Lino Stavole: special effects artist

Special Effects Artist Lino Stavole

By J. Jekyll
May 2010
Goremaster.com

Mr. Stavole got started in special effects by way of pyrotechnics and explosives. He then learned to do lifecasts, appliances and props. After spending time honing in on those skills he has added his creative touch to the following feature films: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008), Drag Me to Hell (2009), The Final Destination (2009), and Splice (2010).

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GM: When did you make your decision to enter the field?
LS: I was a student at the University of Toledo. I just finished my active duty enlistment in the first Gulf War and was re-stationed into a National Guard unit in Ohio. My job in the army was heavy demolitions and explosives. I was listless when I got back to college and was enrolled in mechanical engineering. I felt that I wasn’t being fulfilled artistically. I toyed with incorporating my demolitions experience with engineering but that still wasn’t aesthetic enough... One day I thought I would get my pyrotechnics license. I called Tom Savini up out of the blue and he talked me through the process and gave me a recommendation. I soon was doing squibs and body hits which sort of rolled into lifecasts, appliances and props but at a very rudimentary level. I loved it but I still had no direction. Howard Berger one day was offering a speech at our university about the time of “Army of Darkness”. Here was this wonderful down to earth guy who I related to immediately. I was enamored by the wonderful creations he had with him, I knew a bit from what I taught myself and from what Tom had guided me through so this talk from Howard was a culmination of all these wild ideas I had. It focused me and encouraged me to work tirelessly at it. Soon after that I befriended a wonderful mentor named Doug Agosti in Toledo, Ohio. Doug made it fun and he is the reason why I love this field so much. I then enrolled in Dick’s Smith course. I met a guy named “Big” Al Tuskes. He gave me the encouragement I needed to make the leap professionally he also placed an interest of technology in my head. Without all four of these guys I do not know where I would be. It seemed to be a series of happy little accidents.

GM: What or who inspired you to start? Who was your influence?
LS: Because I was so enamored by Howard Berger I researched his partners too, Unfortunately, I did not get to know Bob Kurtzman as well as I would have liked but he and Al Tuskes are good friends so maybe one day. Greg Nicotero on the other hand I have learned a lot from and his drive and tenacity have a huge influence on me. I admire that guy and his work ethic is amazing.

GM: Favorite early special effects memory – movie scene – book – TV show?
LS: I remember the early 80’s. It was the advent of cable television. Cleveland introduced something called “preview” where you had an extra channel on basic TV that you would pay extra for and watch uncut feature length movies after 8p. My 4 year old brother took a fit because he wanted to watch “Terror Train”. In hindsight he really had no clue what the movie was about he just did not want to go to bed. (He fell asleep in like 4 minutes) I hid behind the couch and couldn’t turn it off (I think I hid behind the couch because of David Copperfield’s acting). But the film intrigued me.
I loved any kind of Sci-fi, fantasy, cartoon film during that era and watched everything I could get my hands on. I remember loving Godzilla, The Krofft Supershow, The Muppet Show, the original Battlestar Galactica, Buck Rogers…

GM: What are your top five special effects movies?
LS: Evil Dead II, Drag Me to Hell, Blade Runner, John Carpenter’s The Thing, The Empire Strikes Back,… I don’t know I have so many. Some movies I like because they use effects in a novel way, or they shaped my interests, or I like the way the effects added to the film. I am sure my favorites will change. They often do! Depending on what I am working on or my mood.

Lino Stavole molding facial injury

GM: What is your favorite special effects scene from a movie? (it doesn’t have to be from one of your movies)
LS: I am very critical of my own work. It easier to tell what I like about other films.
I think that I get excited when I see technology driving effects into new directions.
When I finally saw Forest Gump I was kind of mesmerized by the scene where Lt. Dan falls out of his hospital bed and he has no legs.
I was intrigued by the shots in Dead Man’s Chest with the cg makeup of Davey Jones. It was very well done and is the push that should make physical makeup effect artist move.
I have so many as well. Usually it is a scene that motivates me to try something or do something new or different. They often change too… did I mention I have undiagnosed ADHD… not really… wait, look, something shiny………..

GM: Who is your favorite special effects person?
LS: I am in awe of Kazuhiro Tsuji. I feel honored to start a small correspondence with him. I look forward to getting to know him better.
Akihito Ikeda amazes me often with his talent and his demeanor. I consider him a good friend. Our families are close.
Greg Nicotero, Howard Berger, Jim Leonard, Shannon Shea, Michael Deak, Doug Agosti, Alan Tuskes, Dick Smith
These people are special to me not only because they are talented and amazing but because they are good, friendly, and loyal people. They are just a pleasure to be around. Relationships matter to me.

