ElectricBoogaloo March 18, 2015 Share March 18, 2015 The Artists must make their Imaginary Friends from their childhood as a film character or creature. Link to comment
hincandenza March 22, 2015 Share March 22, 2015 Clip: I'm predicting that Emily will go home this week. Not really, but I've been 0 for whatever so far on my predictions, so I figured I'd reverse-jinx it. :) Actually, it was Adam who impressed me in that clip; he's been growing in my estimation since early in the season, and between the superhero challenge last week and in this clip where he was interacting with that kid about "Lazor", I think he'll do well. The sketch of his idea (at 1:54) looks a lot like a beefed up Stitch from "Lilo & Stitch", and I rather liked it. Link to comment
Corporal Agarn March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Color me shocked, but Adam is swiftly becoming one of my favorite Face Off contestants ever. The past three episodes have really made me sit up and take notice of him. The "then I taught him about copyright infringement" line made me cackle. Missed the first half of this episode. I'm eager to catch his actual interactions with that kid. 6 Link to comment
diebartdie March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 OMG Ve make up your mind!!! I loved Adam's creation, it was REALLY great. 4 Link to comment
Quilt Fairy March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 (edited) The right person won and the right person went home. I was so sure they would pick Julian over Ben just to keep Anthony on the show. I thought Julian's was actually pretty interesting but when they showed a close-up I realized that it was just a skull and not a zombie. Of course, how do you do a child-friendly zombie? I figured Emily would be safe when we didn't see her with Mr. Westmore. Edited March 25, 2015 by Quilt Fairy 2 Link to comment
Rhetorica March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Adam's was my favorite. I think any kid, boy or girl, would enjoy seeing a toy like that in a Pixar film. Darla's was pretty but didn't make me giggle like Godzilla . Poor Ben. His little boy loved it but he just tried too much. Anthony's gone. I'm so glad the show didn't set it up for contestants from each team to be in the finale. The producers trusted their judges. 7 Link to comment
Portia March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was kind of sad to see Sir Smellsafart go home on this challenge. I had really high hopes for Ben's design based on his sketches--I was getting a great Banana Splits vibe, if anyone besides me is old enough to get that reference--but he was overly ambitious and his final execution sucked. I'm glad his little partner liked it; it was too cute when he said, "It's funny, right?" Anyway, I felt like Julian's was equally bad and that Julian's overall performance has been less memorable, so I would have given Ben another chance. Big YES on Adam's win! I'd predicted it was going to be a hot mess, but he did a phenomenal job of turning it into a cohesive piece. 7 Link to comment
Maelstrom March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 (edited) Nooooo, not Anthony!!! So sad to see him go, he's one of my absolute faves. Both genuinely talented and a genuinely nice guy. Sniff. It's been a privilege to be able to watch him on Face Off again this season. We love you, Anthony! Oh yeah, Ben left too. Kind of sucks actually, after all the work he put into this week's makeup even though it wasn't his best look. I would've sent Julian home instead also, considering he's yet to distinguish himself in any way, to me at least. I'm with Corporal Agarn, Adam has really become a standout this season - I still think it's a shame his superhero didn't win last week, but tonight's makeup more than earned him a win (I could've sworn he'd won already, but I guess he'd just been in top looks instead). He certainly seems to have a great sense of humor. It does seem ironic that this week would've been a perfect week for Emily to go all big and colorful. Seems like she's lost her mojo a bit the past few episodes - I hope she can get it back in time to make it into the finale. As of now, I'd bet Adam's a shoo-in for the finale, with Logan a strong contender. Darla could make it if she doesn't choke again, as could Emily. And I've just had to stop and rack my brain to figure who the remaining contestant was. Sorry, Julian. Edited March 25, 2015 by Maelstrom 5 Link to comment
niklj March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 BOOOOO I am still so sad that Anthony got all the weakest people on his team during the initial picks. That all his hope was riding on Ben...sheesh, that's tough. Nothing Ben's done has ever really impressed me, so all I'll say is Dina was one of Anthony's protegees and she won last season, so Anthony can drop his mic right now. The diamond makeup was good. The bunny makeup looked kind of creepy, why put so much attention on how the character would feel like? Emily needs some sleep. Next week looks awesome, though. 1 Link to comment
frogzapper March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Sad to see Anthony eliminated, but Ben did have the worst creation by far, I think. So rough and unfinished looking -- too bad he bit off more than he could chew. But at least his kid seemed to like it. It was nice to see that all of the kids seemed to like their creations. Adam did a great job on his toy-eating monster - loved it! And his model really sold it. Speaking of his model, I never noticed before how cute he is, mmm! I thought it was so adorable when he ran over to Adam's station and looked so excited to be cookie monster, hehe! Adam really seems to finding his groove in this latter part of the season. And it's good to see Darla back on track. I'm hoping for an Adam, Emily, Darla finale at this point. 2 Link to comment
