It can either look extraordinarily realistic or just plain fake and boring. I’ve seen many different kinds of prosthetics, and some of them just seem so unreal.
I remember watching those horror films back then and really believing in the transformations. I always wondered how those characters come out on other shows looking normal again.
It’s the same idea as getting killed in a movie then coming out on talk shows to promote the film. It took me some time to realize that.
I’ve always thought it was makeup that made all these things possible. Although it is cosmetics, I’ve been too embarrassed to really ask how prosthetics is done.
The last movie I’ve seen with prosthetics was The Omen. That movie was very bloody.
The simple effects and prosthetics were what made the movie so awesome, specially the part where one guy’s head gets cut off! I couldn’t help but close my eyes.
Three of my seven-day stay in Vigan were prosthetics days for me. It was terrible. I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror.
It totally freaked me out. It’s amazing how real it seemed that it almost fooled me every time I see my reflection.
The woman behind this great experience was Cecille Baun. She has been in the business for about 40 years!
"As a child, I used to cut paper. I would cut different figures and put them together to set up a scene or a play. I give them names and characters and make a community out of these figures. Sometimes I make Christmas cards. That was how I used to play when I was a child," says Tita Cecille.
"I was never interested in toys. I cut out my own toys through my imaginations," she goes on.
She was 30 when she started getting into prosthetics. Working was very sudden for her because she had always been the housewife, taking care of the children.
She says, "I always stayed home with our six kids. He (her husband) left me blank. I didn’t know what to do. He was a victim of a holdup and died on the spot. I was left with six kids. My eldest was only seven."
That was probably the hardest, most painful part of her life. She’s only a high school graduate and didn’t know which road to take when her husband passed away.
All Tita Cecille knew was she had to find a way to feed her children. She started working in makeup companies.
She grabbed all opportunities to learn anything and everything. She learned how to apply makeup and started doing makeup assistance for movies.
"There was a time when I was assisting in a movie. The makeup artist asked me to transform this man’s face into something different. I had no materials. I used egg white on his skin, but it didn’t last very long. I really wanted to learn how to do it the right way," Tita Cecille recalls.
"I just didn’t have the resources nor the materials. In return, this guy gave me a book on prosthetics and since then, I’ve been reading and trying to make it at home. There is no dull moment in my house. Even my children help me with my work. I started off working with hair in the beginning such as eyelashes, eyebrows and other things. Later on, I learned how to make prosthetics," she explains.
This kind of work helped her raise her children. This is clearly what Tita Cecille asked God for.
She remembers asking God to be the father of her children when her husband passed away. Since then, Tita Cecille was never left with nothing.
She believes this is what God wants and she prays that someday, she’ll be able to share her blessings and knowledge through teaching students in a school.
Her ultimate dream is to put up a school especially for prosthetics and cosmetics. Tita Cecille is 72 and retiring is far from her plans.
This was my first time working with her, and I definitely don’t want her to retire anytime soon. She is fun and awesome to work with.
Tita Cecille doesn’t seem to have a bad bone in her system. More power to you, Tita Cecille!
Have a great Sunday!!