Growing up in and around the theatre industry had given Melissa her first taste of stage make-up. Her life revolved around the arts for years and she knew this was her calling.
Before coming to New Image College of Fine Arts she attended university studying Criminology, while working as a waitress. She had always loved doing makeup and helping her friends out on big nights such as graduations, New Years and wedding parties, but had never really considered it as a career. To prepare herself for a career in the industry, she had taken a basic makeup course for fun and realized that she had discovered her passion, and felt that she would have to make an attempt at making this her career. Although it took a bit of convincing her parents to allow her to change career paths and pursue makeup for a living they eventually agreed that she should follow her dream.
"I love this school."
The Professional Make-up Program at the college is taught by instructors who are considered experts in the subject matter and are well networked within the industry. Their experience in the field provides practical knowledge that is applied to real-life examples right in the classrooms. As Melissa is an avid horror film fan she has finally been able to learn the secrets behind the special effects that are applied in the films that we see on the big screen. Some of the techniques and photo shoots she has learned and been a part of have been so mind blowing, She never would have believed that she could have ever planned and executed a photo or a whole "look" on her own until she came here and had people show her she could.
One of the more significant areas of the schools' program included the volunteer opportunities that were provided to give students additional experience to hone their newly acquired skills. In recent months she has been very busy working on college related films and events:
- A Vampire movie with New Image Acting Instructor John Tench and some of the acting students
- A short film for a another New Image Acting instructor (Amir Aghelnejad) which was submitted into the 72 hour film festival competition
- Make-up for a Lady Ga Ga fashion show event during the Vancouver Fashion week
- Hair and makeup for the Vancouver Vixens who where hosting a "club night" at Gossip Night club
This past summer was likely the highlight of her makeup education as she was given a chance to be a part of a feature full-length film where she assisted her instructors with advanced prosthetics and special effects make-up. The film, "Star Vehicle" was directed by Melissas' instructor Ryan Nicholson who has earned critcal acclaim for his special effects make-up and outlandish graphic gore. Although Melissa's experience with the special effects make-up has been "Gross and disgusting", it has also been exciting and very rewarding.
She is currently working on her first 'gig' outside of school and has expressed her excitement as she now feels that she has spread her wings and is ready to fly. It is an independant feature length horror film called "Mindeaters" and is "Super Fun." Last week, she had two death scenes that she was unable to tell us about but she did get all the supplies, plan the blood gag and then when it came time to shoot, was on set doing the blood splatter helping to plan how the scene played out to achieve the directors vision. "It is an amazing experience that has really enforced my dream of working in this industry".
After graduating she hopes to work in the film industry doing make-up and special effects. She knows it is a difficult industry to break into, but she is hoping that her education and passion will help her achieve the goals that she has set for herself. A career in this field will be rewarding when you have witnessed the fruits of your labor.