2008 APEX Award of Excellence for KNB EFX, Inc - We Create ...

Transformers; Pulp Fiction; Dances withWolves; Land of the Dead; The Green Mile;Sin City; Spy Kids; The Chronicles ofNarnia; Army of Darkness; The Island….These aren’t merely names of great genre films; they’re iconicinterpretations of some of the most imaginative and groundbreakingspecial make-up effects ever created.KNB EFX Group is the force behind some of the most memorable effectsput on film. With work on over 600 films, including 5 Oscar winners,and dozens of awards; including an Oscar of their own, one Emmy, oneBAFTA award, and a whole host of Saturn’s, KNB is the culmination oftwo decades of creative passion for making real what was previouslyunreal and unimagined.Over the last 20 years, Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger’s companyhas grown and matured within the ever-changing landscape of makeupand creature effects. KNB’s principal philosophy has remainedconsistent: deliver ground breaking, visually spectacular EFX whilebreathing life into the illusion of what is seen on the screen.

TransformersImpressed by their work onhis previous film The Island,Michael Bay hired KNB to developsome of Transformers more practicalpuppets, including theSkorponok – a robot that transformsfrom a helicopter into ascorpion like robot. KNB madeshells for the Skorponok’s headand tail and added mechanismsto facilitate basic movements.The big challenge was theSkorponok’s tail, which was tenfeet long. Its design includedoverlapping metals plates alongits length that had to slideover one another so that thetail could appear to curl up outof the sand. KNB also createdthe Frenzy puppet, a robot thattransforms from a boom box.Used in close interaction withactors Shia LaBeouf and MeganFox, Frenzy had to be intricatelydesigned with a remotecontrolled head, neck armsand mandibles.“KNB’s innovative work creating the puppets forTransformers enabled me to do things in somescenes that would previously have requiredmore CGI work. They never cease to meet andexceed all expectations!”– Michael BayDirector1992Dr. GigglesToysFriday the 13th Pt.9Jason Goes to HellTombstone1993In the Mouth ofMadnessWyatt EarpSingle White FemalePulp Fiction1994CasinoThe Jungle BookVillage of the DamnedLord of IllusionsThe Quick and the Dead1995King PinAlaskaThe RelicEraserFrom Dusk Till Dawn

Spy KidsWhile this film served asa big departure for KNB theywel-comed the opportunity. Thiskid-friendly “Bond” film hadeverything from fanciful make-upcharacters called Fooglies toThumb Thumb and Shape characters,all suits created by KNB.Work on Spy Kids gave KNB thechance to become very involvedin realizing Robert Rodriguez’svision, translating sketches thathe had done some years earlierinto full-size, 3-D creations.This film spawned 2 sequels,both with effects created by KNB.Dances with WolvesEarly in their career, workon the film Gross Anatomy leddirector Kevin Costner to hireKNB to create 22 buffalos forhis western epic – Dances withWolves. Out of the gate, thegoal of KNB was to illustratethe company’s diversity notonly with make-up effects, butalso character design, suitsand replica animals. Withintwo years they found themselvesworking on high profile projectssuch as Misery and Dances withWolves. Work on Dances began bysculpting a full size buffalo,molding it and creating 20skinned carcasses that had theability to be retrofitted withfake “hides” depending on theshot requirements. In addition,the film called for creation of2 fully articulated buffalosfor shots where Costner killsa charging animal and in shotswhere actors ride along side arunning animal.1996Men in BlackSpawnBoogie NightsJerry McGuireScream1997AmistadGodzillaX-Files MovieJohn Carpenter’sVampires1998The Faculty13th WarriorSupernovaThe Green MileEnd of Days

