Douglas Education Center at Steel City Convention 2023 (March and August)

The Fisch Bowl dives into deeper depths back to Steel City Con in March and August of 2023 with a few students from the Douglas Education Center, a school with many programs specializing in special effects makeup, cosmetology, and more. Listen to our casual conversation and hear what each student had to stay about their experience, artistry, and future plans!

Transcript

Welcome To Steel City Con

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Attention all you fishes in the sea. Welcome to the fishfold with Sam Fish.

unknown 0:09

Alright.

SPEAKER_03 0:10

Here we are at Steel City Conch Street of 2023. I'm here with Andrea Louis Kenzie from Douglas Education Center. Tell us a little bit what's going on here, guys.

SPEAKER_02 0:24

Um

Building A Foam Latex Zombie

SPEAKER_02 0:25

so today I'm doing a Foam Latex prosthetic of a zombie. Um basically molded, cast it, and everything installed in this piece, and we're just putting it on it today.

SPEAKER_03 0:39

Thank you. Frightening everything uh zombies does eating brains.

SPEAKER_02 0:45

She might do that, I'm not really sure. I'm gonna let it go through your brain and just you're not liable. I'm not liable after she leaves the table.

SPEAKER_03 0:54

Awesome, awesome. Well, uh, tell us um what year you guys are uh So we graduate on May 20th.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

I think that's right. Next month. So yeah, our time's almost over.

SPEAKER_03 1:11

Okay, so it's it's time I kind of get down to the school and uh uh thing and everything.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

Yeah, so be there, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 1:24

Yeah, yeah. Uh so okay. To-do list. Yes. Awesome, awesome. So tell tell us a little bit about what you're interested in making what some of your inspirations are, and um stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

So what

From Beauty Makeup To SFX

SPEAKER_02 1:40

got me into special effects? I basically did beauty makeup at first. And uh when it comes to that, like that was you know for weddings and uh like models and you know, just basic face paintings too. Um and so when it came to special effects, I would use, you know, eyelash glue and tissue, and I was like, oh I had a little cut. And I never thought of how many things you could do. Um like it once you learn more. So now I make you know realistic cuts and everything like that. Um and I was really inspired uh with not only horror movies, because of course we love those, but it's inspired by Lord of the Rings. Um I love when they put makeup for Marvel characters and everything like that through the fantasy realm of things compared to horror. Um so yeah, that's that's basically like the type of makeup that I like doing. And then I have a zombie here, you know. So um, yeah, this is the first zombie I've ever done.

SPEAKER_06 2:45

So what about you?

SPEAKER_02 2:53

Interesting. So for me, it was a matter of I grew up on horror movies, as cliche as that sounds. Like I would always remember going over to my aunt's house, and she would have like Nightmare on Elm Street on, and it was just a matter of like watching that and just so every kind of works in like a mechanical way. I like pulling things apart and it's like sound from that and me wanting to understand how is this possible and like how exactly are they doing it? And then like we saw from you and sci-fi, and it kind of like push you with an eye set of, oh, this is an actuality that we can have, and it's not just one of those childhood dreams of, oh, I want to be an actor, oh I want to be this. And it was a matter of like, oh, this is an actual thing I can pursue is available for me. And I grew up on Webster and I didn't know I wanted only four minutes from Douglas in the first place. And it was just finding that in other special effects schools and doing my own research simply because I wanted to learn that kind of pushed me into going to this school and ending up doing what I'm very happy with.

SPEAKER_03 4:17

And um, I want to touch on uh whatever you say. Makeup

Beyond Horror Into Character Work

SPEAKER_03 4:21

effects not just being limited to horror and fantasy and comedy as well.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Yeah, yeah.

unknown 4:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:29

You know, uh involved characters that they're able to create through uh makeup attacks and uh all actually somehow creating the whole new character, you know, like multiple characters, you know, uh through makeup.

SPEAKER_02 4:46

Yeah, if you look at the cat in the ad, I mean someone had to make all that for him and do makeup on him, so it was like that's a comedy. Well I would call it a comedy, you know, so it's very cool how it's not just a small range of things you can do. There's just a vast range of so many things you can do when it comes to special tests, not just cuts and bruises and uh zombies, you know.

