Merced Union High School District

Hollywood invaded the Golden Valley Theater last week, turning it into a full-blown monster workshop as students sculpted and crafted creatures and zombie masks while learning a little movie magic from Emmy Award–winning makeup artist Brian Sipe, whose film credits span more than 30 years.

 

Sipe served as the industry supervisor for a practical effects monster mask making workshop for 25 Golden Valley students, who received a certificate after completion of the three-day workshop that was held Nov. 11-14. The Art, Media & Entertainment pathway students had to submit an application, which included an essay to be considered for the workshop.

 

For three days the students were able to learn from Sipe, who has worked on many television shows and movies, including recent Marvel blockbuster superhero films like “Guardians of the Galaxy,” “Captain Marvel” and “The Suicide Squad.” “Students were able to learn the basics under his mastery,” said Amber Kirby,  Golden Valley High School’s CTE Arts Media and Entertainment Program Director. “The students came here with nothing, no ideas, no plan, no foresight. They were given a pizza box that had a hood, a mask, and a bunch of latex pieces. The students need to take those materials and create a creature or zombie.” 

The students were also asked to develop a backstory on their creature and Sipe challenged the students to match the physical appearance of their creation to its origin story. If their zombie was hit by a bat, what would the wounds look like? What would the jaw look like? How would it affect the skin?

 

“We’re asking them to use that creativity muscle by just looking at things differently, knowing the who, why, what, where from that story, and just look at it differently,” Sipe said. Some of the creatures included The Bear Creek Alligator, which came from urban legend of a creature that lives in Bear Creek. Students Lynn Segal and Sin Yang created a creature with a movable jaw. If their creature bites a human, that person then turns into an alligator. 

 

“This is a great opportunity that most people don’t get in the Central Valley,” Segal said. “There aren’t many people in the industry who are willing to come down here. There is art all around us in Merced, but we don’t get many opportunities like this in Merced and it’s free.”

 

Sophomore Randall Ruth created a radioactive sea monkey that had a giant fin on top of its head. “This was fun,” Ruth said. “I learned how to make better practical effects. I started with a  pizza box full of parts. There were two parts that sort of stood out to me. There were these set of wings and this werewolf mouth thing. I turned the wings into a big fin on top and then somebody made the comment that it looked like a monkey so I kind of just went with that. I’m surprised I was able to create this. This is probably the biggest accomplishment I’ve ever made in the industry. I really liked the way it turned out.”

Many students had to pivot their original design, problem solve and make adjustments along the way.  “Brian has a high standard, and he makes the kids live up to it,” Kirby said. “So if that means they're taking apart the masks and redoing it, and looking at it in a different way, then they're doing that. It's kind of like an obstacle, a challenge in resilience, a challenge in autonomy, and patience.”

 

This is the second year Sipe has come to Golden Valley High to hold the workshop. Most of the students were participating for the first time. There were a few advanced students pursuing a level two certification. The workshop budget was around $7,000 and was funded by Prop 28. It was free for the students. 

 

Kirby says the certificates earned could be helpful for students who want to apply for trade school in the industry. “Receiving a certificate like that is something that if they were going to go to school, a makeup school, or any other trade school, seeing that they worked with Brian Sipe is going to help them stand out from other people.”

 

Sipe compared the process to working on a low-budget film. “On a low-budget production you might be asked to just make something, show up with it the next day and shoot it. It's completely transferable,” Sipe said. Sipe said some of the creature masks created during the workshop could play. He was impressed with some of the creations.

Shawn Jansen is the MUHSD Program Manager Digital Media. He can be reached at Sjansen@muhsd.org.