[Hatter313]

Dude, the moth from phantoms is one of my favorite creature effects, and i was always a bit bummed the rest of the film wasn't more creature filled, so cool that you were the one on this! this is what i wanted to do for a long time, but i ended up going the writing line rather than the sculpture/design line. Love seeing your stuff, and with so many top horror folks too.

[EvanCampbell]

The students at Harrington High School have been noticing something very different about the principal and her gang of teachers. They have always been a little odd, but lately they've been behaving positively alien. Controlled by space parasites, the faculty try to infect students one by one. A cheerleader, football player, drug dealer and new girl named Marybeth team up with some of their other classmates to fight back against the invaders.



The Faculty was a 1998 film directed by Robert Rodriguez and was an enjoyable project to work on. Bernie Wrightson was hired as the conceptual creature designer and I remember there was plenty of pre-production time to complete the work. My main responsibilities was to sculpt (with the help of two other artists) two of the main creatures. One was the Bleacher creature for the first transformation of Marybeth and the other was the smaller scale queen alien for a pool scene. I also sculpted some smaller models for cgi scanning.



We had about three and a half to four months to create the alien effects...so it was kind of a relaxed job as far as work schedule. One of my strongest memories was it took place in one of the worst heat waves in recent California history . Most studios back then were just big empty warehouses with no air-conditioning, so being over a hundred degrees, indoors, made being creative a bit trying everyday. I also remember thinking there was a little bit of Deadly spawn in the design concept. Rodriguez was cool to work with and seemed to like what we created...like most of us, he was inspired by John Carpenters "The Thing".



This youtube clip shows both creatures I worked on. The bleacher creature is covered with a cgi effect and then there is a brief shot of the actual puppet. The smaller scale Queen Alien also gets a brief shot when it rises out of the pool. Many months of work reduced to just a few seconds...still a great experience to be a part of.

[video] http://youtu.be/LekZbZ0ksyA[/video]

[EvanCampbell]

@deafmetal & stacti14 thanks guys!

[EvanCampbell]

Nathan - it is not too bad...to me the first 30 minutes are actual really good! Tons of mood and atmosphere but then the film starts unraveling a bit.

[EvanCampbell]

Hatter - Yeah the set up for the film is great before it gets a bit lost.

life is strange how it sends us on certain paths. Writing to me is a bit tougher in my opinion but you tend to have more control of the idea. With my work there are many people involved that can greatly affect the outcome of what I produce. Even if I do a nice job on a sculpture it can be completely destroyed by a bad paint job. One weak link in the chain it falls apart. I have always loved writing as one of the ultimate artforms for its scope and control it gives to the author.

[Spun out of control]

Actually went to the cinema to see this one and remember it being good B-movie fun, in a knowing way... also remember the 'reveal' of the monster being a big wow at the time, so amazing to hear the inside track from the guy who made it. Excellent work and a nice constructive thread to boot!

[Whip Wilson]

Evan, this is fantastic stuff and a truly enjoyable read. I've been away since before you started this thread, but its been a treat catching up. Thank you for sharing you work.

[EvanCampbell]

Mateo - I did notice you had vanished from here for bit...good to see you back and thanks for the kind words! Happy you like

[EvanCampbell]

I thought I would share some of my own personal work in this thread in between the film work posts. Probably should post this in an art thread, but thought it would be better to keep it all in one place. Hopefully the powers to be don't mind.



Carcass I sculpted and painted made out of gelatin. It
is the same type of gelatin used for making jello but has
a stronger tear strength - similar to gummie bears.




Bust I sculpted and painted made out of gelatin.




Sculpey clay sculpture

[deafmetal]

That carcass is mental!

[blackwaterrisin]

How have I never seen this thread until today???
Tremendous,Evan.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

Once again, beautiful work Evan.

Have you ever considered putting your work together as a book? Specifically (like this thread) showcasing unused or briefly glimpsed stuff? Together with the thinking behind them, ideas regarding the art form, production tales etc.....I think it would be rad!

[EvanCampbell]

Disco at this point I am really trying to focus on personal artwork with the hope of something along those lines in the future. I am really happy to share this with you all being that I see it is appreciated. Again thanks my friend!

[EvanCampbell]

@blackwaterrisin thanks who is in your icon?

[DISCOSUCKS...]

I would hire you for my movie in a New York minute!

Would love to see any current work too, let us know if/when you are sharing/showing/exhibiting!

[Dollarhyde]

Roast Chicken man is brilliant.

I really hope this kind of cinema craft doesn't become a forgotten art, due to the all consuming presence of cgi.

[EvanCampbell]

Citizen X is a HBO made-for-TV film, which covers the investigation of the Soviet serial killer Andrei Chikatilo, who was convicted in 1992 of killing 53 women and children between 1978 and 1990, and the efforts of detectives in the Soviet Union to capture him. Chikatilo hunted the train stations around Rostov and would single out troubled young children. He would lure his victims away to a house he had bought on the sly so his family wouldn't know and this became the staging site for many of his murders. Chikatilo’s initial motive for abduction was rape, however, his impotence would send him into a rage and the act of murder was what ultimately gave him fulfillment.



