Making It Up For TV

by Jordan Moncada — 09/15/2011
Television makeup involves more than just lipstick and blush. Special effects makeup artist Matthew Mungle is responsible for some of television’s most gruesome faces. Mungle has been working in the television and film industry for over thirty years. He has won six Emmy Awards, one Academy Award and has received twenty-seven award nominations.
In film, there are several months to prepare a design, but in television there may be only three to four days to complete a project. Although Mungle enjoys working on films, he prefers the fast pace of TV. Luckily he is not the only one working his designs. Mungle has a team of artists to help him assemble bodies and craft prosthetics.
As a special effects makeup artist, Mungle says he designs, “Anything to do with bodies, special props, makeup, however they want to kill a person during the week, doing the episode.” He is currently working on “CSI,” “NCIS,” “House” and “Criminal Minds.”
As the television industry advances, Mungle has learned to work within the new realms. “They keep coming up with different things for us to do, and different ways to kill people, or different designs of makeup they want us to do.”
Check back in October for WEBN’s half-hour special, “The Emmy Experience.”