Local 706 - The Artisan

Winter 2023

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86 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2023 details this year. Our beautiful villain, Charlotte Hale, played by Tessa ompson, returns this season sporting the entirely burnt arm we saw in the last episode of Season 3. It was decided the character would keep the burn to remind her of what humans are capable of. Because Hale is dressed in designer clothing with solid colors and immaculate lines, we did not want the burn to be distracting. Jason and I instinctively felt the need to shi the color palette to muted tones, allowing the burn to work with all the costume choices. e illusion was created with interlocking Pros Aide transfers tinted a shade lighter than Tessa's skin tone. e pieces were painted by illustrators and then sealed. e challenge with this make-up became getting it off ! Tessa's skin is so smooth, and she does not sweat much; the Pros Aide grabbed her. It became clear aer the first day of shoot- ing, and a lengthy removal process, that our skin prep was going to be the essential step in this make-up. Aer many different incarnations, our skin prep became: a layer of Skinsaver Barrier Lotion to protect the skin, a layer of thinned-out Gafquat, applied strategically for ease of removal, and a couple of layers of EBA's Pro Sealer, to allow us to glue on top of the Gafquat. It worked well and saved us, and Tessa, a lot of time on the back end, which, as we all know, is important to everyone when working 18-hour days. Aaron Paul's Caleb also had recurring pieces needed every day. Our storyline this season starts aer he's been through a war. e show's creators wanted to see that on his face, with a small scar. It was made as a Pros Aide transfer and applied daily by John Damiani, who did his straight make-up and grooming. Creating the 'Evolved Drones' Lisa Joy, Westworld creator, told us early on that we would need to create an 'evolved' drone that would represent Hale's desire to evolve past the revealed human form. Details and direction were sparse in this task which was both liberating and terrifying as we began our design journey. However, Lisa did give us a great design example, the sculptures of Alberto Giacometti. ese sculptures were haunting, long, thin, and graceful forms. Keeping these designs new and fresh while honoring the design of the established Westworld design was indeed a challenge. Autonomous FX, Inc. began designing numer- ous iterations from simple to complex. In the end, a design was born with multiple influences of mid-century design, high-end car design, 1960s futurism, and organic influences. ough this design had a lot of cooks in the kitchen, proper credit goes to Maury Ruiz, who has collaborated on multiple projects with Jason. is form was a sleek and graceful monolith that stood 10 feet tall. Creating this drone required a full body form of a suit performer, sculpture, molding, and casting. e challenge was creating a suit that would allow VFX to remove specific sections of the performer to 'thin' the suit out so that the sleek profile would read well. e performers, Joey Wilson and Marty Matulis, were required to walk two and a half feet off the ground on stilts. When all elements came together, we had a beauti- fully elegant, evolved drone that added a new mythos to Westworld. Westworld is one of the most challenging projects you could ever work on, but it is also one of the most rewarding. is fantastic group of creative people comes back year aer year. Always starting the season wondering why they signed up again and always looking at the final product, glad they did. I was grateful to have had the opportunity to create with Jason and collaborate with Elisa Marsh, Department Head Make-up, and her team and Department Head Hair Jose Zamora, with his fantastic hair, folks. Our department was lucky to be supported this year by some fabulous make-up folks like Amy Mills, Mark Garbarino, Lisa Rocco, Glen Griffith, and Richard Redlefsen, and of course, the fantastic collection of talent at Autonomous FX. As Elisa mentioned, "It takes a village." If we are going to work long hours in challenging environments, I want to be surrounded by creative people who bring me joy and inspire me. e Westworld village is such a village, and I look forward to revisiting the park next year. •

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