Face Off is SyFy's original competitive reality show about professional special effects makeup. Season 1 saw twelve professional makeup artists competing for $100000 and a year's supply of professional makeup equipment. Body painters competed against independent gore masters competed against makeup educators competed against professional sculptors in a series of film-themed challenges. One week, the contestants would have to design an original alien that could survive in a specific otherworldly atmosphere. Another week, they would go head to head in gender-swap makeup for engaged couples. The challenges were varied and open to a wide range of interpretations. Season 2 is coming in January and I will be tuning in. Why? It's the movie effects equivalent of Top Chef or early Project Runway. It's not a matter of which contestants don't belong on the show; it's a matter of who has an off week. The first eliminated contestant last season was a professional body painter eliminated for doing a poor job painting an improperly applied prosthetic. The third runner-up only didn't win because she ran out of time to bring her psychedelic version of The Little Mermaid to life. Very few contestants presented what the average film fan would consider "bad makeup," which made the show all the more compelling.
As an educational look into the world of movie magic, Face Off fails. So little is described in the process until judging that you'd have to watch the episodes twice to pick up on all the nuances. Where it succeeds is bringing a very visual medium with a lot of bells and whistles to TV screens in an engaging way.
Makeup artists compete for jobs all the time. They're judged based on their newest work and that can earn or lose them a big picture contract. There's cooperation between makeup artists only because they want the field as a whole to appear accomplished and worth investing in.
While Season 1 tried to put a focus on some stupid personal drama, the more compelling "work together to make this happen" aspect won out in every episode. From competitors working together to release stuck molds to more experienced artists teaching expensive equipment techniques to greener competitors, Face Off succeeded in demonstrating that good people doing great work can be entertaining television.
A lot of time, these shows pick some random celebrities to judge who have no idea what they're talking about. Just because you had a recording contract, for example, doesn't mean you can critique a singer. That is not the case with Face Off.
Patrick Tatopoulos did the makeup for the Silent Hill film and worked on visual effects for Independence Day, Se7en, and The Chronicles of Riddick. Glenn Hatrick did makeup and effects for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, and the gore effects on CSI: New York. Ve Neill is the three-time Academy Award-winning makeup artist behind Beetlejuice, Mrs. Doubtfire, and The Pirates of the Carribean films. They take great joy and pride in evaluating and celebrating the work of the makeup artists on the show. They're vicious when time has clearly been misspent on a project but understanding if a well-designed makeup falls a little short.
The Season 2 teaser just went up a few days ago and it looks good.
Do I see an underwater makeup challenge? No fair. Last season, we only had dancing zombies to test makeup endurance. How about the Sneak Peak clip?
Here's how you know Season 1 turned out really well: SyFy isn't even using the first or second place finisher's work to promote the new season. The werewolf makeup took third place and they led with the fourth place Little Mermaid design. I recognize a few of the contestants shown here from the YouTube auditions and I'm glad to see them on the show.
If you have any interest in movie makeup, this show is a must-see. That goes without saying. But what about people who are on the fence or don't know much about it? To them I ask if you find any entertainment in Project Runway without being a fashion designer? Or Top Chef without being a professional cook? Face Off works the same way. A specialized field has been adapted into a palatable and engaging reality series.
Will you be watching?