special effect artist
Is it possible to make a living being a special effects make up artist in NYC?
i want to specialize in prosthetics for horror movies, gore make up, full body prosthetics etc. please include as much information as possible how i would go about this.. i want to attend the douglas education center for their program in special fx
I was actually in your position a year ago. I worked on indie films and had to get part-time jobs to support myself. NYC is hard to get into the business because there are not alot of big studios that take on interns to train and teach the craft…let alone get gigs. However, once you are in the business it is easier to monopolize the job fields since most people go to the same SPFX companies in NYC.
In terms of learning SPFX I would highly recommend going to Douglas Education Center and enroll in the Tom Savini SPFX program. They are the only accredited school which is the equivalent of going to a 2yr college and their curriculum is very genre specific. The only other schools that can compare are those in California and in Canada. If you’re in the East Coast go to that school. There are other “workshops” that are famous…but they are “workshops” nonetheless. That means the projects you will learn are short term basic projects. You can’t work on high end films with those skills. Workshops tend to be shorter in cumulative hours of learning and super expensive per hour, when you break down the cost.
The Tom Savini school, however, is very expensive compared to workshops…but it’s because it’s a damn 2 yr college. Yes, it’s a vocational school, but you get a degree, man! It’s currently 38k not including housing.
If you don’t have the money and in NYC…and interested in getting some classes in, then I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you take School of Visual Arts Continuing Education classes in SPFX with CARL PAOLINO.
Carl has classes every semester, but depending on enrollment it may be canceled or too full. They are about $600 and include all materials, which is a great start-up kit. It’s a 10 week session once a week for about 3 hours. He even has follow-up advance spfx classes. He is one of the best spfx artists in NYC and you may know him from Celebrity Death Match on MTV. Yes, he made those clay figures. His niche is stop motion animation.
If you want to go the indie route, then take these classes. The best thing is Carl is great about using his students in his films as interns and on projects. He is the coolest professor and mentor I have ever met.
FYI, there is no SPFX major for School of Visual Arts College, so you must take the continuing education courses.
I’m am currently at the Douglas Education School and this is best place to be if you want to work on high end Hollywood blockbuster level films.
Time Trumpet – The Eastenders special effects artist