Monster Man Series

[Blackrose1978]

I have a werewolf that I revamp every year since he is always a work in progress. I loved the idea of the stretchable fur!! But where do I find it at??

[Sawtooth Jack]

Did not get a chance to see episode #2. I will give it another go before I make a final decision to commit to watching or not...again, realizing this is not a show for haunters, but a show for extreme reality TV viewers with a penchant for horror. Fingers crossed it is a good one...

[Spooky1]

I didn't record episode 2, so we'll have to watch it on "On Demand"

[Allen H]

Black rose, I am pretty sure that the fur was from NFT. National fiber technologies- They do almost all the hair and fur in Hollywood. Most furs run around $30/sq ft. Stupid expensive. here is their site incase you are getting an awesome tax return. It is worth it,I have had to use them a few times. the werewolf furis $40/sf now.
http://www.nftech.com/products-stock.html

[Johnmonster]

Just saw episode 2. I liked the werewolf until I saw the head in the footage they shot. Had a Wile E. Coyote quality to it. My favorite practical werewolves have always been the DOG SOLDIERS werewolves. I wish they had taken it more that direction, and less Rob Zombie animation. This one would have been really good if they'd made the head a bit more natural.

I'd like to see an episode where Hill and Johnnie make all the creative decisions. They seem like they'd have some good ideas (well, except for the werewolf man-junk).

The Princess Polly mask turned out well, but I think the makeup artists had a lot to do with that. It was blended beautifully.

Still, the show is a fun watch. Looking forward to more.

[JustJimAZ]

Originally Posted by Allen H

Black rose, I am pretty sure that the fur was from NFT. National fiber technologies- It is worth it,I have had to use them a few times. the werewolf fur is $40/sf now.
http://www.nftech.com/products-stock.html

Thanks Allen! I did not even know this stuff existed. These are the things I like about the show - seeing what pros have access to. I don't actually need this stuff, but I love knowing it's there!

Originally Posted by STOLLOWEEN

An interesting idea would be tell the story backwards, start with finished work then go backwards to reveal all the challenges each project faced...sort of like the backward Seinfeld episode.

That would be pretty interesting. I think we pretty much know going in that it will all work out, so why not start there?

Originally Posted by tcass01

Watched Episode 2 Last night. Face off is a much more entertaining show with real "professional attitude". What the contestants created under ridiculous deadlines, by themselves, far outweighs what is shown on Monsterman with the creativity of a "group" of artists. I would love to see what a group of Faceoffers could come up with in a head to head with Cleve and his group and the week he had to create it. Would he accept that challenge? I respect Cleve for his years in the Biz, but I think this show is seriously damaging his credibility as a quality special Monster fx builder.

I was wondering about that myself. I'm thinking, "why would I go to this shop if they have no respect for my deadlines?". If I were directing, losing time and light and location by the second, I would not use a shop a second time if they showed up two hours late, no matter how well it worked out in the end. I am also wondering if it's not some kind of commercial for upcoming movies more than anything else. I never heard of Thomas Churchill. I don't know what makes his film making "revolutionary", but I imagine Google searches went up a bit after this aired. I'm thinking people agree to be part of this show mostly to help get their movies noticed, rather than just random customers showing up with projects.

Originally Posted by sickNtwisted

I'm not impressed with their designs but it's still interesting to see the process. I'm shocked at the quality of their prosthetic work and that they had to bring in a silicone expert.

I'm not qualified to critique their prosthetics - I have no idea how to blend the eyes so artfully like they did on the Princess mask. I am watching the show for the process though. It's the only reason I would tune in.

The field trips are killing me though. "We're on a tight deadline, and I need to get this werewolf going. Let's spend the time and money to find a place that will let us watch dogs attack humans and put Cleve in the bite suit." Again, maybe this is how Hollywood really works. Maybe people with 30 years in the FX business take weekly field trips to spend an hour in a shark cage or at a dog training school. What next? Do they go to the bug house in the zoo, or maybe visit the Orkin man? Maybe they just buy an ant farm.

It feels so forced, so contrived. I want to see people build monsters and props.

