Tinsley Studios Takes Over Tinseltown
By Dominique Banas 9-19-2012
Ryan Murphy’s creepy mini series “American Horror Story” isn’t eerie by nature. The show’s makeup department works hard to morph everyday characters into other-worldly beings.
Three times Christien Tinsley has been nominated for an Emmy in the special effects category. He is just one of the artists on the show. He owns Tinsley Studios which is the company responsible for creating all of “American Horror Story”‘s special effects and prosthetics.
Today Tinsley told WEBN in Los Angeles that the design concepts revolve around making Ryan Murphy’s vision a reality.
“He [Ryan Murphy] sort of explains the emotional response he wants to get out of the character….It could be a number of different things. Perhaps he is explaining something in colors he wants, maybe it’s the arch of the character so we have to somehow embody that arch into our makeup design as well.”
The creative process begins with the crew running through the script and marking everything that will be turned into effects. Once that is complete, a budget is submitted and a crew is assigned accordingly.
Tinsley has been nominated for his work in both “Glee” and “Nip//Tuck.” Four years ago he received a technical achievement award for his his 2D and 3D prosthetic transfers.
“Everything that I create is out of necessity. The only reason the 2D make up was created in the first place is because I needed continuity when we have 30 makeup artists,” Tinsley explained.
Tinsley Studios is currently working on the second season of the mini series. The second season is called “Asylum.” It is scheduled to premiere on October 17th on FX. The season will feature several guest stars, including Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine.