Not long ago, Makeup Design for Film & Television grad Michael Nickiforek told us about his trek to South Korea to help a fellow grad with the makeup on a shoot. That film, Eungyo (“A Muse”), is now just days away from its Korean release.

The film casts 35-year-old star Park Hae-il as a man in his seventies. Behind the aging makeup used to make that astonishing transformation? A team of VFS Makeup Design alumni.

“This was quite an overwhelming job for a team just starting prosthetic makeup,” writes grad Jonghee Song. There were challenges, of course, but “good teamwork helped us survive to the end.” It’s no wonder, considering their shared origins at VFS.

“We executed the aging makeup in three stages whereby individual pieces were created for each section,” she says. “Prior to the film shoot, numerous aging makeup tests took place. Eventually, due to time constraints, the director decided to omit pieces applied to the neck (front and back), nose, ears, chin, etc.”

For the team, Eungyo was a golden opportunity to keep learning and testing their professional limits.

“Leanne Mikyong Choi acquired silicone fabrication training through Michael while Bora Jin, who joined the team last August upon her graduation from VFS, had the opportunity to participate in creating silicone pieces. Elly Lee was in charge of punching eyebrows… She did quite a good job. In terms of the on-shoot applications, I was responsible for the face while Leanne and Bora worked on the hands.”

Discover some of the amazing aging makeup techniques these talented students learned at VFS. Eungyo is scheduled for release in South Korea on April 26. Here’s a trailer: