A fascinating exclusive interview with a master artisan, Make-up and Hair Designer STEVE NEWBURN, discussing the designing and crafting of the Bigfoot full body suit creations in the award-worthy SASQUATCH SUNSET.
SYNOPSIS: In the misty forests of North America, a family of Sasquatches—possibly the last of their enigmatic kind— embark on an absurdist, epic, hilarious, and ultimately poignant journey over the course of one year.
Directed by David Zellner and Nathan Zellner and written by David Zellner, SASQUATCH SUNSET stars Riley Keogh, Jesse Eisenberg, Christopher Zajac-Denek, and Nathan Zellner as the Sasquatch family.
A contender in this year’s Oscar race in the Hair & Make-Up category, with SASQUATCH SUNSET, STEVE NEWBURN is at the top of his craft, delivering award-worthy design blending special effects, prosthetics, and intricate hair work to create “lifelike, emotionally expressive characters” aka Sasquatches. Making this much more than a traditional Bigfoot tale, Steve’s masterful work with the creature suit design, allows for layers of emotionality and even humor in this dialogue-free production. Calling on all of his skills and years of experience, Steve’s work in SASQUATCH SUNSET is the richest, and most challenging, of his multi-decade career. Every frame of this film includes and showcases the work of Steve Newburn.
As STEVE NEWBURN dug into the nitty gritty of this production, he discussed the challenges and rewards of creating lifelike Sasquatch costumes, working with foam latex in an outdoor environment, noting the material’s breathability and durability. Facing extreme conditions, including freezing temperatures and water, required innovative drying techniques. As Steve highlights in our conversation, the actors’ performances are of paramount importance, particularly in conveying emotion through the eyes and mouths which called for innovation in the construction of the Sasquatch suits. Breaking down each step of the meticulous design process, including hair and fur textures to ensure each character’s distinct personality, the end result is masterful.
Going into detail on the design process, Steve discussed, among others:
- key design considerations; enhancing the characters’ movement and expressiveness by allowing for better movement in the suits by cutting out armpits and loosening joints; designing the facial appliances to be thin and unobtrusive, with careful sculpting to enhance the characters’ expressions, especially around the eyes and mouth. This allowed the actors to convey emotion and vocalize sounds effectively; avoiding the use of contact lenses which could have restricted the actors’ ability to express through their eyes, which was crucial for the character-driven nature of the film; incorporating separate appliances for the lower lip and chin to enable more natural mouth movement and vocalizations, including scenes of the Sasquatch characters eating; the ultimate goal of creating suits that were functional and durable while still allowing the actors to perform convincingly and bring the Sasquatch characters to life
- use of synthetic fur for the bodies and human hair for the heads, with different color palettes to blend into the woods; hair was styled to appear dirty and mangy, reflecting the characters’ wild lifestyle.
- significant challenges working with water and cold conditions; filming in water was around 40-41 degrees Fahrenheit, which was extremely cold
- employing strategies to keep the suits functional: wring out and squeeze the water out of the foam latex suits at the end of each day; used air movers with hoses to cycle air through the suits and help dry them out; a sauna at the house housing talent where they could put the suits to dry overnight; water itself was not overly abusive to the suits, which were made of forgiving foam latex. The bigger challenge was keeping the actors comfortable and the suits dry enough to be usable for the next day of filming in the cold river conditions
- the process of getting the actors in and out of the Sasquatch suits: zippers up the back of the suits from the tailbone to the face, as well as Velcro and snaps around the collar to allow for easier access; this allowed for 15-20 minutes time to get actors fully in or out of the suits, as they had to unglue the hands and feet; needed to be as user-friendly as possible, especially for Riley and Jesse who were new to working in such elaborate costumes
- importance of planning and preparation to ensure the functionality of the suits despite the challenging outdoor conditions; trees, bark, hiking trails, rocks, poison ivy, dirt, etc.
- and more!
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview 10/01/2024
SASQUATCH SUNSET is streaming on Paramount+, AppleTV and other streaming platforms.
