Best Todd Debreceni Podcasts (2024)

1
#93 - Falmouth Part 2 1:39:39

3M ago1:39:39

1:39:39

In this second and final part of our trip to Falmouth Uni, Neill Gorton joins us as we discuss making mistakes and learning the hard way in the workshop. We also discuss how to approach workshops and folio critiques and why latex and plaster are such great materials when starting and budgets are tight. Latex and plaster are a big theme in this epis…

1
#92 - Falmouth Uni Part 1 2:10:45

7M ago2:10:45

2:10:45

Our trip down to Falmouth Uni preceded The Prosthetics Event 2023. It was a great trip, and so nice to see the work being done by students there and talk shop. As always, we have a rough idea about what we want to talk about, but it's always led by the feeling in the room at the time, questions that come up and current events within the group . We …

1
#91 - Digital Tools In The Workshop 56:51

8M ago56:51

56:51

Makeup artists typically like makeup. It is a tactile medium, and they enjoy products, how they feel and smell and respond to brushes and pressure. Making prosthetics similarly has its tactile qualities, and it is hard to separate these sensations from the very nature of the joy in the work. It is little wonder then that this same group of people m…

1
#90 - Joel Harlow 1:43:21

1+ y ago1:43:21

1:43:21

Joel Harlow is an academy award-winning artist who started out in animation before he moved on to makeup. Gradually building multi-faceted skills, confidence and workloads, he has evolved and expanded into the makeup effects heavyweight we know today with a hefty rollcall of credits. Check out his company, https://morphologyfx.com/. It is always fa…

1
#89 - Maddie Scott-Spencer 1:28:25

2y ago1:28:25

1:28:25

Maddie is a talented concept artist and teacher known mostly for her ZBrush work. Coming from a practical background, her skills come from familiar ground - Fangoria, a love of monsters and sculpting for fun! She has taught classes for Gnomon since 2006 - we recommend the ‘Introduction to ZBrush 2021’ video course. Todd and I both cite this as the …

1
#88 - Adam 'KreatureKid' Dougherty 1:19:18

2y ago1:19:18

1:19:18

Adam Dougherty and his company https://www.kreaturekid.com/ are based in Colorado. An incredibly talented artist, he is an inspiring soul who makes things happen with determination and persistent hard work. Although he considers himself lazy, his output shows anything but. In particular, his style celebrates the warmth and unique character that Jim…

1
#87 - Frank Ippolito 1:22:45

2y ago1:22:45

1:22:45

Frank Ippolito is something of a practical effects polymath. From starting out with makeup effects and putting in solid work in the lab, he has gradually expanded to running a company and crew with impressive credits and a high standard of work. Checking out Frank's IMDb, you’ll see a switch around 2016 as he started working on speciality costumes.…

1
#86 - More Noses, Fewer Horns 1:01:31

2y ago1:01:31

1:01:31

In this episode, we look at a makeup I did nearly 30 years ago at college. Adrian Rigby sent me a remaining original piece from the mould, along with some photos (prints, no less, which I scanned). We talk about remembering what you knew then (the past) and how you thought it should be done. You can also advise your old self on how it could be done…

1
#85 - Bill Corso 1:52:47

2y ago1:52:47

1:52:47

"Bill, there's a scene where The Blob attacks a woman who's in a 'phone booth and it covers the 'phone booth, it crushes the 'phone booth and here and then it goes on the sidewalk and goes into a gutter and disappears into this sewer." I'm just looking at him and I go…"Okay." And he says "Figure out how to do that scene!" I was, like "Well, what IS…

1
#84 - Pete Tindall 2:12:19

2+ y ago2:12:19

2:12:19

In this episode, we talk with materials maestro Pete Tindall about all things making related, along with a dose of rantage. I moan a bit about ZBrush (although I love it) and the fact that despite the terrifying interface and the huge number of tools available in ZBrush, freedom comes from accepting that you likely need only a handful of them. Earl…

1
#83 - Ian Morse & Cliff Wallace Part 2 1:20:17

2+ y ago1:20:17

1:20:17

Check the shownotes on the blog: https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/ This second part of our chat with Ian and Cliff takes a look back at the company they had together, Creature Concepts - or as Ian puts it ‘How not to run a business'. Ian and Cliff mentioned Blood On The Satan’s Claw (1971) and I watched it on their recommendation. It whetted my …

1
#82 - Ian Morse & Cliff Wallace Part 1 1:30:18

2+ y ago1:30:18

1:30:18

This episode was recorded at Cliff's studio, with all four of us present and correct. Ian and Cliff have worked together and separately in the industry for a long time - Ian's credits include Little Shop Of Horrors, Alien 3, Saving Private Ryan, War Horse, Fury and Dr Who. Cliff racks up an impressive listing on IMDb with Hellraiser (1987), Lair of…