SpawnRealizing Todd McFarlane’s cultclassic’s comic characters was noeasy task, but KNB‘s interpretationof the clown character waswell received. John Leguizamo’sperformance, enhanced by fullfacial prosthetics, contact lenses,dentures and a fat suit weighingnearly 40 pounds was in perfectcontrast to the “living” superhero persona of Spawn. Spawn’ssuit, created over a full bodycast of Michael Jai White, wasdesigned to feel as if it was aliving, breathing organism. TheViolator, Spawn’s nemesis, wascreated using a combination of CGIand a full sized puppet layeredover a half a million dollarsteel hydraulic skeleton. Thispuppet, which stood over 18 feethigh, rivaled that of the T-Rexfrom Jurassic Park in terms of itscomplexity and detail.1999The HauntingHouse on HauntedHillWhat Lies BeneathThe CellMission to MarsMulholland DriveCrocodileMagnolia

Land of the DeadFor Land of the Dead, Greg Nicoteroand director George Romero spenthours discussing the look ofeach zombie. Given that Romerohad literally in-vented thezombie genre with his 1968classic Night of the LivingDead the goal was to guaranteethat the make-up de-sign feltfresh and original. Since thescript required an entire worldto be overrun with zombies,KNB’s job was to create dozensof close-up characters withcontact lenses, custom denturesand the perfect blend of rotand decomposition.“Greg and the guys at KNBcreated a whole new look forthe zombies in this film. Fromone make-up to the next theyrealistically envisioned whatit would be like to be overrunby the dead!”– George RomeroDirector2000DuneSpy KidsJohn Carpenter’sGhosts of MarsPlanet of the ApesVanilla SkyRat RaceUnbreakable13 Ghosts

Army of DarknessArmy of Darkness marked KNB’sreturn to the fold with SamRaimi and Rob Tapert. Taking aRay Harryhausen like approachto the various EFX, KNB createda variety of complex skeletal“slave” puppets, whose movementsprecisely mimicked those of thepuppeteers. Within the palettewere various “Deadite” make-ups,characters and body suits. At thetime, this film was one of thebiggest challenges KNB had faceddue not only to the huge volumeof work, but also because ofthe anticipation surroundingits release.Men in BlackKNB was called on to createsome of the various alien lifeformsin Men in Black. The film,under the supervision ofeffects artist Rick Baker, dealtwith the concept that alienslive along side humans and bothare policed by a secret organization.One of several EFX KNBcreated was a multi-tentacledcreature puppet that servedas the “video techs” in Men inBlack head-quarters. These characterseach required 9 puppeteersto control the varioussegments of the tentacles, aswell as the moving single stalkeye controller.“KNB is truly one of the greatest EFX shopsin town - I wouldn’t create, or slaughter, acharacter in one of my pictures without em’!”– Sam RaimiDirector2001Minority ReportThe Time MachineOnce Upon a Time inMexicoSpy Kids 2Austin Powers inGoldmemberCabin FeverVampires Muertos

Sin CityEveryone working on Sin City,from director Robert Rodriguezto the actors and crew, wantedthis movie to be as faithful tothe graphic novel as possible.Once production began, it wasKNB’s job to translate FrankMiller’s original sketches intoliving, breathing charactermake-ups that could be broughtto life by each uniquely castedactor. From the character ofMarv, played by Mickey Rourke, tothe character of Yellow Bastard,played by Nick Stahl, KNB helpedbreathe life into comic bookcharacters that felt as real asthe people that give you pauseand cause to cross to theopposite side of the street.“They’re artists thatrespect and hold highthe tradition of make-upeffects, yet they’reconstantly innovating andbreaking new ground. KNBhas been my compadre incarnage for 12 years now.”– Robert RodriguezDirector2002Star Trek: NemesisOld SchoolIdentityTexas ChainsawMassacreKill BillPirates of theCaribbeanSpy Kids 3-D:Game Over

From Dusk Till DawnThis film required a combinationof make-up effects, physicaleffects and puppet work tohelp realize the vision setforth in the script and guidedby KNB. The first task was tocreate a variety of charactervampire “make-ups” as well astransformations and elaboratecreature effects sequences. Ourdesire was to have the vampiredesigns for each lead actor feelas if they were an extensionof their own face. Utilizingindividual characteristics andexaggerating upon them, it was asif the vampire transformationscaused their faces to becomeeven more monstrous and evil.There were a minimum of15 close-up make-ups, and upto 30 background masks andmake-ups needed as the vampirestore through the night club’shapless patrons.2003TroyCursed24 – TVDeadwood –HBO mini-seriesNational TreasureLemony Snickett’sSeries ofUnfortunate Events

