Upon watching the Face Off Season 7 premiere, I wanted to
tell everyone of the pride I
had watching 2 of my students from Kosart Atelier: School for Entertainment Arts, Scott and Dina, make it onto the biggest
competition for make-up FX, but primarily take this time to back up the work of
one of those individuals. Scott Mitchell was the first artist eliminated on a first ever “Audition Challenge”
foundation make-up.
Scott is one of my first students. Back in April 2011 when I just opened the doors to my new
studio and just started teaching classes, both he and his son were there for my
first set of classes. He has taken
every first class I have ever offered, taking all 12 of my classes. Always one of the top students, he met
each class project with enthusiasm, and often went above and beyond what was asked
of him in class. He would come up
with great designs for characters and creatures, giving them each a wonderful
back story that made you want to know more. He always had great execution for each piece, and it was
inspiring to see his progression over the years.
It is because of his great talent and enthusiasm that I
began bringing Scott in to help and assist in classes and workshops that he has
already taken, to now helping to instruct my classes at Kosart Atelier: Schoolfor Entertainment Arts, and bringing him in to help on Kosart Effects projects.
Scott was the first member of my team at Kosart Effects Studios, which later came to include several others, including Season 7’s Dina
Cimarusti. With the team, I
brought Scott in to continue learning beyond the classroom, by tackling several
projects. It was really an
exciting time at the studio, Scott quickly became my right hand man.
One of the first projects Scott assisted on was the molding,
casting, and application of "Ivan the Cyclops" for a Floor & Decor
commercial, that you can see HERE. Though we had several
issues with the cooking of the prosthetics, Scott and the team rose to the
challenge and in 4 hours of application before set, we fixed the prosthetics
and delivered a successful makeup to set that the client loved. Scott was key in that process.
Another was for a boogeyman character for Joshua Hoffine’s first film
Black Lullabye. For this, Scott
was tasked to make a gnarly set of boogeyman dentures. Scott’s attention to detail and
precision in execution made those teeth top notch and was the element that
helped to bring the whole make-up together.
We worked on another project for Joshua Hoffine and Sony UK,
Monster Prom. For this my team and
I created awkward, nerdy, teenage versions of the classic monsters: Dracula,
Wolf-Man, and Frankenstein’s Monster.
I designed these 3 characters, and Scott was key in adding the final
details to the Wolf-Boy character sculpture, he sculpted and molded the
Wolf-Boy feet, along with molding, casting, and seaming the 3 monster boy
sculptures, helping to sculpt the dental pieces, casting and finishing all the
dental pieces, and doing some of the hair work.
And the last of the major projects was a Mrs.
Doubtfire-esque make-up that I can’t give many specifics yet. However, Scott was key in molding and
casting the make-up I designed and sculpted, creating the dental veneers and
custom fingernails, and assisting in application of an 8-piece encapsulated
silicone prosthetic for set days.
This make-up has to be hyper-realistic and perfect to make people
believe this man is an elderly woman, and Scott has proven to have the chops to
help get that make-up there.
All in all, Scott is an amazing artist and a remarkable
person. He became more than a
student, he became a colleague, and more importantly, a friend. His sculpting of his own characters and
creatures for masks, busts, and make-ups are all incredible, and I just feel
sorry that none of you will have the opportunity to see what he can do on Face
Off.
Despite what you may have seen on Face Off, or what the
judges said, Scott does have what it takes to compete at that level. My money was on him and Dina going into
the competition, and were he to go again, knowing what happened on the first
episode, I would still put my money on Scott to win it all.
Everyone has a bad day on Face Off. I know I had a few of my own, and
luckily I survived those trying times to ultimately win the show. However, as we all know, Scott did not
make it past the first round, which wasn’t even a Spotlight Challenge. It was a twist to have 2 people
eliminated right off the bat with a new “Audition Challenge” which was nothing
more than a foundation make-up. It
is unfortunate that they eliminated artists based on a foundation make-up, that
utilizes generic prosthetics that he or she was not responsible for in the
design and sculpt of that piece, especially when you are given that piece to
work with. I’d rather see a
contestant be eliminated based on the creativity and execution of their own work in the shop. If that were the case on other seasons,
some of the best makeup artists that ultimately made it to the finale as well
as some who won their season would have been eliminated in their first
foundation challenge based on their bad decisions on their first foundation make-up. How tragic that would have been, and
that should show that such talent and potential could have been wasted on this
season’s Audition Challenge. Yes, some bad decisions were made, but I
guarantee you that had Scott made it past that round to the shop he would have gone very far,
possibly making it to the finale and winning the show. Though I do not know Gabby, I have the
same belief in Gabby who was also eliminated. It was sad to see them go based on a foundation
challenge. I hope they are both
given another opportunity to come back to Face Off and show the world what they
can do. I do not know Gabby, but I
know Scott, and Scott is a creative force to be reckoned with.
Here are a few of Scott’s pieces that show what he can do
when actually given an opportunity to design and sculpt his own make-ups and
sculptures.
So with that, I just want to say that I am still very proud of Scott, as very few make it as far as he did. He beat out thousands of people just to have made it that far. It takes a lot to put yourself and your art on display the way he did, and I just hope he gets another opportunity to show you all what he is made of.
So with that, I just want to say that I am still very proud of Scott, as very few make it as far as he did. He beat out thousands of people just to have made it that far. It takes a lot to put yourself and your art on display the way he did, and I just hope he gets another opportunity to show you all what he is made of.
On a lighter note, I am also very proud of my other student
Dina, and am ecstatic that she made it to the next round and won the Audition
Challenge. I will do a write up on
her and her work as well, but wanted to address Scott first.
Congrats to Dina and all the other contestants who actually
made it on Season 7. Thanks for
taking the time to read this, and please continue to watch Face Off every
Tuesday at 9/8c on Syfy. It is my
favorite show, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
Photos by Kosart Effects Studios LLC, Kosart Atelier, Bear McGivney, Scott Mitchell, Simin Koernig, Joshua Hoffine, Brett Patrick Jenkins, and Syfy,
and copyright their respective artists. All Rights Reserved.
