Creative Character Engineering
Raised in Connecticut, a few miles from New York, Andrew Clement was taking the train into the city to work in the effects business even before graduating high school. He gathered any experience he could in the east coast effects community, sometimes even working for free, until it was time to attend S.U.N.Y. Purchase. While working towards his Visual Arts/Theatre Design degree, he began working on shows such as Saturday Night Live, and the films, The Princess Bride and Ridley Scott’s Black Rain. In 1985, Dick Smith began his legendary Advanced Professional Make-Up Course, and Andrew became his very first student. Armed with this life changing knowledge, he began commanding larger and more lucrative jobs.
In 1990 Andrew decided to move to L.A. to broaden his experience. He found work immediately in some of the most influential effects houses, including Academy Award winner Rick Baker. His last job for another firm was as head of the paint department of the famed Henson Associates on the T.V. show Dinosaurs.
While at Henson’s, Andrew was allowed to see some very early CG tests for the film Jurassic Park.Excited about the ways the new technology could enhance his work, Andrew decided to throw all available resources into the long process of becoming informed and capable in the emerging technology. Before long, he was contributing 3D models and character animation to Hercules, Xena, and the feature films Blade and Mortal Kombat 2. C.C.E. was the first U.S. practical character effects house to deliver 3D animated visual effects shots on a weekly timetable.
In 1991 he rented an industrial space in Van Nuys to fulfill orders still coming in from a number of faithful New York clients, as well as the growing number of freelance projects offered out of L.A. Once Dinosaursfinished its 3-year run, Andrew already had a working company, with full-time employees on staff. As such, Creative Character Engineering was made an official entity in 1993.
C.C.E. quickly became renowned for serving the entire 15 season run of E.R. with ultra-realistic body parts, surgery simulations, and dozens of silicone babies. The success of E.R. led to opportunities to contribute to almost every significant medical drama in recent years. Among them C.C.E has counted House, Grey’s Anatomy, and Dexter as clients.
C.C.E is also on its way to establishing an international presence in the field of top quality, cost effective character effects. The top rated B.B.C. medical drama Holby City has become a repeat client, a growing number of productions such as The Matrix, Thor: The Dark World, Ben Hur, and Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children have turned to C.C.E. for their U.S. based life casting, and their rental babies have seen the world, going to locations such as Hawaii, South Africa, the EU and Australia on projects like Lost.
The future of C.C.E looks assured, with work in the recent blockbuster Cloverfield, as well as the Hammer picture Let Me In, and the redesign of horror icon Freddy Krueger for the new Nightmare on Elm Street.Andrew is also very proud of his continued work for Marvel Studios on projects like Guardians of the Galaxy and the megahit Deadpool.
Now in its third building and occupying a labyrinthine 5,000 sq/ft, C.C.E. is equipped with all the tools and amenities needed to make the artists as well as visiting clients happy and confident that the work is being performed at the highest level.
Andrew is a member of the Los Angeles I.A.T.S.E. Local 706 Makeup Artists guild and is a SAG Puppeteer. He also actively teaches, holding sculpture classes at local art schools and was a guest instructor at Walt Disney Feature Animation. In 2007 Andrew was selected by legendary makeup artist Dick Smith to take over for him in teaching his Advanced Professional Makeup Course to expand the dissemination of effects knowledge to the next generation of artists.
Lee Romaire Studios, Inc., founded in 2004, designs and produces extraordinary live action creature, character and mechanical effects for the entertainment industry.
Mike Elizalde is an Academy Award nominated prosthetic makeup designer, animatronics designer, and Screen Actors Guild puppeteer. He is also President and Creative Director of Spectral Motion, Incorporated.
Weta Workshop was established in 1994 in Wellington, New Zealand by Richard and Tania Taylor, Peter Jackson, and Jamie Selkirk. Their goal: to provide special makeup effects, props and other services to local film and television productions. Today Weta Workshop is a 65,000 square foot dream factory employing over 200 artists and craftspeople, creating everything from weird creature makeups to the design for fantasy vehicles, weapons, and entire worlds for blockbusters like The Hobbit, King Kong, and Avatar. The Workshop’s extraordinary work has earned it five Academy Awards.
At a young age Mike Marino became a student and protege of legendary make-up artist Dick Smith. Through Dick’s Advanced Professional Makeup Course, Mike built the foundation and inspiration needed to excel in the field of Special Makeup Effects. Now, with over 20 years of experience in the film industry, Mike has worked with leading artists in the field, including Rob Bottin, Rick Baker and many others. As owner and designer of Prosthetic Renaissance, Mike has been able to realize his goal of leading a first rate team, elevating the art of special makeup effects.
Raised in Connecticut, a few miles from New York, Andrew Clement was taking the train into the city to work in the effects business even before graduating high school. He gathered any experience he could in the east coast effects community, sometimes even working for free, until it was time to attend S.U.N.Y. Purchase. While working towards his Visual Arts/Theatre Design degree, he began working on shows such as Saturday Night Live, and the films, The Princess Bride and Ridley Scott’s Black Rain. In 1985, Dick Smith began his legendary Advanced Professional Make-Up Course, and Andrew became his very first student. Armed with this life changing knowledge, he began commanding larger and more lucrative jobs.
In 1988 Alec Gillis and Tom Woodruff Jr. formed Amalgamated Dynamics, Inc., which was destined to become one of the top effects labs in the industry. In 1988 Alec had enrolled in Dick Smith’s Advanced Course and found it to be a tremendous help in ADI’s quest for artistic excellence.