Today, I have a monster I designed and worked on for season seven of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, episode fifteen, Get It Done. Looking back, I am a little shocked at how many times I worked on multiple monsters for a single episode. Yesterday, I shared with you another monster I worked on for this episode, the Assassin Demon.
Before I go any further, I must remind everyone that this work is a collaboration of many skilled artists and technicians. I was one of many who brought these monsters to life, but this time around, I was present at all stages, but my focus was on the design work, paint and finish, and set crew. After twenty-plus years, I cannot properly give credit to everyone else involved. Sorry, but people's names were the first to go after I left LA.
This was a weird one. This demon was meant to be a one-and-done monster. Meaning that it had only a very small role in the episode. It would be filmed in a day and would never be seen again. But the fates had a different plan for it. Through a comedy of errors, something kept happening with the shots they needed to get. First, they ran out of time, then they ran out of time again, then the footage they got didn't work, then they needed some more shots, and there was some more running out of time mixed in there as well. Needless to say, this one-and-done monster ended up on set MANY times, and we had to keep making new makeup pieces each time. I ended up on set a LOT with this one over many weeks as they tried to get all the shots they needed. While I was not the person who originally painted the makeup for the first day, I ended up painting all of the new makeup that was needed for the additional shooting days. I designed the markings on the face and body, but those images are not worth sharing. Here are photos from the set and our effect shop of the African Portal Demon.
The African Portal Demon in all its glory on set.
Oh wow! It's some idiot and a demon! RAWR!
This was a very cool cave interior set on the Buffy lot. It was made using an expanding foam or material to create the rocky texture. I am not sure what happened, but one day, I walked across the set and left massive bootprints across the entire set floor. I got out of there really fast and didn't get near that set for a few days. Thankfully, no one was there to see me do it. It was likely not a big deal, and bootprints on the floor would never have been seen on the show, but I definitely didn't want to be associated with the imprints. There was always someone looking for a reason to yell at someone lower on the food chain than they were. ...which reminds me of another story from another time working on Buffy, but that story will need to wait for another day - if ever. It's just about someone yelling at me for no reason because they liked yelling and screaming at subordinates.
This is literally a millisecond before I sprayed adhesive into the demon's armpit to patch up a hole. The adhesive ricocheted back and barely missed my eyes and coated my hair. Luckily, some rubbing alcohol took care of the adhesive in my hair, and I wasn't blinded at that moment.
Man, I miss that shirt.
The actor in this makeup has a SEVERE allergy to latex. This makeup, cowl, and upper body suit are all made of... YOU GUESSED IT! Latex! It was a topical reaction, but he looked like he was dragged across gravel when he came out of it all. And yes, he was aware of his allergy. He was aware of what the suit and makeup were made out of. He still did it all, on numerous days, for the money and fame.
I will say he was one of the more charismatic people we worked with. He wasn't the best we worked with, but he was really, really good. He had a lot of fun with the role and could really emote and come through the makeup with his personality.
Here are some photos of the face and cowl sculptures.
Again, these weren't mine, and I do not remember who was responsible. I have a slight guess, but I am likely wrong at this point. I still love the bite mark on the head and shoulder. The chin tusks may have been a reused item but were likely new for this one.
That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here next week! Until then...