Best parts?
I did not realize that a director might come and shoot the green screen in the shop. That's cool. I also never thought about the reflective materials and green screen. The stretch fur was awesome (Thanks again Allen - YouTube Wednesdays are as entertaining and more informative than Monster Man so far). I never knew how much the prop people might be involved in the actual shoot - like making the shark bite or the werewolf jaws open and close, or blood splatter.

I liked the muscle suit, and it may influence how I rebuild my gargoyle. That might be worth watching the whole series to me.

I'll watch at least one more episode anyway. I hope it's less cheese, but I have little faith.

[Blackrose1978]

Thanks for the tip on the fur Allen H. And I agree with JustJimAz the show is way too much about the drama. I would not hire them from a professional stand point. But I will continue to watch just cuz it gives me such evil ideas!!!

[EverydayisHalloween311]

eh i like it but making monsters is 10x better. i cant wait till it comes back on this fall (yes travel channel renewed the show for 10 new episodes giving it a full season

[HalloweenZombie]

After watching the 3rd episode, I'm hooked. But I feel sorry for Cleve. I don't know how he puts up with his boss and his daughter. And rushing to meet deadlines week after week is going to get old fast. I don't see this show making it into a second season if they don't change the "plot" once in a while.

I'm also stunned at how unprofessionally the shop is run. The planning is horrible, the drawings aren't great (not that they follow them anyway) and the props end up being only B movie quality.

On the other hand, this stuff is great for haunted houses. They might not explain exactly what they are doing all the time, but I'm picking up things here and there. It's funny how they try to hide the names of the materials they are using, but I could see them using Smooth-On's Foam It last night. And there's a lot more how-to material here than there was on Face Off.

[JustJimAZ]

Actually, I liked the biomechanical bug in the end. I thought it looked cool, and the EL wire was a nice touch, IMO. They DID end up doing a field trip to an exterminator! Man, it sucks being right all the time. I guess someone thinks field trips add interest. After 30 years in the business, did Cleve REALLY learn anything from his ex wife screaming at the sight of bugs? Dunno.

Seems to me the guy must have a lot of skill and talent to be in the business that long, and the show is doing him a disservice. I bet he'd be great fun to talk with for days, just about his experiences. It goes without saying that he'd have a ton of great information and ideas. That does not seem to be coming through on my screen.

BTW - Is it an odd coincidence that the first episode had a two headed shark AND cojoined twins, and this one has two bug builds? Does that seem a little too convenient?

I too am surprised at the operations and that the concept sketches are so poor or nonexistent. Not that I can draw any better. After watching Face Off (and every DVD bonus feature I've ever seen), I just assumed that being able to sketch well was a prerequisite to FX. Certainly, it would make sense to spend even a full day working on concept drawings with your team before sending them out to build things for you. Granted, finding random stuff in the shop and incorporating it may be more fun, but I'm sure some of that could still happen.

Making props and monsters is something I would love to do. These people are getting paid to do the job, and I'm not, so in my book that makes them more qualified than me - regardless of what I see on screen. I will keep watching as long as it lasts, I just don't have much hope that it will last long. It seems like a subject relatively few care about, and those few care more about the process than the drama.

Didn't we all love watching Mark Hamill do behind the scenes stuff on TV specials? Don't we love watching similar stuff on our DVDs? No drama on those. No fights or in-shop tension either.

The constantly changing expectations and deadlines and other realities of the business are interesting to me, as are challenges that arise, like using reflective cloth on a green screen shoot. Let's focus on the cool stuff, huh?

I like Stolloween's idea of starting with a success and working backwards. I could even get behind the field trips if they were more of a "let's help you the audience understand what effect we are going for" perspective rather than "After decades in the business, I don't know how to make a scary bug or werewolf" perspective.

I really want to like this show. I really want it to inspire up and coming generations to get into FX, propbuilding, etc. I'm not seeing that though. Maybe a shift in focus to doing the show from younger daughter Elora's perspective as she learns the business? That may or may not give away "professional secrets" if there actually are any, but it would be an improvement from where I'm sitting.

Here's hoping Monster Man is a success, whatever they decide to do with it.