Though innovative directing and stellar acting are a leading factor in creating films and television shows, several other elements help bring these incredible pieces of media to life. Music is a massive factor, as well as costumes and makeup. During this past weekend, we headed to the Anaheim Convention Center to attend the annual convention, WonderCon. There, we were able to speak to several contributors in the industry. With their unique talents and hard work, they have helped create new worlds and add to the ones we know and love.

Makeup Creates Characters

Desiree Falcon is a makeup artist who recently provided the makeup for the 2024 comedy-drama film, Thelma. As a character-driven artist, Falcon loves figuring out these people, finding her piece in the puzzle, and helping bring the story to life. When asked about her creative process, she said: 

“I love getting a script and trying to figure out what they look like and talking to the costume designers, hair department, and directors. I love getting the feedback, like who this person is and how makeup can help tell that story.” 

Despite the occasional complication—including prosthetics getting frozen during filming in the snow—but Falcon says she has the best profession in the world.

Creating New Worlds

Chris Bridges helps create distinct looks for characters, including in Strange New Worlds, Discovery, and Heretic. As someone who has been in the industry for 30 years, his creative process is as follows:

“Obviously, I’ll get a script and I’ll break it down. I’ll do a breakdown of a character and look at what they need. I’ll have a discussion with the director and writers, and ask what kind of prosthetics they’re looking for. I’ll make suggestions, and because things are so money-conscious these days, I’m always looking for simple ways to do complex things. This allows me to have a little bit of freedom in doing what I do.” 

It takes on average two to three hours to complete the process on characters, such as the aliens and monsters on Star Trek. According to Bridges, sometimes they would start at two in the morning to get ready for filming. He says that some actors, such as Doug Jones, make the experience easier with their positive attitudes and genuine enthusiasm.  

The Power of Music

Music also plays a key role in setting the scene for any project, and that is especially true with the 2024 animated Watchmen movies, which Tim Kelly composed.

Starting with The Animaniacs and Pinky and The Brain, Kelly eventually got into working synthesizers to create the soundtrack for the two-part superhero film. He uses his home studio as a workshop to create sounds from scratch. Thanks to the good amount of time he was given for this project, he could create new sounds that had never been heard before. 

“Sometimes movies don’t have much music and sometimes we have, what we call, wall-to-wall music. It also depends on how much time the studio gives you. I usually can do it in four months, but for Watchmen, I had about six months to get it finished. I worked on it for a while because they were giving me material, and then they had a break, so it was kind of on and off over two years.

He also says that creating themes isn’t a one-sized-fits-all process. Sometimes, he has to try different things and see what sticks, but other times, it comes out quickly. Kelly has revealed that he is very pleased with the work he has done on Watchmen: Chapters 1 and 2. He calls collaborating on this iconic series one of his proudest achievements.

Television shows and movies showcase incredible costumes, and designer Cris Araujo is a big part of that. Born in Brazil and based in Los Angeles, she had always wanted to pursue a creative career. In 2024, she worked on Uglies, based on Scott Westerfield’s book series, for Netflix. When designing for the adaptation, she said: 

“I made sure to read the script first because I wanted to know if there were any differences. Then, I went back to the books. I broke down the characters based on their descriptions in the book, and I put the references on paper to later show to (director) McG.” 

However, Araujo says that Westerfield’s series isn’t very wardrobe-driven and is more focused on character expressions and experiences. That doesn’t mean that fashion doesn’t play a big role. She took great care in creating David’s (Keith Powers) prized jacket, taking inspiration from the books themselves.

She also acknowledges that how she designs may be different from readers’ interpretations. Araujo believes that, unless it is something important, there are many ways to bring Westerfield’s words onto the screen.

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