GM: How did you get started working in the Special Effects industry?
LS: Once I moved to California I beat the streets looking for work. But, it wasn’t until some friends said “hey they are making miniatures for a King Kong Mockumentary; get in there!!” that I started to work in the industry. I soon got a job at Anatomorphex with a gentleman named Robert Devine. Anatomorphex was a small busy commercial shop. I worked steady, on a great number of different things, under tight deadlines. All of which was excellent honing. I also tirelessly did my own jobs on the side working for small independent productions and student films. I did side jobs for a scanning company called Cyber F/X. I worked in a studio with two guys named Mike Walters and Paul Barnes and met Jim Leonard. Jim was the mold shop supervisor at Rick Baker’s for a very long time. Afterward, he was running the mold shop at KNB. He is a tenacious guy who knows a ton of valuable things. He also is an excellent artist. Jim got me in to KNB.

Lino Stavole on set
Lino Stavole (bloody) on set

GM: Whose current work do you admire?
LS: I think there is an amazing amount of excellent artist out there. Professionally I named the people I admire in the favorites question.
But there are also people on the fringe whose work I admire.
There is a gentleman name Tom Kuebler. I started out being his artist’s assistant in a place called Lifeformations in Bowling Green Ohio. His work is amazing and has always been a wonderful mix of the arcane and magical.
The owner of Lifeformations was a guy named Dr. Gene Poor. I never was able to talk too much to Gene but I admired the inventor’s and entrepreneurial qualities he had.
Scott Campbell was the supervisor at Lifeformations. He taught me how to be a good boss. He was kind, efficient, and dedicated.
There is another gentleman named Owen Redwine who builds illusions. He was my boss before I worked at Lifeformations. He showed me that faith and magic do not have to be separate. He also said jokingly that “Effects artists are just bad magicians because they tell everyone their secrets!!”
All of the people I mentioned in this complete interview added their influence to who I am today.

Lino Stavole touching up prosthetic

GM: How have you gotten work in the industry?
LS: I’ve worked on a slew or independents films, shorts, videos, commercials, studio productions, well…….everything

GM: What was your toughest job?
LS: I just recently worked on a great film.
Right before we started filming the producers asked me to cut a lot of money from the budget. That forced the production to slip into a place that made scheduling a finely choreographed waltz. Many things relied on others in order to run smoothly. If actors weren’t there when I needed them it would push us behind and there was no money for overtime. Then of course Murphy’s law kicked in and there were delays that production did not account for. Coupled with some communication issues, it caused a plethora of extra work. I had a wonderful and talented crew that I couldn’t pay overtime so I did what any business owner would do. I worked all of the extra overtime myself without paying myself for it. There was a point right before set that I was up for 4 days without sleeping. Then I would sleep for 4 hours and be up for 2 day straight because I had to be on set and run appliances at night.
The makeups turned out fine. Was there room for improvement?... sure. I do not think that one should ever be content with your own work. The film looks outstanding though.
I worked on another film in Detroit. This was in the beginning of my career when I was a pyrotechnic. I was hire to perform bullet hits on actors that are being shot during a prison riot. The film was being shot in a live prison. We were able to get into a wing that was empty but we had to go through security and past inmates in order to get to set. The problem was that only one person at a time had to go through security. I had to wire my actors in a staging area that the prison provided, take the actor to the security professional, tell him where the squibs were so that he wouldn’t disturb them, and then send the next actor through. When they were through I had to go get my detonator box go through security. I really don’t know what they could have been looking for. The men I sent had explosives strapped to their bodies and were carrying prop weapons.
During the time it took me to send the actors through the DP decided he didn’t like how the costumes draped on the actors and moved the costumes around off of all the score marks on 2 of the 3 actors. I was rushed in. Everyone was anxious because the whole process took so long. I was told to hook up and fire them. Well, 1 actor worked great the others had explosions go off under their costumes. We had only enough hits for that scene.
I was then told where to place my kit in the hallway and an inmate puked on it.

GM: What was your favorite job?
I enjoy working on well run independent films. A gentleman named Dominic Cerniglio did a film called “Duel”. It was one of those films. It was wonderfully directed and produced. It had great sets, costumes and a wonderful DP. Everyone got along great. The results were beautiful. What more can you ask for?

