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Bored Panda reached out to Beatrice Sniper, who is an award winning Special Effects artist, based in New York/New Jersey. First, we asked the makeup artist to explain to us what she does for a living and what got her interested when it comes to doing special effects makeup.

“I didn’t have any interest in special effects Makeup. I was brought up in a religious, secluded household so I was never exposed to horror movies, or any movies at all - we weren’t allowed to watch television. When I was going to college for Computer Animation, we were required to take a few elective classes that didn’t necessarily fall under our major. The elective class I decided to take was called ‘Intro to Makeup for Film and TV’ (taught by Paul J. Mason). I thought why not, it sounds like an easy A.

It was there that I was taught the basics of makeup - how to apply straight makeup, cuts, burns, blood, etc with a kit that the class shared. It opened up a whole new world for me and as I revisited some movies, I was able to see horror movies as an art, and I grew to appreciate it more. People like Rick Baker, Clive Barker, Del Torro, David Cronenberg, Greg Nicotero, Ve Neil, Stan Winston, Dick Smith, etc, brought so much to the table that changed how we see movies. It was like a warm welcome for being different - which is what I was always told is bad.”

When asked about what was the most interesting part of this job, here’s what Sniper told us, “The most interesting thing about this job is that each job is different. One day I’m slaughtering someone and exploding heads, the next day I’m turning someone into a demon, the next day I’m giving someone cancer, and the next day I’m making someone look 40 years older. Everyday is different, every project is a new adventure. Its a magic in the art. A science. And it makes me feel like anything is possible. I’m always learning something new, and I never stop learning. Theres always a new technique, a new product, a new way to look at things.”

In case you didn’t know, Beatrice also worked on some movies as well, therefore we asked her if her experience in the industry made her more aware of certain things and how they are done when she watched movies just leisurely outside of work.

”Well, since I came from a background of Computer Animation so I’m aware of the post production process, and now that I switch into production so I’m even more fascinated by how much goes into film making. It gives me a greater appreciation, and although i do admit I’m always looking for mistakes in film - like continuity, or checking to see if the dead bodies are breathing, that only makes it feel more real to me. I love the film-making process, and although I’ve never went to school for film, it makes me appreciate it more.”

Given the type of work the makeup artist does, we asked her if she had ever received any weird or fun requests throughout her career.

”Oh, I get weird jobs and requests. Thats also what makes this fun. Each job is a story - with the people involved, situations that happen on set, or the storyline of the project. I will favor some jobs because of the crew members or the location. Its so rewarding to be a part of the film making world. For example, I got a request to change the appearance of an actor. When I arrive on set, I find out that people are trying to smuggle someone out of the country, so they need to make it appear that someone doesn’t look like themselves. Or it can doing special effects for military training. Its a new crew for each project, and you make tons of memories.“