JULY, 20, 2018 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight time
NEWS Flash
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Southwestern Ontario - Canada
London ■ St. Thomas ■ Chatham-Kent
"Blue Love" Special Effects
There are many aspects to the world of movie magic. One of those areas that award winning Film maker Matthew Marshall of iFilmGroup has not explored much is the world of special effects make up for scenes that he has done. “It is an art onto itself, you either have the skill to do it well and make it look real or you don’t”, says Marshall. Lucky for him the talent is within the iFilmGroup members. Both in a person of great years of experience in the area that teaches the craft and in a student of special effects that really enjoys practicing and working on improving his craft. So when the opportunity came up for Marshall to need some special effects work for a scene for "Blue Love", he turned to Mary Ellen Herder and Judah Skipper.
Herder who has a long history of acting and directing within the theatre and film industry, and also is very good at makeup, both regular and special effects. She has done work for a number of local films done in Chatham and area. She also in fact runs acting camps and special effects makeup classes through "Take A Bow Theatre Company" which she manages. One of her students in recent years has been Judah Skipper. He is learning the craft quickly and is doing some real complex special effects work. Both Herder and Skipper are part of the iFilmGroup. “With the skill they both have in the area, along with my need for the art form for a scene, and them both being part of iFilmGroup, it all went together for a perfect mix”, says Marshall.
From Marshall’s perspective iFilmGroup being associated with his film "Blue Love" was one more way to live out the mandate of iFilmGroup and offer an opportunity for mentoring and growth of a young artist in the area of film making. Skipper likes to acts as well. He in fact was part of the extras from filming on "Blue Love" in Port Stanley on July 14th. But his greater love and passion is special effects makeup.
The filming of the scene in need of special effects makeup for "Blue Love" was in Chatham, which is Skipper’s home town. Marshall, lead actress Helena Rose and fellow actress and iFilmGroup member Emma Lee came to Chatham for the filming. Herder and Skipper met Marshall, his cast and the rest of the team on location at the "Bargain Basement Studios" in Chatham. Herder and Skipper got to work on the special effects for cast member Emma Lee for the scene. Skipper took the lead on the process and was guided by Herder. His detail and craftsmanship shows he has learned a lot from the time under Herder’s mentorship at workshops he has attended in the past. ‘What Mary Ellen has done with her workshops and camps with mentoring students in acting and makeup is the exact things we are striving to do with iFilmGroup. It is great to have her as a teacher and Judah as a skilled student as part of the iFilmGroup”, Marshall adds.
The role of makeup artist is one of a few that Herder has with Marshall and his production "Blue Love". She also plays the role of Dr. Fairbanks in the film as well as has been helping find locations. “She is a wealth of information and knowledge on film and theatre” says Don Hickey, the co-founder with Marshall of the iFilmGroup. Hickey goes on to says that it is people like Herder that iFilmGroup aims to be the leader to teach the next generation the art and skills of film making. “We have a huge opportunity through iFilmGroup to mentor and teach, not only film making but life skills to pass on to the new generation” Hickey adds.
Marshall was very pleased with the end results of the work and how the effect worked in the scene. “Judah’s work enhanced the scene in a way that would not have been possible without it” says Marshall. For Marshall and Hickey, it is an example of another area that iFilmGroup has reached in offering people an opportunity to learn and then use skills in film making to help produce very high quality work.
“Film making is more than just acting, directing and being a camera person. It takes all kinds of skills to make a movie”, says Hickey. The iFilmGroup team encourages anyone who has a desire to learn about a skill or trade within film making to contact them and come join the team.
NEWS Flash Summary
"Blue Love" Special Effects
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iFilmGroup
London ■ St. Thomas ■ Chatham-Kent
Ontario - Canada
WEBSITE - www.ifilmgroup.org