EVEN IF IT'S JUST LIKE A SMALL LITTLE MASK,

YOU KNOW, ON HALLOWEEN.

WHEN WE DO SOME SORT OF VERY LARGE MAKEUP,

YOU START BASICALLY WITH A CLEAN SLATE.

YOU HAVE THE ACTOR AS YOUR CANVAS,

AND THEN YOU'RE ABLE TO CREATE WHATEVER YOU WANT,

WHATEVER YOUR IMAGINATION BRINGS TO THE TABLE.

THAT PERSON BECOMES UNRECOGNIZABLE.

I'M HOWARD BERGER.

I'M A SPECIAL MAKEUP EFFECTS ARTIST AND MAKEUP ARTIST.

WE'RE HERE AT MY STUDIO, KNB EFX GROUP,

AND WE MAKE MONSTERS ALL DAY LONG.

SPECIAL MAKEUP EFFECTS

IS RELATED TO SPECIAL CHARACTER DESIGN.

LET'S SAY, LIKE, WHAT JACK PIERCE DID

FOR FRANKENSTEIN.

ANYTHING SPECIAL THAT GOES OUTSIDE OF WHAT CAN BE DONE

IN A MAKEUP TRAILER BASED ON WHATEVER THE FILM'S NEEDS ARE.

THE FIRST STAGE IS SCULPTURAL.

YOU WILL START WITH CLAY AND START ADDING CLAY

TO THE ACTOR'S LIFE CAST UNTIL YOU BUILD UP

THE FORMS THAT YOU WANT FOR THOSE PROSTHETIC MAKEUPS.

TO ME, FORM IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT.

YOU CAN DO AMAZING DETAIL BUT HAVE REALLY KIND OF

A VERY LOOSE, YOU KNOW, NONDESCRIPT FORM,

AND IT DOESN'T REALLY WORK.

YOU HAVE TO ACTUALLY STAND BACK FROM THE SCULPTURE

AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT AS A WHOLE,

AND IF IT WORKS WITHOUT THE TEXTURE AND THE DETAIL,

YOU KNOW YOU'VE GOT SOMETHING COOL THERE.

ONCE THE SCULPTURE IS DONE, THEY GO TO THE MOLD DEPARTMENT,

AND THERE IS WHERE WE TAKE THE NEGATIVE IMPRESSION

OF THE SCULPTURE, AND THERE'LL BE A VOID

BETWEEN THE ACTOR'S POSITIVE AND THE NEGATIVE IMPRESSION.

WE'LL INJECT THE FOAM RUBBER INTO THAT.

THAT FILLS UP THAT VOID,

AND THAT'S WHAT CREATES THE PROSTHETIC.

IT THEN GOES INTO THE OVEN.

IT GETS BAKED IN THERE FOR LIKE SIX HOURS AT 165 DEGREES.

ONCE THAT'S DONE, WE PULL IT OUT OF THE OVEN,

OPEN IT UP, AND YOU HAVE YOUR FOAM-RUBBER PIECE.

FROM THERE, YOU DO PRE-PAINTING,

AND THEN IT COMES INTO APPLICATION.

A MAKEUP UP LIKE THIS,

I'M ESTIMATING WE'RE PROBABLY LOOKING AT

AN HOUR AND A HALF, TWO HOURS.

THE DAY COMES WHEN YOU FIRST APPLY IT,

AND THAT'S VERY EXCITING.

YOU START, YOU KNOW, GET YOUR ACTOR PREPPED,

YOU SIT THEM IN THE CHAIR, AND BALD-CAP THEM,

AND START APPLYING THE PIECES.

IT JUST FITS RIGHT OVER.

I'LL JUST TACK IT AROUND THE EDGES.

WITH EACH PIECE, YOU SEE A LITTLE BIT MORE.

YOU KNOW, UP UNTIL THAT POINT, IT'S JUST A SCULPTURE,

IT'S A MOLD, IT'S FOAM PIECES OUT OF THE OVEN.

WHEN YOU START SEEING IT BECOME APPLIED, THEN YOU GET IT.

THE ACTOR STARTS HIS DAY WITH US AND FINISHES HIS DAY WITH US.

HE COMES IN, WE ALWAYS HAVE A NICE ENVIRONMENT.

SOMETIMES WE'RE KIND OF LIKE THE BARTENDERS OF A FILM.

EVERY TIME I DO A MAKEUP, I DO WHATEVER WORKS.

IT'S NOT ALWAYS THE SAME THING.

AND EVEN EVERY DAY I DO THE MAKEUP,

SOMETIMES I CHANGE IT A LITTLE BIT,

YOU KNOW, MAKE IT INTERESTING FOR MYSELF.

SO WHAT I'M DOING NOW

IS I'M JUST DOING LIKE A LITTLE SPLATTER THING.

IT'S JUST AN OLD TRICK OF USING AN OLD CHIP BRUSH.

THIS TECHNIQUE HAS REPLACED MY AIRBRUSH.

IT'S KIND OF LIKE THIS IS THE WAY I USED TO PAINT

WAY BACK WHEN, AND IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS

WHERE YOU REDISCOVER A TECHNIQUE.

YOU'RE LIKE, "OH, YEAH. I FORGOT ABOUT THAT."

WHY DON'T WE DO THE WIG?

COOL.

Woman: YEAH? Berger: YEAH.

WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO NOW IS PUT THE CONTACT LENSES IN.

WHEN YOU DON'T USE CONTACT LENSES

AND YOU HAVE A YOUNG PERSON,

THEIR EYES STILL LOOK YOUNG,

EVEN IF YOU HAVE AN OLD-AGE MAKEUP.

SO IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO TEMPER THE EYES DOWN

AND JUST KIND OF TAKE THE LIFE AWAY FROM IT

TO JUST ADD MORE TO THE CHARACTER.

GIVE ME A LITTLE BIT OF A SNARL.

[ SNARLS ] A LITTLE SNARL.

I LOVE MONSTERS, YOU KNOW?

AND I LOVE CREATURES.

I COME FROM A GENERATION KNOWN AS THE MONSTER KIDS,

PEOPLE THAT ARE SO YOUNG AT HEART,

AND IT'S JUST COOL THAT THERE HAPPENS TO BE

A FACET IN THE FILM INDUSTRY THAT ALLOWS FOR THAT,

THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, BREATHE LIFE INTO OUR CREATIONS

AND THEY GET TO APPEAR ON FILM

AND AUDIENCES GET TO SEE THEM ALL OVER THE WORLD.