Oh! Look! Another reality competition show!
Hardly. Did you not dog-dig the first season of Face Off when it premiered last year? What? You didn’t? Then you’re in for a surprise.
The ante has been up’d this season: $100,000 prize, $25,000 in make-up supplies and a new car — a hefty increase from last season’s mere $100,000 prize. The contestants know what the stakes are, what mistakes were made last year and (hopefully) how they can circumvent them. Because the judges (Oscar/Emmy winner Ve Neill, Optic Nerve Studios’ Glenn Hetrick and effects designer and director Patrick Tatopoulos) will be watching … and just as closely, if not more so, then they did previously.
No sooner did all 14 contestants get out of their cars and meet for the first time than they were launched into their first challenge: Create a character from head to toe in a mere 2½ hours. The self-imposed “grandpa” of the group at 43 years of age Jerry Macaluso walked away with that challenge by putting together something completely different than any of the other contestants. His pretty, pink elfin creation earned kudos from Ve Neill and season 1 winner Conor McCullagh (who was working with Ve on the upcoming The Hunger Games.) That little performance garnered Jerry a first episode pass from the elimination round. (Brea Joseph and her severely lacking “zipperman-coming-out-of-his-skin” secured her spot at the bottom of the heap.)
The fun began with the 3-day boys vs. girls Wizard of Oz challenge: A re-imagining of The Tin Woodman, The Scarecrow, The Cowardly Lion and The Wicked Witch of the West by the contestants. (You can see both groups’ final results here.) The coolest of the characters was the girl’s Scarecrow (or rather Tara Lang‘s Scarecrow, being she created the entire thing herself.) Blood, sweat and tears birthed a pretty impressive Cowardly Lion from the guy’s camp. Regardless of the fact both teams stumbled with their versions of The Tin Woodman, in the end it was the the gal’s take on The Wicked Witch of the West which won the judges’ praises, all three of them duly impressed with the ladies’ character. (Of note: Brea — at the bottom of the initial challenge — reasserted herself by receiving top congratulations for her Wicked Witch headgear in a nice turnaround.)
The end came quickly for Greg Lightner whose chest piece for The Tin Woodman was so craptastic it earned him a exit from Face Off.
Next week we delve into applications that need to hold up underwater. Seriously?!? Wow … things aren’t easy on this program, are they?
Notes:
Quote:
“Hairy metal is not good.” — Glenn Hetrick commenting on the guy’s Tin Woodman whose arms needed a shave
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on Jan 12, 2012 @ 12:24 EST5EDT
I have decided there is enough reality in my life, and I’m not watching this show. No, I don’t care that I did stage make-up in college and assisted with several shows since. No, I’m not going to be sucked into this by all the amazing techniques that were not even possible back then. No, I am not setting aside even one more hour a week for a competition I’m sure I would have opinions about even if it is judged by experts in the field who would teach just in their critiques.
No, no, no, I am not going to be dragged into this by Michael Noble even if I did listen to him and follow The Voice last season. My decision is firm.
By the way, when did you say this show was aired?
Last night I caught the encore and, as a result, stayed up way too late.
After seeing how hard Tara worked ALONE, I was disappointed the judges didn’t give her the top spot. The detail of the headpiece they all gushed over was lost on my old fashioned, non-HD television, I guess.
Jerry is going to get on my nerves uber fast if he remains consistent with his “these people are babies compared to me” mentality.
Glenn Hetrick certainly doesn’t seem like an easy person to deal with. I can understand where Nyela is coming from though, there’s just so many contest reality shows out there. But even so, I think Face-Off and TUF are worth the time. I’m psyched for this season too. I think it’s going to be better than the previous, because not only have the producers had some time to dial the show in a bit, but I also finally upgraded to high definition, so I can actually see all the detail that’s going into the makeup! It’s kind of like I finally washed the Vaseline off my contacts or something, it’s incredible. As you probably guessed I’m not an early adopter of technology, LOL, which is kind of odd since I work at DISH. But that’s what finally got me to make the switch. Their HD Free for Life promotion was just such an awesome deal that I ran out of excuses not to upgrade, and now I’m wishing I’d done it a year ago.
Speaking of Judges I wouldn’t brag about being Lady Gaga’s designer ughhhhhhh…..