Special effects makeup (SFX) has been a pillar of the film industry since moving picture productions began. Whether its transforming actors into fantastical creatures or horrid monsters, the SFX industry has made its mark in a legacy of movie magic. Freaky Findz has quickly become the go-to shop for costumes of all kinds but their makeup selection was the star of the show during their SFX demo with artist and employee Jason Zentner.
A crowd watched as Zentner walked the room through his step-by step process, transforming his model into a work of horror. In less than two hours, Brannigan Goguen became a burn victim with bubbling skin and bloody gashes.
Zentner has 15 years of professional experience in SFX, acquiring 18 IMDb credits for special effects and three credits for acting. Titles include “Death and Compromise,” “My Best Friend’s a Zombie” and “Aloha Apocalypse” to name a few. Zentner also worked on special effects for the short films “Crude Massacre,” “Date from Hell” and “Echo,” directed by Ven Scott, who was at Freaky Findz to record the demo. The two met on a music video set for Scott’s band Dead Earth Politics.
“[Zentner] cut off my drummer’s head and I will always thank him for that,” Scott joked.
The two are currently working together on Scott’s first feature, “Blood Hollow,” soon to be shot at Bat City Scaregrounds.
Zentner’s descent into makeup madness began in college.
“I was originally an anthropology major and then I was hanging out with these theater kids playing Dungeons and Dragons and one Halloween we’re like, hey let’s do some makeup, and then we did a little short film and it just kind of went from there,” Zentner explained.
The only theatre classes he took in college weren’t even makeup classes, but he did study under the late Tom Copeland at Texas State University. During a guest lecture spot in 2013 Zentner met Ash Knutson, a student enrolled in Copeland’s Business of Film class. Knutson helped organize the Freaky Findz demo after working with Zentner throughout the years.
“I wanted to bring really cool people together to do something awesome and fun for San Marcos. I really feel like with everyone’s enthusiasm and their positivity and their professionalism, that we freaking succeeded,” Knutson said.
Freaky Findz transformed into a makeup set during the demo but it’s not abnormal for staff to transform themselves during regular shifts. Employee Amanda Vinklarek assisted Zentner during the SFX demo but she often dabbles in the craft during shifts.
“Working here has just kind of forced me to do [SFX makeup] more, wear it out in public, show it in social media,” Vinklarek said.
Located downtown at 218 N. LBJ Dr., the shop offers an endless selection of SFX makeup, prosthetics and props for artists of any skill level. Zentner’s SFX demo is sure to be the first of many the shop has planned, especially as spooky season approaches.
For costume and makeup inspiration, follow along on the shop’s social media at instagram.com/freaky.findz.
To explore more of Zentner’s SFX work, visit his instagram at instagram.com/jtzentner_sfx.
