Q & A Gino Acevedo
Weta Workshop's Snr Prosthetics Supervisor and Visual Creature Effects Art Director Gino Acevedo
1. How would your mother describe you?
Mom always shook her head when she would see some of my creations! I remember one time in grade school when it time for parent/ teacher conferences and we went to my art class. My teacher at the time Mrs. Freeman told my parents that she was a bit concerned about my talents. While she showed what the rest of the class was drawing, bowls of fruit, unicorns and scenic drawing, I was drawing Frankenstein and the Creature for the Black lagoon! But my parents then realized that this is what I really wanted to draw and they encouraged me from there on, as long as I drew a nice picture every now and then for grandma!
2. What’s your principal defect?
I would have to say that my principal defectis I to have my fingers in so many pies at once! I am really driven by making the most out of everyday because there are so many things that I want to do and accomplish in my lifetime that I end up over extending myself at times. But I always seem to get through it and at the end of it, I am very happy of the outcome.
3. What’s your favorite word?
"wow, look at that " !
4. How did you get into the wonderful world of prosthetics?
I first got interested in this field when I was quite young, I’d say probably 7 or 8. I always loved monsters! I grew up in Phoenix Arizona, and every Saturday morning there used to be a programme in the morning at 10:30 called “World Beyond”. They would feature the classic monster films like Frankenstein, The Wolfman and the Creature from the Black Lagoon (which happens to be one of my favourite monsters even to this day!).
When I was about 12, A film called ‘Planet of the Apes” came out and at that time it had the state of the art special make up effects created by a brilliant make up artist named John Chambers. When I saw the film I was totally blown away by the transformation of all of the characters into Apes. It just so happens that I love apes as well, so this made the film even that much more appealing! I then saw a behind the scenes making of the Planet of the Apes, and it showed how John Chambers turned one of the actors into an ape. From that point on, I knew I wanted to be a monster maker!
All throughout school, I always loved art class. I always excelled in art though not so great in the “important” subjects as my parents used to always say. I was always the kid who had to stay after class because I would get caught drawing on the desk instead of taking notes and paying attention in Math and History class!
When I was 18, I went to a community College called Phoenix College. There I majored in graphics courses as well as drawing and painting classes. At this time, I also started work at a Halloween company in Phoenix called Imagineering. There I was hired by Larry Liff, the President of the company to design Halloween masks. I started out first in the production facility putting together on the assembly line make up kits and accessories for his line of products. I did this for a few months before I actually got started in designing masks. I was sent to LA to work at an existing mask making company where they taught me for 6 months on how to set up a mask making factory and how to make the molds, cast the masks in latex and how to paint them.
I took this incredible knowledge back to Phoenix and began making masks for the company.
Thru this company, I met a gentleman by the name of Barry Koper, a very well respected make up artist in Los Angeles. We became friends and he took me under his wing and introduced me to other make up effects artists in the industry including my idol, John Chambers! A day I will never forget.
When I was about 22, Barry got me a job at NBC Television Studios on a Dick Clark show called “Friday Night Surprise”. This was a take off of an old show back in the 60’s called “Masquerade”. On the show, they used to have celebrity quests made up in prosthetics as other famous celebrity quests and the audience would have to try and guess thru hints just who these actors were. On this new show, I had to make up ”Gilligan’s Island” fame, Alan Hale who played the Skipper and Bob Denver who played Gilligan. I had to make up Alan as WC Fields and Bob Denver as May West. They did a little routine from an old film called “My Little Chickadee” and the audience had to guess who the were. This was my very first time as a Hollywood Make up artist.
After that a friend called that I had met thru Barry called David Miller. David was responsible for making up Robert England as Freddy Krueger in the first “Nightmare on Elm Street” film. Now David was about to start on the 5th Nightmare film and asked if I wanted to come and work on it with him. My mother had just passed away and there really wasn’t anything to keep me in Arizona except the Halloween company, but my boss Larry, literally kicked me out and said to go for it and I could still design the masks for him while I was living in LA. So I packed up my bags, and off to Hollywood I went! I have been in the business now for over 25 years and have worked on some amazing projects and each one has taught me to become a better artist.
I am very greatful to Larry for giving me that "kick in the ass" back then to help me get to where I am today!
5. Who’s your favourite fictional beast/monster/bogeyman?My favorite "monsters of all time would have to be the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the Wolfman and Frankenstein. Why? I would have to say because they were all basically "men in suits" and required some special makeup. But the real reason is because they are such an amazing design and look really cool!
6. What’s the most difficult fictional character/beast/bogeyman that you’ve worked on?
I would have to say "Gimli and old age Bilbo" from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.Because they were human beings meant that they were very difficult for us because they had to look so convincing as real characters. Because they were human beings meant that they had to be totally believable. It is much easier to create a monster as opposed to a human likeness. We all know what a human looks like and if there is something slightly off such as color or in the design, it will be picked up right away by the audience. If you are doing a creature, well whose to say what a real creature really looks like!
8. What’s the most unusual tool or material you’ve used?
The most unusual material that i have ever used was probably when I had to do a makeup using only corn syrup and tissue paper! I had to create a mummy for a Halloween companys makeup kit that they were planning on selling and it consisted of these materials. it was very messy and very sticky! I remember that we had problems with flies and bees buzzing around the model wanting to land on his face for lunch!
7. Last year you were tasked with creating a prosthetic leg for a one-legged kiwi. How did that come about?
I have a friend at the Wellington zoo who called me one day and said that they had a Kiwi named Tahi who had lost his leg in possum trap and wanted to know if we could help the veterinarian to take a cast of his stump so that the vet could then make a special prosthesis for him.Was it a challenge to create? It was pretty easy to take the casting, we used the same material called "alginate" that the orthodontists use to take impressions of your teeth. the material is actually made from seaweed and when mixed with water, it becomes a paste that we then rub onto the body part. It sets up into rubber like consistency and then we can remove the body part from the alginate and then we pour plaster into the alginate cast to get an exact duplicate of the body part. once we had that, we sent that off to the vet so that he could do his magic and make Tahi a new leg that would fit him perfectly!
10. Do you ever dabble in prosthetics outside work?
Every now and then i will have a friend call and say that they need something special for a party that they are going to.
10. Are you immensely popular at fancy-dress pre-parties?
I am actually not a fan of wearing my makeup stuff! I would much rather apply it someone else!
11. When do you feel most inspired?
I usually feel most inspired after I have just seen something amazing, rather it be from a film or a piece of art in a gallery. I often think, thats a great idea, I can make that!
12.How do you overcome a creative block?
Whenever I have a creative block, I look through all of my favorite art books of artists that have always inspired me or i simply look back on old makeups or drawings that I have done in the past that I am really proud of. That usually is enough to kick me in the butt and get going again.