1
#81 - Bolton Part 2 1:45:59

2+ y ago1:45:59

1:45:59

Competence and comfort are the results of the repetition of activity over a significant period of time. In an age of endless self-promotion, this podcast has always championed the work involved in quiet competence. Being competent at something is what people will pay money for, so it is worth considering as an ambition. But how do we keep ourselves…

1
#80 - Bolton Part 1 1:05:20

2+ y ago1:05:20

1:05:20

What does digital sculpting have to do with battling with bits of rubber? Speaking in one of the VFX classrooms, a huge space with rows of monitors and Wacom Cintiqs, we gathered as a group to discuss training to work in film and TV. We looked particularly at the pipeline and workflow of VFX and how that has changed over the years with regards to p…

1
#79 - Jake Garber 1:09:54

2+ y ago1:09:54

1:09:54

Our conversation recently with Jake Garber at The Prosthetics Event in Coventry was, we think, a very important chat worth listening to for anyone who is trying, or thinking about trying to get a foot in the door into the (oftentimes) wonderful and exciting world of movie and television makeup. Even for peeps already working in the industry, Jake’s…

1
Amelia Rowcroft: Strong Foundations 1:05:07

2+ y ago1:05:07

1:05:07

Figurative sculptor Amelia Rowcroft lives in the lovely Sussex town of Lewes on the South East Coast of England, which dates back to 961AD. She was kind enough to invite us into her studio in a building that once housed a brewery in the 1600s, and that’s where we recorded this episode of BWBoR. Amelia has been sculpting practically, working in clay…

1
#77 - Truth Is Grosser Than Fiction 39:47

2+ y ago39:47

39:47

Click Here For Blog Post Of This Episode Paul Savage is a returning guest on the show. We caught up with him at the Prosthetics Event in Coventry. Merging medical knowledge with movie makeup, he aims to bring more realism to training scenarios. Raising the bar in simulation can help to save actual lives. It is quite often that makeup students will …

1
#76 - 1.9 Million Sq. Ft Needed 1:15:52

3y ago1:15:52

1:15:52

This episode is in two parts. The first part is the generally good news of the increase in film industry activity which sees many people run off their feet with work. After a year of lockdowns and closed up shops, this is good news indeed. Film and TV productions are picking up because of the build-up of work owing to shelved ideas, and owing to th…

1
#75 - Cutting Edges & Flat Moulds 52:02

3y ago52:02

52:02

We covered cutting edges in episode #61 but this one is specifically about cutting edges on flat moulds. Cutting edges on appliance moulds do the work of separating the fine appliance edge from the flashing and excess, allowing the mould to close properly and achieve the feather thin edge you have sculpted. The exact width of the distance between t…

1
#74 - Foam & Filament 1:10:40

3y ago1:10:40

1:10:40

In episode #74 we talk about running lots of foam latex and overcoming the things that can go wrong with foam latex. Despite silicone being the material most go to first, it is a very real material that needs to be kept in mind for certain projects. We also chat about how 3D scanning and printing has had a tangible benefit on some jobs we had this …

1
~73 - Rod Maxwell 2:29:39

3+ y ago2:29:39

2:29:39

Rod Maxwell is a bit of a Renaissance man, and the more we talked the more you can see how wearing many hats has informed his approach. Of late, Rod has become known for his fusion of digital techniques with practical outcomes. Looking at his Instagram, you can see trailblazing work with 3D printed moulds, scanning lifecasts and moulds and using th…

1
#72 - Adam Beane 1:53:42

3+ y ago1:53:42

1:53:42

Adam has become well known for his miniature and smaller-scale work which has both great expression as well as high levels of detail, and even developed a material which allowed such tight detail for miniatures called Cx5. The man has done a lot of things and has worked many jobs - let's be clear his feet are on the ground and he knows what hard wo…

1
#71 - Daniel Parker 2:21:40

3+ y ago2:21:40

2:21:40

Daniel was the first professional prosthetic professional to look at my portfolio. That stuff sticks with you. That was back in 1994, and there was still a lot of Frankenstein stuff kicking about in the workshop from the previous year. I learned a lot being in that workshop, and got to see a makeup test on Ian McKellan for Richard III in my time th…

1
#70 - Dominic Hailstone Part 2 1:24:31

3+ y ago1:24:31

1:24:31

In this second and final part of the chat with Dominic, we look at his art and discuss the drawing and sculptures. As usual, this podcast episode is a tale of two stories. Todd and I talk about the difficult work involved in lifecasting the deceased, which can be much trickier than dealing with the living. Then the chat with Dom, looking at his pro…

