Artists on the Couch: Brad Greenwood - Special Make-Up Effects Artist

From the orcs and elves in Lord of the Rings to fantastic sci-fi creatures, all the way to ghoulish figures in horror films, the world of cinema would not be as exciting and transporting without the magical work of special make-up effects artists.

I've had the pleasure and honor of interviewing one of the most talented SFX Make-up artists in the business.

On the couch today is Brisbane-born Brad Greenwood, currently based in Vietnam. I'm almost nervous - it's not every day one meets a creature creator. But Brad is extremely friendly and one would never guess he makes ghosts and other dark bloody things for a living.

If you've watched any Lord of the Rings films or the recent Kong: Skull Island, chances are, you've seen Brad's work in action. Brad's experience is awe-inspiring and includes an adventure series, horror, fantasy and period films both in Australia and internationally.

Brad has been kind enough to answer ten questions for us today. A rare treat.

Hope you enjoy this ride into the dark!

Brad Greenwood on the Artists Couch

1. When you first started in the film industry, what was your training and what became your first break?

My formal education in design was at the Queensland College of art. I majored in traditional Animation. My informal education has been working with so many amazing artists and filmmakers over the years… that’s only way to learn… from other people doing it better than you.

My very first gig in the film industry was working on a TV series called Time Trax based out of the Warner Roadshow studios on the Gold Coast.

2. You have worked on all Lord of the Rings films - what was that like, what did you most enjoy and what was the most challenging aspect about working on these films?

Yeah, so long ago now… I’m not sure I really understood what an amazing opportunity it was. Everyone that does their tour of duty at WETA workshop* comes out 100% better than when they went in. Richard Taylor and his crew are among the best in the world… so that rubs off on you.
I think the hardest part for everyone was trying to do such high-end work on a massive scale.

*I had to look this up: Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.

3. Which special effects artist has inspired you or do you look up to from past/current films?

To be honest it was Rick Baker… every make-up effects person of my generation will tell you the same. I got to meet him once and see stuff from American Werewolf in London and Greystoke in the ‘flesh’… it was amazing.

The other was make-up genius Dick Smith… Fellow FX artist Kym Sainsbury and I did his correspondence course and went to visit him at his house in Sarasota, Florida. It was surreal drinking tea with him in his garage, while he showed us stuff from The Exorcist and talked about working with Lawrence Olivier, Brando, De Niro, Hoffman… all these great actors.
Dick has passed on now… so that was a special memory.
He was widely acknowledged as not only one of the greats, but for his kindness and generosity to other artists.


4. You are currently based in Vietnam - what prompted that move and tell us about your company.

It’s a long story… but the abridged version is… I came for a holiday in 2014… and stayed… I taught English, travelled around a little, did some writing… there’s an emerging arts scene here… and the film and entertainment business is developing quickly… I’d love to be part of that. It’s early days but I hope to do a lot more here.

Derek Nguyen's The Housemaid

5. Another fascinating aspect of your work is that you seem involved in multi-national productions like Derek Nguyen's The Housemaid, which is set in 1953 French Indochina. Tell us about this film and your involvement. 

I was lucky enough to meet producer Timothy Linh Bui… they’d already shot most of the film and wanted to do some pick-ups with additional effects.
Derek wrote the script based on his family history… It’s almost more of a dark romance. The period really gave the film a gothic quality that you don’t usually see in Asian horror.

It all came together really quickly and we ended up giving them five ghosts… Derek, Tim and the whole team at HK films were great to work with… I want to do more with them.

Brad's amazing work

6. How was it like working on the latest King Kong - Skull Island movie?

"We had lots of complex tribal make-ups to do. 

It went really well. I was super proud of the Vietnamese team." 

- Brad Greenwood on Skull Island

Another nice bit of serendipity… Jason Baird at JMB FX was doing all the prosthetics for Bill Corso on Kong. I’ve known Jason for many years and when the production moved to Vietnam for a couple of weeks, I helped him assemble the local team and then went on set to do make-up. We had lots of complex tribal make-ups to do. It went really well. I was super proud of the Vietnamese team.

7. A favourite monster/creature of yours...

Years ago we did a half scale T-rex puppet for The Lost World TV series… I still like it.