The work I did for this movie was grim, but pretty straight-forward. I had to sculpt at least three full bodies and several close up heads of the young victims. Chikatilo would stab out the eyes and bite off the genital areas so that had to be incorporated into the sculpted bodies. Being that this is a public forum I will keep my posts PG rated and not show anything too graphic.



Most of the bodies were sunken in pits and covered in mud. I remember some nights working by myself late in the studio and thinking about the little bodies I was sculpting and how horrible it must have been for them. Years later I received an email from a girl in the russian town where some of the bodies were found and it brought those strange feelings back.

[EvanCampbell]

@Dollarhyde Thanks....I think technologie and speed will dictate what the industry uses in the long run. Part of the changing of the guard...for better or worse. I feel lucky to have be part of it before it goes completely digital.

[reelybored]

How did I miss this thread?! The work is phenomenal Evan. I'm a big fan of many of the films you worked on and so stoked to "see" that someone on here works on movie sets. I went to school for film here in NY but never worked out for me but it is still something that is a passion of mine. I considered fx at one point in my life but am far from an artist (can barely draw stick figures lol). Definitely keeping this thread on my radar.

As far as your personal artwork, solid fantastic stuff. That carcass up above, I remember putting up that image on my Facebook fan page quite some time ago so it was a pleasant surprise to see that someone from here was its creator.

[EvanCampbell]

@reelybored Thanks for the compliment and taking the time to write. You know while working in the film industry has been great, I can honestly say that my happiest and most fulfilling artistic moments where not industry related, but private art. You and many others on here have a deep passion for film, art, music and other forms of creativity. Whatever we end up doing to pay the bills is one thing but having that freedom to create our own ideas is to me the purest artistic pursuit. So keep that passion alive!

Thanks again for the kindness and for featuring one of my works!

[EvanCampbell]

A couple of full head latex masks I made for fun.

Second one was vaguely inspired by a mix of Director Bob Clark
and one of the actors who played Norris from Carpenter's The Thing.

[DISCOSUCKS...]

I would love to go trick r treating in these! Way to become a legend, hmm?

Needless to say these are stunning as ever EC - I really like the devil one, reminds me a bit of Borgnine Goat from one of my favourites - The Devil's Rain! (Surely one of Tom Burman's finest hours??)

[Dollarhyde]

Amazing! The first one reminds me alittle of bob from twin peaks.

[EvanCampbell]

It is not often I request to go to set for filming, but Pulp Fiction was the rare case. I am more of the loner type artist, happy enough to stay in the bowels of the shop making the stuff and leave the on set work for the more social gregarious types. Being a fan at the time of Quentin Tarantino's film Reservoir Dogs, I knew Pulp Fiction would be a special film. As far as the effects went, there was not that much in the film. There was a shotgun to the head effect for the character Marvin that another artist handled by sculpting a fake head and I was tasked with some of the remaining gory bits. One of the more elaborate things I made for Pulp Fiction was a dead boxer makeup.



In the film Bruce Willis Character is a boxer who is suppose to fix a fight by purposely losing. Instead he decides to not only win the fight but ends up killing the other boxer with such a beating. I sculpted and painted a full face swollen makeup appliance. It was originally intended to be passing the screen with the boxer laying on a gurney. Instead Tarantino framed the shot with just the back of Ving Rhames head as he goes into a speech about finding Willis. So the makeup was blocked the entire time by the back of Rhames head but it does create more mystery to the scene I guess. I have to admit I was a little bummed at the time but onward.



One of the key scenes in the movie that I was on set for was the pawn shop basement scene where Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames are tied up. Willis gets free and eventually ends up killing several men and freeing Rhames. For this scene I had sculpted I sliced stomach piece for one actor that Bruce Willis cuts with a samurai sword. Again Quentin decided against it and said just put a blood line down the guys shirt. My Boss and I were like "don't you want us to at least cut the guys shirt like he was slashed"...and Tarantino said no that is ok. Another effects piece that was never filmed. Just to side-step there was a pretty funny moment on set during the filming of the rape scene involving Ving Rhames. The scene called for Ving Rhames to have his pants fully down and be bent over with a man behind him and during this scene they closed the set off, meaning everyone on the crew had to leave other than a few key people because it was a bit uncomfortable for the actors. Off to the side I could hear a little bit friendly heated back and forth between Rhames and Tarantino...then Rhames yelled so all could hear " Does anyone have some Brown makeup for Quentin ass so he can do this".



Back to the effects...most if not all were cut out...one of the remaining effects in the film was a needle into the chest of Uma Thurman. For this all I did was sculpt an appliance that covered Uma's breast so that a needle could be attached to a plate hidden underneath.

[Whip Wilson]

Holy smokes, Evan. What a story! That is so cool. I remember being a big fan of Reservoir Dogs at the time Pulp Fiction was being shot as well. You know what I requested? A ride to the damn theater when the film was released. You smooth son of a gun.