1
#69 - Dominic Hailstone Part 1 1:31:38

3+ y ago1:31:38

1:31:38

In this episode (and the next), we have a chat with artist Dominic Hailstone. He works extensively with visual effects and has a background in makeup effects and practical effects which inform his approach. Being an early adopter of visual effects and using computers places him in a unique position of seeing both sides and is well versed in the pro…

1
#68 - Q&A 1:16:07

3+ y ago1:16:07

1:16:07

This episode is a catch up on some emails and questions we had over the last couple of weeks. We have some great questions this time around, so many thanks for getting in touch! We talk about epoxy surfaced moulds, crinkly edges, and dodgy makeup course practices. Books mentioned in this episode: Silicone Art - Silicone As An Art Material By Tom Mc…

1
#67 - Brian Kinney 1:26:23

3+ y ago1:26:23

1:26:23

Brian Kinney is a primetime Emmy-nominated makeup artist and a Journeyman in IATSE Hollywood Local 706 Make-up Artists and Hairstylists Guild, where he serves as Makeup Craft President and Executive Board Member. His work can be seen in feature films and television shows, such as Fear The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Westworld, Purge: Anarchy and…

1
#66 - Lars Carlsson 1:39:08

3+ y ago1:39:08

1:39:08

Lars is a generous self-taught artist from Sweden. He works in film, TV and theatre productions often using new technology to scan and print items for practical effects. We wanted to chat theatre stuff, as that is not something we have spoken much about on the podcast. It's an area which may well be more available for people starting out, as many s…

1
#65 - Ghosts, Goblins & Cutting Edges 49:45

3+ y ago49:45

49:45

https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/ It’s Halloween. A Saturday! A full moon! Also not happening because of Covid. Boo. It’s a damn shame, but I imagine around the world, a lot more horror movies will be watched. I can only hope such mass consumption will drive production to make more stuff as we burn through the back catalogue of shows with a worl…

1
#64 - Danny Marie Elias 1:19:27

4y ago1:19:27

1:19:27

Danny has done some interesting things with prosthetics, leading with fashion and high concept looks and bringing appliance work into the mix. Most demonstrations at trade shows involving appliances are showing just the tail end of a much longer hidden process which perhaps isn't at all evident in the final piece. It's nice to hear about what happe…

1
#63 - Things That Go Wrong 1:11:32

4y ago1:11:32

1:11:32

We have all spotted things in shows which were never meant to be there. Scars swapping sides, hair up one minute and then down the next, blood which moves shot to shot or an errant edge which can't be hidden. Those are the things which you notice, and maybe take great pleasure in spotting and shaming those unfortunate artists who were 'responsible'…

1
#62 - Mould Closure 1:05:04

4y ago1:05:04

1:05:04

Closing moulds correctly is vital to get good casts out of them. There seems little point in making a good mould and then getting bad casts out of it. In this episode we chat about things to consider when looking at ‘mould closure’. Essentially, a mould other than a flat or open mould will usually need to be attached or fitted to another component …

1
#61 - Cutting Edges 1:11:21

4y ago1:11:21

1:11:21

Cutting edges are the point at which a core meets the mould, and is crucial in creating a fine edge for many appliances. In flat moulds, there can be something similar even though a core isn’t involved, as it establishes where the appliance actually stops and the skin begins. A cutting edge and overflow are critical in foam appliances, especially w…

1
#60 - Tim Baggaley 44:29

4y ago44:29

44:29

Blog Post for this episode here. Tim Baggaley played the one-armed zombie in Shaun of the Dead. He's a damn nice fella, an actor, talented graphic designer and a fabulous dancer. In this episode, we chat about his experience on set and his recollections of being among the undead. As we chatted, he reminded me of a few other things we had worked on …

1
#59 - Mark Donovan 30:07

4y ago30:07

30:07

Here is a little treat - an additional little episode that checks in with Mark Donovan who played The Hulking Zombie in Shaun Of The Dead. We talked through the difficulties involved in getting ready to be attacked with records and cricket bats, shovels and the heat whilst caked in blood. Also, as you'll hear, some very cool comic book related stuf…

1
#57 - 'Little John' Cormican 1:42:34

4y ago1:42:34

1:42:34

It was a great pleasure to chat with John face to face (before lockdown, I hasten to add) back in December of 2019. John is a well known FX artist who has since gone on to work at Tussauds and is a freelance artist. I think you will get a real kick out of hearing his take, a perfect attitude to how to feel when creating. We chat about what it means…

1
#58 - Air Bubbles 53:56

4y ago53:56

53:56

Air bubbles of one kind or another are inevitable if you deal with materials which start out life as a liquid and then later solidify such as plaster, latex, silicone and resin. Let’s take a look at what can happen, why, and what to do about it. Blog post accompanying this post: https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/58-airbubbles/…