The Green MileKNB was thrilled when directorFrank Darabont asked them tocome on board for his secondcollaboration with Stephen King.A wide variety of dummies, prostheticeffects and animal puppets,including Mr. Jingles,were created by KNB. But themost memorable and noteworthy wasthe electrocution of Del thatgoes “horribly awry”. For thissequence, we created a fullyanimatronic dummy of actorMichael Jeter after filming himin the electric chair duringrehearsals. The dummy was thenmounted in the chair with allcables coming out the bottom ofthe chair and through the wallbehind him. Five puppeteers controlledthe side to side/upand down head movement, wristmovement, gross body movementand simulated shocks fromthe chair. The dummy was alsorigged with pyrotechnics todepict the body burning up fromthe electrical charge. Thesequence was punctuated by aclose up of the burned corpseprior to disposal.“KNB is simply the best EFX studio in town! They’re deeplydedicated, tireless, and their work is just plain amazing!I wouldn’t make a movie without them!”– Frank DarabontDirector2004SerenityThe Chronicles ofNarnia: The Lion,the Witch and theWardrobeSin CityMeet the FockersLand of the DeadThe IslandCursed

Austin Powers inGoldmemberThe third installment of theAustin Powers series had KNBupdating many of the charactersin the franchise, includingDr. Evil and Mini-Me. Withthe return of the characterFat Bastard, KNB had to create alightweight full body fat suitfor actor Michael Meyers towear. In this film, the characteris found in Japan sumowrestling, so the suit had tobe virtually nude, as well ashave the mobility and abilityto move, jiggle and undulateat every turn. Various other”sight-gags” rounded out KNB’scontribution to the film.2005The Hills Have EyesHostelPoseidonTexas ChainsawMassacre: TheBeginningNBC Olympic Spot(Commercial)My Super-ExGirlfriend

Kill BillIn order to be as authentic aspossible to his vision for hisown Chinese martial arts exploitationfilm, Quentin Tarantinooriginally thought he’d hire aChinese special effects companyto create the over the top bloodspraying EFX he needed. Butafter seeing what KNB could do,Quentin hired them to do all ofthe EFX. For one scene, in whichUma Thurman literally dismembersand dispatches a hugegroup of attackers, KNB createddismembered body parts, includingthe blood-spraying EFX, for90 of Uma’s victims. For another,KNB had to meet Tarantino’svision for making Uma (DirtGirl) look sexy even while draggingherself out of a grave.Later, in a fight scene withDaryl Hannah, every time a punchwas thrown at Uma it looked asif a big powder puff of dust wascoming off of her. Even thoughshe was covered in dirt, Umastill retained her sex appeal,all in keeping with the visionset by Tarantino and deliveredupon by KNB.“On Kill Bill KNB re-created anddelivered to my vision of the bloodspurting realism associated with 70’smartial arts films. They’re the mastersfor EFX genre’ realism!”– Quentin TarantinoDirector2006Telladega NightsGrindhouseCasino RoyaleTransformersDisturbia3:10 to YumaHostel 224 - TV

The IslandThe Island marked KNB’s sixthproject with Director MichaelBay and one of their most challenging.To realize Michael’svision, KNB had to experimentwith brand new materials andtechniques to achieve the specificdesired effect of illustratingthe growth of the humanbody, in clone form, from theinside out. Inspired by the BodyWorks exhibit, KNB’s goal wasto create a visual representationof the internal structureand organs of a human body withtranslucent skin. The processinvolved life casting and sculptingdown from skin to musclebone, then molding each stagein between. To manufacture theend result, the bones were layeredin first, then wax veins,then various colored siliconesand finally a clear siliconeouter layer. These unique, neverbefore created bodies allowedan on-screen view throughthe skin to study the body’sinternal workings.2007The Chronicles ofNarnia: PrinceCaspianThe Mist24 - TVThe Pacific – TVMini SeriesIndiana Jones andthe Kingdom of theCrystal Skull

