This meeting focuses on special effects makeup in independent films. Learn principles to design your own costumes and to create creepy scars and more while on a shoe-string budget! Hear experiences from behind the mask and what it's like to be dressed up in full-body costumes on Hollywood's hottest sets.

Jason Hite started his career in special effects when he received a full tuition scholarship to the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. After graduating in 1997 with a degree in Industrial Design, he relocated to Los Angeles and jumped into the field doing make-up effects, fabrication and sculpture for the television and film industry. Later, Jason relocated to San Diego to become a full-time designer and sculptor at one of the largest Halloween companies in the world. His clients include Fox, Marvel, Disney, and Nickelodeon. Jason also embarked on making his own stop-motion movie, inspired by the works of Ray Harryhausen, a 7 minute animated short called Stasis.
Jason's work can be seen online at http://hitestudios.com/

Doug Jones graduated from Ball State University in 1982 with a BA in Telecommunications and a minor in Theatre. He learned mime at school, joining a troupe, and has also worked as a contortionist. Doug moved to Los Angeles in 1985 and has not been out of work since. He's acted in over 25 films, many television series (Including the award-winning "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997), his episode "Hush" garnered two Emmy nominations) and over 90 commercials and music videos with the likes of Madonna and Marilyn Manson. Although known mostly for his work under prosthetics, he has also performed in such highly-rated films as Adaptation (2002) with Nicolas Cage and indie projects such as Phil Donlon's A Series of Small Things (2005) and Aaron Matthew Kaiser's Three Lives (2004). But it is his performance as Abe Sapien in Hellboy (2004) that has brought him an even higher profile.
For more information about Doug Jones, go to http://thedougjonesexperience.com/

Meeting Review

While Jason demonstrated how to apply a simple scar to the face of a brave volunteer from the audience, guest speaker #2, Doug Jones, told stories about wearing and acting in the type of makeup that Jason applies. Due to Doug's tall and lanky frame and his background in mime, he fell into a specialized category of actors who work well under layers and layers of alien prosthetics.

Doug discussed his work as a dead Iraqi soldier in Three Kings starring George Clooney; his secretive work in the upcoming M. Night Shyamalan picture, Lady In The Water; his half-man, half-goat title character in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming Pan's Labyrinth; and the old man he played in the "Orchid Thief" flashback segments of the Oscar-nominated Adaptation. Doug also showed pictures of the creatures he portrayed in Tim Burton's Batman Returns, an Emmy-nominated episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Hocus Pocus starring Bette Midler, the cult classic Tank Girl, and Doom.

By the end of the hour, Bridget, our volunteer, had a huge, realistic, nasty, bloody gash across her face that was applied by Jason right before our eyes using simple ingredients like water, gelatin, powder and fake blood.

Pictures from the Meeting