If you’ve seen Batman Vs. Superman, American Horror Story, or any of the Pirates of the Carribbean films, then you’ve seen Richard Redlefsen’s work. Working in the film and television industry since 1998, Redlefsen is one of the most sought-after special effects makeup artists in the rapidly expanding arena of special effects, commonly referred to as “SFX”. As TV shows and movies like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, and Star Wars dominate mainstream media, SFX makeup and artists like Redlefsen have never been more omnipresent.
Often an overlooked artform, SFX makeup has gained prominence as it becomes a defining factor of almost every standout TV show and movie. For nearly the past decade, zombies, vampires, and aliens have dominated the big and small screens, all characters that require hours of behind the scenes cosmetic work that can include prosthetics, custom made masks, and a variety of gory substances including artifical blood, pus, and brain matter.
As the artform becomes a more integral part of mainstream entertainment, SFX professionals like Redlefsen have become more recognized for their talent and artistry. Redlefsen currently boasts over 45,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts incredibly detailed, often gory SFX transformations from movie and TV sets. Utilizing hashtags like #sfxmakeup and #prostheticmakeup, Redlefsen has become a digital pioneer for the social expansion of SFX craftsmanship. Fellow SFX artists like Ve Neill, with 60,000 followers, and Bill Corso, with 30,000 followers, have utilized Instagram’s visual format and global reach to share their projects, and the extensive amount of work that goes behind them, with the world. In addition to being an SFX artist, Ms. Neill, an Academy Award-winner for her work on Beetlejuice and Mrs. Doubtfire, is also a judge on the Syfy competition show Face Off, a reality game series where artists competete in SFX transformation challenges.
Redlefsen shares a behind the scenes shot from American Horror Story on his Instagram.
Like Ms. Neill, Mr. Corso is well known for his work in film. Perhaps the most “visible” artist in the industry, Corso’s work has appeared in over 70 films spanning three decades, including Star Wars, Deadpool, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Shining. In an interview with Shoot Online about his work on the 2014 film Foxcatcher, for which he transformed the facial features of easily recognizable actors like Steve Carrell and Mark Ruffalo, Corso shared the unseen challenges that come with less flashy transformations. “When you are going to alter a well-known person’s face, there are all kinds of issues, most importantly how are you going to look and make it feel believable. Why is this person covered in a bunch of rubber? You can never get in the way of the actor’s performance.”
As artists like Corso and Redlefsen commercialize SFX on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat, the artform is becoming more welcoming to newcomers. Gabriella Ruvane, a twenty-one year old freelance makeup artist who trained at the Make-Up Designory in Manhattan, explains how established artists have opened the door for those starting out in the industry. “Social media has helped up-and-coming artists like myself gather inspiration and see what kind of SFX transformations people respond to on Instagram and YouTube.”
Gabriella Ruvane shares what’s in her SFX kit. (interactive)
This inclusion, driven by social media, has led to a boom in amateur workmanship. In the past year, “Special Effects Makeup” has garnered its own subheading on the Instagram Explore page, building a space where budding artists can be discovered. With the increased popularity of YouTube as a space for sharing makeup tutorials, SFX makeup has evolved into a hobby, just as beauty makeup has over the past few years. But does SFX have the potential to become as big an artform as beauty makeup has? Jessica Bilson, a Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, thinks so. “SFX is a niche market right now but I think in the future it’ll be more widespread with the influence of social media and people wanting to do it on themselves more often. One of the brands who is really big in the industry might end up in Sephora and have its own gondola around Halloween time.”
Whether SFX will become as mainstream as beauty makeup or remain a subgenre of the cosmetics industry remains to be seen, but it has certainly inserted itself into the everyday. With new TV shows like Westworld and Stranger Things gaining steam, and the #sfxmakeup hashtag at over 485,000 posts and counting, what was formerly a small community has become a career and hobby of massive interest. As artists like Ms. Ruvane continue to grow their skills and network, SFX will continue to evolve into the future of cosmetics.