In October 2019 I was assigned special effects foreman by one of my former teachers Jerry Gergely for the George A. Romero's Filmmaking Program 2019 graduating class's final film. I immediately got to work putting together designs for the effects and a small team to create them. The main three effects we had to make were the monster suit, the protagonist's belly, and an alien baby. I recruited students from various semester's and Alumni to help with various tasks. 4th semester student Carley Tomko sculpted the belly on a mannequin and graduate Kayla Cellone molded in in fiberglass. With this single mold I was able to paint a set of bellies, both with throbbing veins and the ability to swell up with air.
I designed these bellies to be a sort of corset, laced up the back, effectively cutting down application time by a significant amount. This allowed our actor to be able to take the suit off for lunch breaks, and at the end of the day so it could be reused again and again.
The monster suit mask, sculpted by 3rd semester student Charlie Dacus, was cast in silicone. Various tubes were run through it to give a constant dripping effect while filming. The rest of the suit was created with big black garbage bags ripped and melted with a heat gun.
And lastly, my little alien baby, Goober. Inspired by a giant black sea slug, I sculpted this cute little guy out of Chavant and molded him in stone.
Being on set for this shoot was magical and i couldn't make it off a day without being covered in some sort of fluid.
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