GM: How do you pick out materials to use for a project? Do you make your own? Are there any brands that you recommend?
LS: I usually pick out material based on firm relationships I have. If I trust you and you are plugging something that you feel is good then I’ll use it.
Arnold Goldman at Monster Maker’s www.monstermakers.com has in my opinion, the best foam latex on the market. I am a bit biased. I have a good friendship with Arnie and I can call him up directly and we can formulate things on the spot. I’ve never had a bad run with that foam.
Michael Knott at www.hobbysilicone.com has wonderfully affordable silicones and resins and is constantly exploring new mixes, catalysts, and materials. To be honest his tenacity and belief in his product is what sold me. We have now become good friends.
Platinum silicone putties are great. I am working with Michael Knott with some of those.
I am exploring new laminating molding systems incorporating basalt and acrylic emulsions like aqua resins. They have a high learning curve but our health is what’s at risk here. I am having much success with these materials.
I am also a fan of Premier Products lines of pigments, sealers, etc. I have had many conversations with their helpful staff. www.ppi.cc
Michael Davies has some excellent products and he is wonderful to talk to.
www.michaeldavy.com
Zeller International has many many wonderful materials like zello or cleartex but I feel that it is hard to communicate with them and difficult to order from. It’s a shame I would love to use those products more.
I often times like a product but wish to improve it for something in particular I am doing. Or I like the idea of a product but do not like the ingredients. At that point, I will formulate my own. I’ve made water based makeups for a large amount of extras; I made makeup inks in a particular shade or pigment in large quantities before.

GM: Are there any new breakthroughs or ideas in the industry that excite you?
LS: I am excited about the use of 3D scanning, additive manufacturing technologies, computer rendering, and cnc milling and their integration into the special effects workflow. I am developing new methods with partners that will do just that. It is a bridge between CGI, faster preproduction schedules, and physical special effects makeup.

GM: What is a current project you are working on? Or what project are you excited about?
LS: Currently I am marketing relentlessly and working on integrating into the technologies.

GM: Do you have advice for a beginner or someone just getting started in the business?
LS: Yes, all I can do is regurgitate good advice from wise men. See 16 ;)
Also, do not be afraid to fail. I fail all the time and I grow from all those situations. Do not be discouraged. Embrace effects whole heartedly but try new things all the time. Be honest with yourself and know your limitations. Use them to push you forward

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GM: What was the best advice/training you ever received?
LS: Dick Smith told me that I needed to dive into makeup effects and let them encompass who I was. He taught me that I should always explore materials and methods and I should be open to new ones.

GM: How do you envision the future of makeup SFX? (do you think CGI is hurting the industry?)
LS: I feel that many people believe that special makeup effects are a dying art. I believe that it may be true but we have evidence that shows us even though they can do this marvelous stuff using computers, directors often turn to physical special makeup effects as well. The key then is to offer something that will bridge the gap between technology and special makeup effects.
The wonderful thing is often times the audience member can’t tell the difference between CGI and physical makeup effects. But, the crew can, the actors can, the directors can and their use results in a more realistic performance and better moments on screen. I would say that we as makeup artists have to be prepared for a monumental shift in our industry though. Just because visual effects have a difficult time producing those moments now doesn’t mean they will have difficulty in the immediate future. This technology is advancing exponentially and the talent performing them has more resources and more education than the special makeup effects technician. We have to educate ourselves about new technology that will allow us to do our jobs better, faster, more accurately, and more economically. We also have to diversify.
It’s true though that CGI has changed the way the industry treats the traditional physical special effects makeup artist. You did an article interviewing Shannon Shea a few months ago that was just wonderful. I consider Shannon a close friend and a wonderful person to look to for an informed perspective on things. He once said that he feels that production has become accustomed to the CGI workflow. He feels Producers, studios, and directors are imposing that method on to our industry. They film very quickly because on set work is sometimes uncomfortable, expensive and uncontrollable. They film often times without seeing an effect work correctly or at all. They also rush makeup artists to finish makeups and the results are haphazard or poorly executed. They rush preproduction builds so that shop artists can’t do their best. Directors and producers feel that they can take their time in a comfortable studio and direct with more control.
In the CGI world if you want an actor to be hit by an ambulance you model a low polygonal model with little detail and put it in the scene and perform the action to it. That is quick and everyone can see the result fast. Sometimes the shot is fine with that rudimentary model other times they have to spend money later to make it look better but it is fundamentally what the director wants. In the independent market that rough shot can often be taken back to investors to get more money to make the model better. What people do not understand is that physical makeup effects are often times faster, more flexible, and more affordable but that investment comes on the front end not on the back end. Preproduction times are shrinking because of this new “workflow” and I feel like the effects artist is the one being squeezed.
However, I have hope. I see wonderful things being made and applied in these truncated production schedules. The guys at KNB produce wonderful creative things in an insanely short time. I haven’t worked at Legacy, but I hear they are very good at that too. I see new technology arriving that can bridge the gap between CGI and Special makeup effects. I am trying to spearhead that integration.

..Learn more about Lino Stavole here...

Lino P. Stavole
The Creature Company
www.creaturecompany.com
mail@creaturecompany.com

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