Shaunna Harrison

We grabbed a few moments with tutor Shaunna Harrison from her busy schedule to get an insight to her world.

Currently I am teaching special effects and prosthetics at the theaterakademie August Everding in Munich and working on the ‘live’ Shakespeare recordings for the cinema.  So at the moment I am working with actors such as Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave for Richard III and Sir Anthony Scher as King Lear.

The best thing about this job is the variety, artistry and fun!

I came from an art background and I was greatly influenced by a newspaper article that covered the processes used by Dick Smith to age Dustin Hoffman in the film ‘Little Big Man‘ to make him look around 100 years old.

For those starting out there must be a passion.  It helps to have an interest in the whole spectrum of film, television, theatre or fashion. or culture in general really. It’s a great job but you need stamina and patience.  Be open minded and adaptable to different situations, and working with a variety of temperaments. Reliability and punctuality are also key.

Weather, location and time can be as challenging on the day as completing the actual work.  Years ago when I was designing Tumbledown, some of the prosthetics were challenging but the ultimate result was winning a BAFTA!

I think the key is to embrace new techniques and use them as an aid to the world of make up, hair and prosthetics.  The immediate future looks to be busy in the industry which is encouraging, and having a good solid training is fundamental.  Essentially to be taught by people working in the industry to keep up with any new practices.  It would also be nice to think that production teams will not go for the cheapest options.