" It’s always difficult creating make-ups where 

the dramatic stakes require absolute realism…"

8. What is the most difficult effect you worked on and how long did it take?

I recently worked on another period film set in 19th century rural Vietnam. The director Ash Mayfair had written an incredible script that demanded a lot of realism. We designed a pregnant belly for one of the young actors and there was also a birthing scene. It’s always difficult creating make-ups where the dramatic stakes require absolute realism… if it seems fake it will take the audience out of the movie… I was terrified of having something that would compromise the performance. Fortunately it worked well.

9. Beyond special effects, you have other interests in writing and filmmaking. Tell us a bit more about that and what projects you are planning.

Mostly I write short stories. Fantastic books publishing in the UK have been great at including a couple in their anthologies. Speculative fiction is what I like most. I’m not prolific… so my goal is just to write more.

I have a Lovecraft style story set in South East Asia that I’m working on now.

10. Which directors would you love to work with in the future and what would be your ideal project to work on?

"To be honest I really just want to work with my friends in the business. "

David Cronenberg, Guillermo del Toro and Sofia Coppola are on my wish list! So many people I’d love to work with.

To be honest I really just want to work with my friends in the business. I did The Contents with writer/ director Shane Krause a while back. He’s someone I respect and we have a creative short hand, which always makes the process more enjoyable.

Brad's SFX at work...

Horrifying pieces from a horror film Brad worked on

There are a lot of directors I’ve been lucky enough to work with on smaller projects that I’d love to reconnect with on something bigger. Particularly the directors I’ve worked with in animation… all of them are amazing storytellers, and making the move into live action.

My favourite story of all time is Poe’s Masque of the Red Death. A re-telling of something like that would be great to work on.

***

Wow, thank you so much for your time Brad and for the fascinating glimpse into your art. I personally can't wait to see The Housemaid.

I want to take this opportunity to share more of Brad's amazing work. So here's a sneak peek:

It turns out the above effects took over 6 hours to apply on each model.
Anyone want to star in a horror film?
I suppose patience seems to be an important trait of SFX artists...



Right about now, I should mention that I'm a trypophobic. This stuff was made to haunt me!

Australian Films: Past, Present, Future

If you mentioned Australian cinema ten years ago, the average local audience would be left uninspired by lacklustre, slow-moving images depicting social realism and dysfunctional communities. To put it bluntly, one of my fellow film students once claimed that “nothing actually happens” in Australian films.

That is not to say there was anything inherently wrong with Australian films in that period, or that they were tedious (or maybe they were), but not having the mythical scope of Picnic at Hanging Rock or the cult of Mad Max or the irreverent, nationalistic pomp of Crocodile Dundee, the average film produced ten years ago were somewhat short on escape and entertainment quality. They were for the most part, non-genre films.

Mad Max: the good old days of Australian cinema
Our government agencies sought to encourage and produce films with high Australian content, focusing on the Australian condition, whatever that means. To some, Australian films appeared to be a vague quest for some elusive Australian identity. What actually happened is that most of us became indignant of and rejected what we were being told, via moving images, was our 'national identity'. Alternatively we simply shrugged off those films. To really get our attention, Australian films had to dress up, feature over-the-top singing and resemble lavish arthouse creations like Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge. But all in all, in the genre department, we remained lacking.

As a result, for years, we’ve maintained the clichéd opinion that Australian cinema is not worth our attention and that we can not possibly compete with the big budget US genre film. But a change has arisen. A change that most of us are unaware of.

The first thing I want to clear up is that we have talent. That’s right. Here, in Australia, we have amazingly talented genre screenwriters and directors. Not just actors. But since we’re on the topic, let’s talk about actors. Most of us, have noticed that in the actor department, we are blessed. Our actors seem to make it big in US and other foreign productions. Nicole Kidman, Rose Byrne, Russell Crow, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Hugo Weaving, Abby Cornish, Heath Ledger Chris Hemsworth and Toni Collette are only a small sample of the talent which Australians can be proud of. So why can’t we make films? And most importantly, why can't we be proud of our films?

Well the real problem is that when we do make a good film -and by a 'good film', I think the audience means a compelling genre film and not some commentary on Australian identity- we are for the most part, completely oblivious about it. What I mean is that the average Australian audience has not a clue when the film they have just seen is actually an Australian film.

