Zero One

As your probably aware January is traditionally a pretty quiet month in the film world so what better time to brush up on those skills you haven't used in a while? Or at least that was my line of thinking when I signed up for a one day prosthetics course at zero one studios (a venue/training space for people in media located in the heart of Soho) The course was run by Make-up Professional Alison Rainey who has been in the biz for over 20 years. (And as you can see if you if you check out  her website http://www.alisonraineymakeup.com/ has built up a very impressive C.V over that time.) Anyway the mission of the day was to make and apply a small prosthetic wound.

We were given pre-made silicon moulds, 
The first step was to mix the cap plastic with the acetone (equal parts or as close as you can get) and then applying a thin layer to the mould, once this had dried we applied a middle layer of silicon, followed by a final coat of the cap plastic/acetone mixture so the silicon was effectively sandwiched in the middle, the whole process (inc drying time) took about 40 minutes.

For any of you who are interested in this sort of this, there are some super youtube video tutorials out there like this one for instance which can take you through the process in much more detail. 
(Its really worth having a look when you have a bit of time to kill, especially at some of the monster/creature fx which is absolutely mind blowing)

But I digress.... For the application process I was lucky enough to be paired up with a lady called Annie Levy another veteran make-up artist, (who by the way writes a Brilliant blog which called make art not war which I suggest you take a look at)
 It was handy to work with some one more experienced as she was was able to give me some pointers with regards to applying and colouring the piece, (especially with blending edges which is something I have always found a bit of a nightmare - if anyone out there has any good tips I would love to hear them!)

My final piece was a nasty infected scab - based on a real life injury I received after burning my leg on a motor bike exhaust pipe in Cambodia last year ( I wont post the actual the picture it will  seriously put you off your breakfast) which I coloured using alcohol and an illustrator palette (Vital piece of kit for anyone out there interested in getting into fx make-up) Over all I think I did ok, but there's definitely room for improvement. 

I found the course fun and informative, it is worthwhile either as a taster for someone wanting to get an idea of prosthetics or for some one wanting to brush up on existing skills. I met a nice bunch people all at different stages of their careers, and will definitely be checking out other courses run by Alison and Zero one in future.