Make Up and Effects

Make Up and Effects

While make up is used in film to make characters appear more beautiful, make up can be used to make a character look more scary, beaten up or inhuman. Even in a world of computer generated effects, special effect make up is important in helping create a seamless connection between live actors and their world and realistic illustrations of of dyer situations.

Effects with make up include:

• Bruises
• Cuts
• Blood
• Old age
• Deformities
• Mutations

We could use this make up effect in a shot showing the death of a main character at the hands of a psycho killer. The deep, red colour could add to the gruesome and unmerciful nature in which the main character was killed by the villain psycho killer.

The bruise make up special effect could be used to signify the sadistic manner in which the psycho killer would have enjoyed severely beating the victim before eventually coming to killing her.

The old age make up effect could be used on our killer. Having an old man as the psycho killer with deeply stained teeth would certainly add a creep factor and make the audience uneasy at the sight of him. Also it could be interpreted as an exaggerated visualization of the perceived hatred of youths by the older generation.

The physical deformity of a the killer character could relate to and be symbolic of  a deep and underlying mental issue, driving him to kill. The deformity would not only be unnerving to look at, but also can add an element of empathy, almost as if the psycho killer is disabled.