For two reasons.

Firstly, recall that we do notice the success of our actors. In fact, the average viewer is only ever aware of actors and can not identify a screenwriter or a director. So if a film had at all been written by an Australian and directed by an Australian, most of us wouldn’t bloody know. Instead, we readily identify the big production company logo, Paramount, Lionsgate and Canal+ along with the heavy US marketing and for some reason we take it for granted that the film that has just taken our breath away couldn’t possibly be Australian. So there you have it, perpetuation of an existing attitude through lack of information.

Ironically, when a film is indeed funded by Australia and is officially proclaimed as an Australian production, our media avidly follow its progress with a curious blend of national pride and pessimism. It’s as if subconsciously, there is this whishful thinking, a desire for our fellow Australian to fail, only because they dared to have a go and we didn’t. We make such fuss about Australian productions, becoming overly critical, nitpicking for every fault in the narrative only to confirm our already established opinion that “we can’t make films”. Think back to Baz Luhrmann's Australia and the wave of mixed responses it inspired.

Australia: 'Not good enough' for some
The reality is that in the last couple of years, many successful Australian directors and screenwriters saw their genre creations brought to life and receive positive acclaim but only because they were endorsed by large US production companies. It was not Australian money perhaps, but it was Australian talent. One has to only see the success of directors such as James Wan (Saw I-IV & Insidious) and the Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers) or even, the impressive Australian screenwriting duo, Shane Krause & Shayne Armstrong who, together with Australian director Russell Mulcahy penned the upcoming $30 million Bait 3D, to appreciate that a lot “does happen” in Australian films to stir enough interest.

Which brings me to funding. This is indeed the second reason why we are often not aware that a film is Australian-made. For years, Australian genre film productions simply could not raise the level of financing that an average US production attracts. Instead, they relied on foreign investors to harness the talent and skills of its citizens, yes, right here, on the Gold Coast. An example is Arclight's Bait 3D, which was shot last year on the Gold Coast and which Screen Australia only partly funded.

Engulfed by the mighty buzz surrounding US production companies, the average Australian film writer and film director or gaffer even, simply does not get the standing ovation due to them by their fellow Australians. Most of us are too blinded by the Hollywood neon lights to recognise our own. This lack of knowledge perpetuates the long standing myth that Australia can not make films.

But things are changing. Firstly, in the last three years, Australian Government funding in the film industry has increased threefold from $136.7 million to $412.1 million. But there is another reason why we now have enormous potential for competing in the international genre market.

The micro-budget. The box office success of horror film, Insidious, produced for a mere $1.5 million confirms what many producers and directors already know, that a bigger return can often be made from low-budget productions. Indeed, Reuters recently named Insidious as this year’s most successful film. It has so far made over $65 million worldwide. What does this mean? It means that for a budget of $1.5 million, our talented directors and screenwriters had no need to seek funding offshore. Indeed, Australian director, James Wan and Australian screenwriter, Leigh Whannell may not have had to rely on foreign funding to see their creations brought to life. We could have funded Insidious ourselves.

In fact, following the surge in the value of the Australian dollar and the need to continue to attract foreign investors, the Australian Government has instituted a change in its Screen Production Incentive. This includes the proposed reforms to the Producer Offset. This change is mostly designed to continue to attract foreign investors despite our expensive dollar but it also makes it particularly attractive to local film investors. In addition, the purchasing power of our dollar is such that we can easily send production teams overseas and shoot films at a more economical cost with the potential for a higher return on our investment.

I had to blurb about finance there, much to your disgust. The reality is that film is not art, it's business. Only this time, business aligns itself perfectly with Australian film potential. Provided of course, we appreciate the value of the micro-budget and continue to believe in our genre films.

Now before, I said that we could have made Insidious. Could have. But the question remains, would we, in Australia, have liked this film as much?

It's a potent question. One that could be equally applied to all forms of art and innovation in Australia. It drills into the very core of our long-standing tall poppy syndrome. Indeed, who the hell do we think we are? And are we ready to recognise the Australian talent for what it is or does it need to be forever cloaked in a foreign logo for us to appreciate it?