Since graduating from Makeup Design for Film & Television in 2006, Mike Nickiforek has carved out quite a career for himself in prosthetics and fabrication. With recent credits Unknown, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes under his belt, Mike was invited by fellow grad Jonghee Song to help on a shoot in her native South Korea. Ever the adventurer, Mike accepted and filed this report.

Guest post by Mike Nickiforek

Jonghee hired me to come over and head the shop work she was doing over there for the makeup effects preproduction work on the film. I basically was in charge of the shop work, as well as doing most of it myself. I was there for 2 months for all of July and August.

I sculpted an old age makeup for the film, turning the main character from about 33 to 70 years old. Once the main sculpt was finished I broke it down into eight pieces, then made separate molds of the pieces. Hand appliances were sculpted and created as well. There was also a 50′s stage, and we created separate subtle prosthetics.

From there we needed to run 60 days worth of silicone prosthetics. That means every day they use a new set of 10 prosthetics on the actor, which in turn means we needed to make about 600 prosthetics+ in total for all the different age stages. Due to time constraints though I was unable to finish all the pieces before I had to return to Canada. They continued the prosthetics fabrication after I left and finished it themselves. I trained VFS grad Mikyong Choi how to efficiently run the pieces herself. By the time I left she was doing an amazing job!

VFS grads Bora Jin, Jonghee Song, and Mikyong Choi

Throughout the process of creating the prosthetics I was involved in doing the first test makeup, then later giving pointers to Jonghee as she did three more tests. After the first test, I had to redo the neck and cheek prosthetics, which means I had to re-sculpt and re-mold them, then run new prosthetics from those molds. Then after the second test with the new pieces in the mix, I also ended up re-sculpting the foreheads and chin prosthetics. After that we were able to achieve a look the director was really happy with.

From the shop perspective, it [the South Korean film industry] doesn’t differ much at all really. The only thing is what’s available to them there as far as supplies and materials go. We had to do a lot of ordering from the States as that’s where most makeup products are actually produced, and if you do buy anything locally in Korea of the makeup effects nature it is usually double the price. So even with shipping it was cheaper to buy from the States for a lot of stuff. The on-set test makeup stuff we shot seemed to be very similar to North American standards of on-set work, and they even use some of the English film terminology which was surprising to find out!

Thanks, Mike!

Makeup Design for Film & Television grad Courtney Frey came to our attention last year when she helped out on the set of the Vancouver-shot series, Mr. Young. Her career has been on a steady upward trajectory since, with a recent gig on CBC’s Arctic Air, where she worked alongside fellow grad Susan Manning.

We asked her about her recent work in film and TV, how to own your online presence as a makeup artist, and more.

You’ve got a great story on your website about how you discovered your love for makeup: “It was while playing a vampire in Dracula, blood flowing from her fake fangs, when Courtney first thought about makeup as a career.” Do you still have that same enthusiasm for the craft?

Courtney: Definitely, probably even more! I feel so fortunate to be able to do something that I love and get paid for it. Every day is different, usually with different challenges. But the troubleshooting is part of the fun.

I also love that makeup is an art that is constantly evolving. I never stop learning, and every job makes me a better makeup artist. It definitely never gets boring!

You’ve been pretty busy over the last few years, judging by your IMDB profile. Since makeup artists are often not credited online for their work, what do you recommend they do?

Courtney: You really have to put a lot of effort into getting your name out there, especially when you’re first starting out. IMDB doesn’t usually get updated automatically, that’s something that I do myself. Also make sure that you have a website. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’s great to have somewhere online where people can see your work. When people Google your name (which is pretty common nowadays), you want them to be able to get a good idea of your experience and what you can do!

Your work spans a few different mediums – how do you juggle the changing demands of each gig?

Courtney: That’s part of the fun! My biggest advice is to always be prepared for anything. Every job that I do I make sure I have a little bit of everything. It’s amazing what you can do with a few staples in your kit when you need to get creative. And make sure you do your research before a job. I have a good size photo bank of reference pictures on my computer, which is really helpful to have some inspiration before starting a new project.

And don’t be afraid to play! If you’re not working as much, have a friend over and practice an effect that you’re not as confident with. I love to do fun creative photo shoots when I’m not working. I don’t get paid, but it allows me to think outside of the box and do something that I might not get to do as often on the job. Always continue to hone your skills, especially the ones you don’t utilize on a regular basis!

You’ve done some work on CBC’s Arctic Air. Can you talk a bit about your responsibilities?

Courtney: What a great experience that was! I was the Assistant Makeup Artist to Lisa Strong, who keyed the show [served as Head Makeup Artist]. Because it was the first season, there was a lot of establishing characters and figuring out the different looks for everyone. I helped Lisa with a few of regulars, and then I would also look after some of the actors that were just in for the episode. The fun thing about Arctic Air is that for makeup artists, there is a little bit of everything. We had our females that got great beauty makeups, but we also had blood, dirt, frost, ice, bruises, cuts, special effects and even some prosthetics. Every episode brought something different.

We also got the opportunity to go up to Yellowknife a few times. What a beautiful place! Over the three different times we went up there, we saw the weather go from warm fall days, to -25 and freezing (at least for us West Coasters!). This brought new challenges, trying to keep makeup from freezing and touching up while wind and snow were blasting us from all directions. You really learn to adapt to any situation!

Last question: Do you have a makeup hero you look up to in the industry?

Courtney: I have many, but Ve Neill is always the first one that comes to mind. Her work is incredible, and the projects that she works on always involve amazing makeup. I’ve had the opportunity to see her work, and she creates such memorable characters.  Where she draws her inspiration, I don’t know, but she never ceases to amaze me!

Thanks, Courtney! Best of luck on future gigs!

Makeup Design for Film & Television grad Karen Uhthoff is the first VFSer to take home top honours from IMATS London. Her winning character prosthetic work was selected by a judging panel of makeup pros, putting Karen’s talents on a global stage.

How much were you able to plan in advance?

Karen: We were notified about the competition acceptance about 3 weeks before, so I had that time to design my character, based on the theme we were given — which was aliens from Men in Black this year.

I prepared the costume and did a couple of tests of the main idea I had, but I knew I would have to work with the prosthetic pieces I was going to get on the day of the competition.

How would you describe the character you created?

Karen: The character I created was an undercover agent from the MIB agency, or at least that was the main idea. But later I came across an Obama mask, so I decided that my alien would be the American president as an undercover agent.

Succeeding at IMATS seems to rely a lot on your ability to deal with tight time frames. How did you handle the stress?

Karen: I have to be honest and let you know that a lot of things happened previous to the competition. Equipment malfunctions, snow in London, I struggled to arrive to the competition on time. So by the time I arrived, I was happy just to be there. I also decided that no matter what the outcome was, I was just going to enjoy it, and since I love working with prosthetic pieces, time flew by, so I really didn’t have the chance to stress.

You’re the first VFS Makeup Design grad to win at IMATS London. What do you think this win will do for your career?

Karen: I am hoping that this win will allow me to meet and contact people in the industry, and hopefully land some interesting job opportunities. It has also been a great exposure opportunity for me in my country (Mexico), where this type of achievement brings great attention to my work.

Congrats again, Karen!

Find out more about the International Make-Up Artist Trade Show here.