training to help better prepare medics, firefighters, doctors, and nurses for the things they might encounter in their career.

I got my first basic makeup at Eddies Trick Shop in Marietta and started experimenting with the different types adhesives and colors. At that time, the makeup/effects options were very minimal. Most of the effects makeup artists of that era got their inspiration for trauma looks from the Vietnam War. Some of the Vietnam photos and news footage were very gory, but they did not resemble what I and other medical professionals had experienced in the trauma situations we encountered in our line of work. So, the plan was to recreate a more realistic representation of the injuries that medical professionals would treat on actors and other medical professional volunteers to help eliminate some of the shock value from real life situations that may arise. Now, EMTs, firefighters, police, and hospital staff would see victims/patients in front of them who would be screaming, bleeding, and frantically demanding treatment.

Creating the Looks

To create these looks, the godfather of modern effects makeup, Dick Smith, had a book that listed the basics of three-dimensional makeup applications. They were time consuming, so I worked with easy-to-use latex and other adhesives to craft realistic lacerations that could be stitched when needed.

Blood

Red, oozing blood was not realistic in many situations, so I experimented with different types of chemical compounds and colors to create blood that looked like either arterial or venous blood, and the color of each could be corrected for film or video purposes.

Bruises

Bruises are easy to create when using colors made by Joe Blasco Cosmetics of Hollywood and Orlando. Deep (blood) red and deep (Tahiti) blue cosmetics make very realistic contusions when artistically applied.

As I perfected the art of trauma makeup application, friends began to hire me to assist with basic and advanced life support classes for doctors and nurses, and then hospitals and EMT certification schools began to hire me to apply makeup for their training purposes as well. The special effects makeup was applied well enough that it would not fall off it stayed on until it was deliberately removed when the training session/filming was complete.

Special Effects Makeup for Halloween Events and Attractions

After using special effects makeup to assist with medical training, I went on to create one-on-one experiences along with full-scale disasters with special exploding fire effects, and the Disaster FX Team was born. The Disaster FX team went on to create looks for many Halloween events such as the Limelight, WQXI-94, Confettis, and Halloweekends at Six Flags.

Due to the popularity of Halloweekends, a new haunted house was constructed in Six Flags, which drew a larger crowd than the park had ever experienced. With the disaster training and medical expertise that the Disaster FX Team had acquired, we knew how to build and create a safe yet terrifying attraction. When word spread about the success of this attraction, other theme parks across the country began to produce what is now known as Fright Fest, and the Disaster FX Team branched off to include the Creature Crew for Halloween.

Special Effects Makeup for Movies and Television

Over the years, my colleagues and I have done makeup on movies and television shows along with working on hundreds of educational videos for emergency response teams. We were also awarded an Emmy for an application we call Special Trauma.

Advice for Aspiring Special Effects Makeup Artists

The important thing is to practice. Experiment with different supplies that are safe and are made for the human body. Makeup can be fun for the entire family, and it is much safer than covering your face and eyes with a Halloween mask. It also looks more realistic. So, research different characters, and use your supplies to try and reproduce them on your favorite ghoul or goblin this Halloween!

What Should Be in Your Halloween Makeup Tool Kit?

Be sure to try out these products BEFORE your event. Practice different applications, and get to know how each product works. Then, have fun creating your own creature.
Mehron 5 color pallet
Clown white
Three makeup brushes
   - Wide tip
   - Medium tip
   - Small tip
Baby wipes
Makeup sponges
Liquid latex
Crepe hair (use for werewolves, eyebrows, beards, etc.)
Blood! Experiment with making your own, or get it in a jar. There are many different types out there, so choose the best for whatever injury you want to create.

Pete Mitchell is an EMT and owner of JPM Productions, Inc., 582 Etowah Drive N.E. Marietta, Georgia. JPMProductions.com