1
#56 - Q & A 50:13

4y ago50:13

50:13

This episode of the podcast, we catch up with some questions left on our answerphone, emails and comments. Clay issues, alcohol colours, and a nice message from sculpting master Amelia Rowcroft. Cheers to those been in touch, and leaving messages. You can get in touch by email at stuartandtodd@gmail.com or leave a voicemail here. I mentioned workin…

1
#55 - Shaun Of The Dead: An Appreciation 1:25:50

4y ago1:25:50

1:25:50

The Shaun Of The Dead prosthetic team reunites and talk through the movie effects shots. Blog post for this episode here I thought it would be fun to chat with Stuart Conran and Dan Frye, two FX buddies who I have known and worked with for many years on many projects. I rewatched the movie to refresh my memory and listed the effects in chronologica…

1
#54 - Approaching Workshops 1:19:56

4+ y ago1:19:56

1:19:56

Blog Post link: https://battleswithbitsofrubber.com/54-approaching-workshops/ Folio under your arm, at some point you may wish to appeal to those who could give you a job. It's nervewracking to be judged, but your folio is maybe pages of your heart and soul now made visible for others to assess and rate. The main way anyone gets work is simply by h…

1
#53 - 5 Big Questions Commonly Asked 1:36:51

4+ y ago1:36:51

1:36:51

There are often a number of questions about prosthetic makeup that get asked often. We put together the top 5 that keep cropping up and do a deep dive into our responses. 1. How do I match an appliance to a person's skin tone? 2. How do I ensure a good edge on an appliance? 3. How can I create good work without spending a fortune on materials? 4. H…

1
#52 - Brandon & Jacquie Ryan 1:35:21

4+ y ago1:35:21

1:35:21

Todd talks with his good friends and fellow artists, Jacquie & Brandon Ryan. This episode looks at how people teach, learn, and maybe don't learn. We all need a motivation to learn, and many of us will require different styles of learning such as visual, auditory, practical hands-on tasks or live demonstration to get started. One simple rule to rem…

1
#51- Neill Gorton 2:05:22

4+ y ago2:05:22

2:05:22

I first met Neill with a folio tucked under my arm for my interview I had managed to arrange at Ealing Studios in 1995. My first job with him was making oversized Casio watches, which were fibreglassed out of silicone moulds to make G-Shock watch display units. --------------------------------- Check out our new website: Battles With Bits Of Rubber…

1
#50 - Richard McEvoy Crompton 1:07:59

4+ y ago1:07:59

1:07:59

By Stuart Bray

1
#49 - Matthew Mungle 1:38:23

4+ y ago1:38:23

1:38:23

In this episode, I got to chat with Matthew Mungle & visit his jail cell! Matthew and his company, WM Creations have been responsible for makeup effects on scores of shows and racked up a lot of awards and nominations in the process - for a deep dive into that, check out Matthews IMDb profile. The actual real-life holding cell in the studio, now de…

1
#48 - Neil Morrill 58:12

4+ y ago58:12

58:12

In this episode, Neill Morrill joins me in the workshop as we hit up Todd in Colorado and chat about our collaborated efforts on the makeup we did for The Prosthetics Event 2019. Neil is originally from the UK but moved to Toronto in the early 2000s and has worked on a number of high profile shows over the years such as 300, The Strain, Suicide Squ…

1
#47 - Kate Benton 1:02:31

4+ y ago1:02:31

1:02:31

In this episode, Todd and Stu talk about our week making moulds with epoxy, dropping sculpts and moulage effects for first responder training. Earlier in 2019, Stu got to sit and chat with some fine folks at IMATS London and a chat with makeup designer Kate Benton kicks off the first of these finally edited up after a crazy industry year. This is t…

1
#46 - Makeup Education 1:27:02

4+ y ago1:27:02

1:27:02

Starting Education In Makeup Effects & Prosthetics This episode is prompted by seeing a few questions on forums about how best to learn about makeup FX and prosthetics. Where to go and what to learn? Depending on what you want to be able to do, let's also draw a distinction between a makeup artist who sometimes will apply a prosthetic v someone who…

1
#45 - Jordu Schell 1:17:15

5y ago1:17:15

1:17:15

Jordu Schell has been pushing clay around for a while and knows a thing or two about sculpting. Creating concepts for characters and creatures, masks, makeups and beautifully crafted designs, he also teaches his craft all over the world and has recently released the first of a series of downloadable books The Professional Creature Design Handbook. …

1
#44 - Colorado 2019 40:59

5y ago40:59

40:59

It’s been a while since Todd & I have podcasted, so apologies for the slow return to form. It’s been a brutal few months, mainly as I have been on the new Netflix/BBC version of Dracula which has kept my hands red and my days long and busy. Naturally, NDA’s prevent me from divulging what’s what but rest assured, fans of the Hammer style will enjoy …

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