SPEAKER_03 5:11

One of the most creative things that I saw with actually any Murphy character was in uh Coming to America.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

Right.

SPEAKER_03 5:19

And that's where he played the Jewish, like the elderly Jewish guy, you know, about actually being able to take someone who's African American and make them white. No, a New Yorker out of the guy. You know, really um remarkable.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

Well you you can think of um the movie Norbit as well. He was literally every character in that film, right? So yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:46

No, and then going back to Mike Myers, uh his first movie that you saw him do multiple characters was not Austin Bowl. He was so I married an axe car.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:56

And he played his dad.

SPEAKER_02 5:58

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:59

Um and I swear if you go back and watch that movie, there's the line that he says Fat Bastard accent. Oh, okay. And you can just tell right then and there that's where Fat Bastards spawned from. Right. You know, really funny movie full of some of the greatest comedian cameos. Um the late great Phil Bartman has probably the funny scene. Um his delivery on the lines like you die.

SPEAKER_02 6:31

Right.

SPEAKER_03 6:32

You know. Um but um tell us a little bit about what the rules are for after graduation.

After Graduation Plans And Local Life

SPEAKER_03 6:39

Like they got a film stable. Oh boy.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

Um, so with that, um, I have done a couple short films and I've done a feature as well. It's not really the route that I want to gear forward. Um, I'm not opposed to it, but I want to look into um working in a shop or sculpting prosthetics. Um I really like to have masks and things like that. So that is what I'm hoping to push myself towards. Um and I am staying here if it's for uh after we graduate. Oh, awesome. Yeah, so I mean, it's once again going back to like a little cliche kind of way of thinking, I definitely do want to stay local because I honestly just prefer it here. There is a lot more opportunities here that people think. And I mean go with my special effects like artistry is honestly I I don't necessarily care what I do as long as I'm working in the wheel because I know I know that me working in art is going to be hard. And I'd rather be happy in a job even because of paying the best than work a regular nine to five and regret. Right, right.

SPEAKER_03 8:02

So I'm probably better than that.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

And I I think I do kind of like agree with whatever you said. Like I don't necessarily want to work on movies and TV shows. I honestly would prefer to stay at home and call us and do separate appliances that people can order and buy themselves and kind of branch out on their own without simply buying something to look at or have it done for them.

SPEAKER_03 8:33

Yeah, definitely. And I mean, I guess one of the great things about being in Hisper in a smaller city versus, you know, massive place like Los Angeles is there's a lot more opportunities for especially when you're doing that. You know, can you can really pioneer your own business and stuff you want to do with make such there's more of a demand for it here at Pittsburgh versus you know going to someplace like Los Angeles or California where it's like everyone? Yeah, right. So awesome, awesome.

Favorite Films And Horror Taste

SPEAKER_03 9:10

Last question for you guys is the top one. Uh what are some of your favorite films in horror?

SPEAKER_02 9:19

I would say my favorite films in general. Uh film I really enjoy is Super Siege. Um I really like watching Hugh Jackman and Christian Bell. Um and a horror movie that I enjoy. Probably I really like the Conjuring series, um, and I like the Insidious series, but I really like Patrick Bulls. Um I really like the way he acts, the way he interacts with um everyone on the screen and stuff like that. Um so yeah, those are really and and another movie that I enjoy, like I guess like I like Pixar movies too, like the little cartoonies, and then obviously more rains, uh, and things like that, Guardians of the Galaxy, that's one of my favorite movies. Yeah, it's just I watch everything, and so I really don't blame it myself. So, yeah. I think the like my favorite I I guess I could just kind of like a genre or so because I've like I always grew up loving soft motion animation films, especially like probably a studio. Kind of is really the the only production team that I know of my heart that still does soft motion animation. And Grow It Up, it was Coraline, Air Norman. And I always loved those films. And I I will say, once again, going back to the cliches, I was always a horror again. I was always a horror of sci-fi. So growing up and I'm seeing uh the puppet scene from Dream Warriors. Not Dream Warriors. But never on L3. Um seeing those things. I think actually that was Dream Warriors. It was the scene where he was in the hospital. Yeah, okay. You're right, you're right. I was right. Um but generally seeing those, like I was always like dazzled by the movie 130, to the point where I actually didn't want to get a new tattoo. And and I guess like a lot of like I don't really know how to put it. I have a lot of favorite movies, so it's like taking elements from the original mask movie, taking elements from 13 ghosts, from Ghost Ship. It's like I can't really pick a favorite because I love every like I love apart from every single film. Right, right. And they have their strengths and they have their weaknesses, so it's like I just kind of love the genre rather than specific films, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 12:08

