when they leave here,
are not just specialists in only prosthetics, or just beauty make
up. They are proficient in all phases of Make-up .” All of the
courses, whether taken separately or together, are intense, and require
a tremendous amount of time from the student. “There’s another
alternative to going to a school to learn Make-up ,” says Blasco.
“You can badger a professional Make-up artist half to death to
get him to let you watch him-and he may let you-just to pacify you.
You’ll probably learn a good lot that way, but you’ll also
probably only learn that one artist’s style. At the Make-up Centers,
the students are exposed to anywhere from 20 to 25 different Make-up
artists. They get to see everything that’s available in state-of-the-art
techniques. There are no secrets. The students are able to pick and
choose their influences, so to speak. And,” Blasco adds, “they
don’t have to spend precious time tracking down and coaxing a
Make-up artist to teach them.” The list of Make-up artists on
the staff at the Make-up Center School includes Harry Thomas (who
worked with Jack Pierce on the famous horror pictures of the 40’s
and 50’s), Matthew Mungle and Ron Figuly (prosthetics specialists),
and Larry Abbott, who is Steve Allen’s personal Make-up artist,
and who was the head Make-up artist on the PBS series Meeting of the
Minds. Visiting artists include Academy Award winner John Chambers,
and Charles Schram; who worked on The Wizard of Oz.
 A typical 11 week course, that is, the Complete Professional Make-up
Course, consists of classes in seven different areas; the first being
beauty Make-up , which covers straight, glamour, and high fashion
Make-up for film, TV, stage, and still photography. Next is old age
Make-up , covering the different methods of achieving the aged look
(other than with prosthetics—that comes later), using paint and
powder, construction and stipple. The third class is on bald cap techniques,
covering the manufacture, application, and proper removal of the bald
cap. Says Blasco, “There are definite wrong and right ways to
remove Make-up . It’s just as much an art as applying it.”
The fourth class is hair work. The student is instructed in how to
make beards and other facial hair; wigs, and how to improvise with
different materials.
Class
five is the character Make-up segments, where the student learns how
to put everything he’s learned in the first four classes to good
use. Covered in this class are 50 phases of character-oriented techniques
including bullet holes, burns (of all degrees), cuts and scratches,
oriental features, drag Make-up , and much, much more. The sixth class
is monster Make-up . In this class, the student learns how to recreate
the classic monsters of the past—e.g. Quasimodo, the Mummy, Frankenstein’s
Monster, and Dracula; and creates his own disgusting creatures as
well. He is limited in this only by his aptitude and imagination.
The last portion of the course is prosthetics. There are two classes,
basic and advanced (the latter is optional). In the basic class, students
are taught the rudiments of sculpting, casting, and moldmaking, and
all about the materials used. In the advanced class, skills taught
include the manufacture of teeth with dental acrylics, the mechanical
capabilities of the prosthetic appliance (which include bladder effects),
and faster and better methods in all areas of prosthetic Make-up.
Throughout the 11 week course are lectures and seminars on subjects
that range from the history of Make-up effects, to script breakdown
for Make-up artists. There is also a required class in human anatomy,
exercise, and nutrition, which gives the student guidelines on how
to remain a healthy make-up |
artist. “This
is a demanding job,” explains Blasco, “and if you’re
not healthy, you won’t be hired. If you don’t stay healthy,
you won’t stay hired.”
The
purpose of the workshop is to let the student experience the other
technical aspects of film and TV production, such as lighting techniques,
blocking, and camerawork, so that once in the world of the professional,
he will be properly prepared and able to handle himself on such a
level. Also, the workshop enables the student to see his own work
on video tape, in order that he will better understand what makes
his creations look best.
Aside
from being a school, the Joe Blasco Make-up Center is an independent
Make-up service for film, TV, stage, and still photography. Available
to this community is a variety of services, from being an outlet for
Blasco’s own line of professional cosmetics, to providing all
forms of Make-up design and execution (done at the Center, or on location).
Because producers often turn to the Make-up Centers for help, there
is quite a lot of exposure for the talented students of the school;
many times the students find employment in their field through the
Make-up Center. Matthew Mungle, a former student of Blasco’s,
who is now an instructor at the Center, and who has a growing list
of credits in TV and feature films, is one such case. Says Mungle,
“Probably 90 per cent of the work I’ve gotten has been from
Joe’s recommendations. Joe had me assist him in Las Vegas on
Orson Welles’ Make-up for the movie Butterfly, and he recommended
me to Jeff Obrow Productions to do the effects Make-up on their movie
Pranks.” Mungle will also be tackling Obrow’s next feature
as well.
An
important point stressed by Blasco, is that new Make-up artists can
not afford to experiment on the job. It not only costs time and money,
but reputation as well. “If you’re good at what you do,”
says Blasco, “word gets around; but if you are costing a company
money and time trying to figure out how to do things you should already
know how to do, word gets around twice as fast. That can cost you
future employment At the schools, students get all their major experimentation
out of the way, so they don’t have to do it on the job. When
they get out into the world of the professional, they will have the
basics down, and they will be able to try new things with that knowledge
to draw from.” Prosthetics student Mary-Michael George agrees:
“They make you feel so comfortable with the materials, that you
are able to feel confident about going out and using what you know,
and applying it to new things.” Says Blasco, “Not everyone
is going to be successful at Make-up and Make-up effects, but those
who have the talent, personality and drive it takes, will survive.
They are the ones who will get the jobs.”
Blasco’s
school is certainly unique among schools of this type (of which there
are not many). It’s appeal is its professionalism, and people
come from all over the world to partake of that professionalism. Student
Sandra Aznar is from France. She wanted to go to the best Make-up
school in the world, so she came to the Joe Blasco Make-up Center.
“What I like about this school, says Aznar, ‘ is that there
are so many people with their own problems’, and their own temperament,
yet each person is handled as an individual.” Everyone is free
to move the way they want, but always with the one direction in mind,
to be a professional.
Please
direct all correspondence about the Joe Blasco Make-up Center Schools
to Joe Blasco Make-up Center West, Hollywood, California, (323) 467-4949
or Joe Blasco Make-up Center East, Orlando, Florida, (407) 363-1234. |
