A Study of Make-up Artists and Character's Special Make-up Effects in the Twentieth Century's Films

Abstract

This study was motivated not only by the important role of the special make-up effects in films, but also by the prominent contributions created by make-up artists. The first objective was to study of Jack Pierce, Dick Smith, Tom Savini, Rick flake., and Stan Winston's impact in the most challenging and creative field of all make-up artistry. The second objective was to examine both affinities and differences in artistic styles as well as in make-up techniques through a comparative study of special make-up effects of horror and sci-fi movies in the 20th century films produced by Hollywood studios. The sci-fi films were designed to thrill the audience through the potential of futuristic ideas by fantastic special effects of futuristic creatures such as an extra-terrestrial, a mutant, a robot and a cyborg. In contrast, the horror films were designed to frighten the audience with more reliance on horrifying special effects including a vampire, a werewolf, a zombie and a psycho killer. Their features were shown in a common thread (masquerade, otherness and surrealism) as well as a number of different themes between horror and sci-fi films (transformation vs. extension, satanism vs. monstrosity, and primitivism vs. futurism).