Awesome, awesome. I actually have more questions for you, Mackenzie, than I have a follow-up thing. I I think are quite funny. Okay. Um question for Mackenzie is we're talking about night grams. Which is your favorite?

unknown 12:22

Uh Dream Warriors.

SPEAKER_03 12:24

Dream Warriors. For me, it's Dream New Nightmare first, then Dream Warriors, then number one. Then I put number four, and then five, and then ten. Oh no. Freddy is my favorite. And then for Amber I'm I'm friends on Facebook with Shay. And the funny story with that is I I like I sent her a friend request a while ago. It wasn't until I commented on a post that she made find her on my show. She accepted my friend request, but the joke is that my Facebook profile is exactly a friend request.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

Oh my gosh. She's like, I have that in this guy, right? That's amazing.

SPEAKER_03 13:17

That's amazing. Funny, funny story there, but uh thank you so much for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me. I hope the temperature is just right.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

Yeah, thanks for having me on again. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_03 13:29

Absolutely.

Monster Sculpting And Big Inspirations

SPEAKER_03 13:30

Sam Fish the Fishbowl here at Still Sitting on August 2023 with the Douglas Education Center students. Amber and Carol. How's it going? Thank you for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me. I hope the temperature is just right. Awesome, awesome. Well, tell us a little bit about how much it's important uh what uh message and um some of your inspirations are that wanted you to be in the special mega.

SPEAKER_01 14:03

Right now it's pretty clean about it. A little bit of a break. But right now my favorite favorite is my and screen because I didn't think nice, nice.

SPEAKER_04 14:23

Right now I sculpted Georger. So I'm doing like Texan Hollywood.

SPEAKER_03 14:33

Awesome, awesome. And who were some of your inspirations? Like, what are some of the films and make the text artists that maybe are heroes that kind of said, this is what made me want to do it, this is the movie, the movies that made me be like, yeah, this is what I could see myself doing.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

I am a very big fan of Star Wars. So probably that also I saw uh Stranger Things, the makeup artist, or um Vecna. I saw them putting one that was really cool, that maybe great.

SPEAKER_03 15:07

It's a simulation.

SPEAKER_04 15:09

Yeah, the like aesthetics of that was awesome.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

Little Monsters is by the more my most favorite movie ever, so I just I want to make monsters.

SPEAKER_03 15:22

Awesome, awesome. Now uh I I'm a big fan of Little Monsters, also pretty much everything from the 80s and 90s. 80s was the era for everything in the pioneering decade that allowed us to at least have what happens. We don't do as much tactical versus uh CP. I I understand it's sometimes fun. Like the same thing with my versus C's more aesthetically pleasing. And it's something about something I see the glass head. Like stuff like that, and I think you're like man that's doing this. And I'm actually at an interview with uh baby. And we talked about actually as many effects by loading the shotgun and shooting at stuff. See how some people say, uh, suppose you guys see yourself after you actually have California. You know, yes, you know, um, thank you so much for taking the time to swim in the bowl with me. I hope it's not the shirt's just right.

Thanks And Fishbowl T Shirt Plug

SPEAKER_00 19:15

Hey there, all my fishes in the sea. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode and for being a subscriber. Your continued listenership and support means the most and helps keep the show going to be deeper and deeper depths. I want to let all my companies in the sea know the fishbowl is now officially partnered with fastcustomirts.com. They're now selling custom fishbowl t-shirts under their podcast website section. Every t shirt helps deeper and deeper and hard.