KNB’s 20 year career has been fueled by a consumingpassion and obsession for their art and the business ofSpecial Make-Up Effects.KNB’s success lies in its ability to identify and embrace thevision of its filmmaker clients and begin the transformationof making their vision, where EFX are concerned, intocinematic reality. This process ensures that is what seen onthe screen gives life to the illusion.The Lion, the Witchand the WardrobeLand of The DeadSin CityTexas Chainsaw MassacreThe BeginningThe Hills Have EyesHostelCabin FeverThe CellThe Time MachineMinority ReportJohn Carpenter’s VampiresDuneState Of EmergencyBody BagsWinner Academy Award for Best Make-upWinner BAFTA for Best make-upWinner Saturn Awards for Best Make-upNominated for Saturn Award for Best Make-upWinner Best Make-up 2005 – Fangoria MagazineNominated for Saturn Award for Best Make-upWinner Hollywood Make-up of the Year 2005Nominated for Best Make-up – Academy of ScienceFiction, Horror and Fantasy 2007Winner Best Make-up 2006 – Fangoria MagazineNominated for Best Make-up – Academy of ScienceFiction, Horror and Fantasy 2007Winner Best Make-up 2006 – Scream AwardsWinner Best Make-up Sitges InternationalFilm Festival 2002Nominated for Academy Award for Best Make-upNominated for Academy Award for Best Make-upNominated for Saturn Award for Best Make-upWinner Saturn Award for Best Make-upWinner Emmy Award for Best Visual EffectsNominated for Best Make-up – Cable Ace AwardsTo discuss your next project and schedule a meeting, or tofind out more about KNB, please call them at 818-901-6562.“Because Howard or I are usually on set, eitherfor the duration of the shoot or at points alongthe way, clients get a level of personal attentionthey don’t get with other studios; and that’s whywe also have the highest rate of turnover repeatbusiness of any EFX company in the world.”– Greg Nicotero, KNB“Where EFX are used within the filmmaking process,KNB’s job is to bring clarity to the filmmaker’svision. As the script is evaluated and re-evaluatedwe are often asked to make the impossible possible,both in terms of bringing to life a particulareffect and in making it happen within the confinesof the script.”– Howard Berger, KNBNominated for Best Make-up – Cable Ace Awards Brochure created by b.james branding group and Christopher Lawton, 412-559-4578.

7535 Woodman Place | Van Nuys, CA 91405Phone: 818-901-6562Disturbia | The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | Casino Royale | Reservoir Dogs | Deadwood | Spy Kids| Hostel | Dune | Austin Powers in Goldmember | The Mist | Ray | Sin City | The Green Mile | Kill Bill |Amistad | 24 | Deja Vu | Misery | Land of the Dead | Serenity | Grindhouse | Vanilla Sky | Unbreakable| Spawn | Army of Darkness | Dances with Wolves | Casino | Transformers | The Chronicles of Narnia:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | From Dusk Till Dawn | Men in Black | Scream | A Simple Plan |National Treasure | Mars Attacks | Pulp Fiction | The Cell | Identity | Law & Order | Tremors | The XFiles | John Carpenter’s Vampires | Masters of Horror | Lemony Snickets: A Series of Unfortunate Events| 13 Ghosts | Poseidon | The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | Halloween H2O | The Big Lebowski | A Nightmare OnElm Street 5 | Boston Legal | Looney Tunes Back in Action | The Island | Indiana Jones and the Kingdomof the Crystal Skull | The Cat in the Hat | Boogie Nights | Mission to Mars | Troy | Minority Report |The Hills Have Eyes | 3:10 To Yuma | The Pacific©2007 KNB EFX Group. All rights reserved.