Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512433
28 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2024 Being asked to work on one of Christopher Nolan's films is always wonderful, then to find out it would be Oppenheimer raised the level of excitement and challenge. We were all aware that telling a story spanning four decades, with historic and iconic figures, on 70mm IMAX, meant the design and execution of our work had to be seamless to allow the audience to journey into this world. I knew that filming in multiple distant locations meant that significant prep and testing were needed before principal photography began. Designing the overall look, including the sculpting and preparing all the prosthetics for the run of the film, needed to start immediately. It was essential to work collaboratively with director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, Jaime Leigh McIntosh as the Department Head Hair, and Ellen Mirojnick, our costume designer. Working with the talented Jason Hamer at Hamer FX was crucial to get all the prosthetic pieces designed and sculpted. His open collaboration, dedication and attention to every detail was the perfect fit. We were able to do a digital rendition of all the final character agings, discussing what techniques and applications would be used, including silicone and transfer prosthetics. is also allowed me the ability to test, review and revise the designs, making sure the progressive aging and period changes worked in unison with what we had established, all while overseeing all the actors' looks at our many filming locations. At the same time, Jason Hamer oversaw all the work done at Hamer FX in LA. For the planning of the actors' age progression, it was important to recognize there were varying time spans when the actors would appear. To create an effective continuity outline for this meant that contrary to usual linear-scene-number breakdowns, the breakdown for each actor was done primarily by age. is kept the non-consecutive scenes of the same timeline together. Our main team included key make-up Jamie Hess; prosthetics Jason Hamer and Hiro Yada, supported by the rest of their terrific team. Lead application artists Jamie Kelman, Kerrin Jackson, Jamie Hess and myself. Also, Todd Kleitsch when we filmed in NJ. Make-up artists Becky Cotton, Leslie Devlin. For Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Oppenheimer's appearance runs from the 1920s to the 1960s for his later years. Cillian Murphy as young Oppenheimer needed to look his most youthful. Knowing that I'd be taking advantage of his amazing natural cheek bone structure for his later years (enhanced by his stunning weight loss), I had plumpers made to bring a youthful fullness for this early look. Several revisions were made to ensure we got the added fullness and natural appearance needed. Highlight and shadow were also used to maximize this look. A natural make-up also neutralized a portion of Cillian's THE AGING OF MAKE-UP B Y L U I S A A B E L D E P A R T M E N T H E A D O F M A K E - U P A N D P R O S T H E T I C S Continued on page 30 OPPENHEIMER Aging of Cillian Murphy and Emily Blunt (J. Robert Oppenheimer and Kitty Oppenheimer)