From conception to sketches to models and finally production, Illusion Industries creates unforgettable characters for film and television. Despite all the new changes in the company, it is the same design team of the last 15 years that still works to create the magic. Fantasy and old age makeup, animatronics and puppets, prosthetics and specialty costumes, Illusion’s services range from the subtle to over the top. The rebranding expresses everything the company represents – part horror and part fantasy. Tucker calls it “Willy Wonka meets Gotham City.”
“Creating looks that haven’t been seen before” is something Illusion works towards. Quality work is also paramount to the studio. “We have ‘A-level’ people for every budget,” Tucker says. The studio does not have assigned teams that work on lower budget films. The same talented crew works on each film, striving to stay within the budget by cutting corners in creative ways that do not hinder the final results.
Besides having an award-winning team, Illusion also offers the latest techniques in prosthetics, animatronics, puppets, and specialty costumes. It’s a precise art that has to constantly evolve to stay current with the latest technology. For instance, with the advent of HD cameras, a new award-winning silicon makeup was developed that looks, feels and moves like real skin, which cannot be accomplished with foam, which is what has traditionally been used to create makeup looks. Both Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are wearing silicon makeup throughout their aging process in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and the results are extraordinary. There are no edges, no signs of makeup on screen. Several overlapping pieces of silicon connect and dissolve entirely to sell the fantasy that unfolds before the viewer.
The creation of so many characters are an intricate collaboration between the studio and the filmmakers. The script is combed over and various looks are created, usually as two dimensional drawings. For makeup effects, the process begins with making a head cast of an actor. Next, the look of the makeup is sculpted with clay. At this point, the director decides if the look is what he had in mind or if amendments need to be made. Once the the creation is signed off, the look is broken into multiple pieces for movement and an entirely new character is created. And thus a beautiful woman is turned into a horrifying, blood-soaked zombie, a young man is transformed into a dying old man, or whatever else the imagination can envision.
Illusion’s creativity is furthered by a great business sense. The Louisiana studios offer productions a 30% tax credit for all films costing over $300,000 which is a great incentive and a calculating business move that will help the new expansion, during a time when many effects shops are downsizing or folding. The studio also offers a 6,000-square-foot stage for rental and for shooting their own films.
The studio’s independent production wing is working on creating a library of their own films, along with co-productions with various studios. Their first in-house family film, Monster Mutt, was sold exclusively through Arc Entertainment to Wal-Mart and it has been a very successful effort. The studio is developing a three-picture slate with Tucker directing and Halvas and Meier producing – an untitled horror project set in the Louisiana bayous; Mr. Zorb – My Substitute is an Alien, a family sci-fi comedy, and Christmas Tails, a holiday film about Santa’s dog who must rise to the occasion and save Christmas. Illusion is currently working on all the effects for every Disney Channel show and the makeup design for Sony’s upcoming film, The Smurfs.
It’s an exciting time for the ambitious studio which clearly has its plate full with passionate and fun projects and it looks like they will, no doubt, be creating many more unforgettable characters and creatures in the years to come.