GaT March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Boring challenge, I don't care what kids want to see. 3 Link to comment
seacliffsal March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 In my view a weakness of this type of challenge is the diversity of the wants of the clients. Ben's client just wanted so many elements compared to others (and he seemed very adamant about what he wanted). And I think this confuses the contestants-should they please the 'client' or the judges? We, as viewers, know that the answer is always please the judges. However, the show makes it hard as it's difficult to say no to children, especially as the children would be at the judging. Yep, please the judges but leave your child client in tears or tantrum? Not an easy choice especially as the contestants must be exhausted at this point. I thought Logan's mermaid was more interesting and better than Darla's diamond face. Adam definitely deserved this win. 2 Link to comment
Bella March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I thought Julian's was actually pretty interesting but when they showed a close-up I realized that it was just a skull and not a zombie. Of course, how do you do a child-friendly zombie? My name is Bella, and I watch too much TV. ("Hi, Bella!") On Project Runway, they have client-based challenges each season, and Tim Gunn often tells designers who are going astray that they need to adapt the clients' requests. Julian could have done a doll-like head (to be recycled next week) as a sort of Raggedy Andy gone punk, with stitches for the mouth, etc., and made the kid happy while doing a better job for the judges. I felt like he, Ben, and some of the others took the kids' requests too literally. Ben's client just wanted so many elements compared to others (and he seemed very adamant about what he wanted). And I think this confuses the contestants-should they please the 'client' or the judges? We, as viewers, know that the answer is always please the judges. However, the show makes it hard as it's difficult to say no to children, especially as the children would be at the judging. Yep, please the judges but leave your child client in tears or tantrum? Not an easy choice especially as the contestants must be exhausted at this point. I kept thinking that Ben should have said something like "I'm not supposed to make more than one head, so let's talk about what you want on the one head," deflecting his need to make a manageable character onto the judges' preference. His kid probably would have gone along with it, since children that age are accustomed to being directed by adults with mysterious rules. 6 Link to comment
diebartdie March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Also, those kids were most likely making up their imaginary friend right there on the spot so when it came time for the reveal, all the artists really needed to do was something generally similar to what the "clients" asked for because I doubt many of those kids even remembered what they asked for anyway. Especially Ben's kid, he seemed so very young he would have please with just about any silly, colorful thing. Ben's thing reminded me of the season where that guy kept making HUGE GIANT BID ASS creations, there was a troll challenge that season but each troll had to have at least two heads and he made a freekin 10 foot tall troll with three heads plus the model who was being held by the troll....maybe they weren't trolls, maybe they were giants? I dont exactly remember the parameters of the challenge but that guy made an amazing, giant creation in that three days so things like that can be pulled off it just takes really excellent time management and Ben failed big time. 1 Link to comment
Linderhill March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 there was a troll challenge that season but each troll had to have at least two heads and he made a freekin 10 foot tall troll with three heads plus the model who was being held by the troll....maybe they weren't trolls, maybe they were giants? I remember that challenge. It was giants and the Jack and Beanstalk/Giant Slayer (whatever the title was) movie was coming out. I think the guy you're talking about was Eric (although some of us called him Zorg because of his haircut and there was another Eric). I think that was the only challenge he won that season. Every challenge he tried something huge and he had a tough time time-managing. I was hoping that they would show Laura's kid monster from her season. It was her first win for her first season. Link to comment
Canada March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I think Ben and Julian both suffered from poor mentoring this episode. Ben should have been told to edit it way down because there's no way to do all that work and do it well. Anthony just went along with his madness. And Julian was just given poor advice by Laura. His original idea was a good one and he just needed to be told not to make it too gory; he seemed to completely change his idea, though, which didn't work out well. Loved, loved, loved Logan and the little girl. His dead-pan sense of humour just cracks me up. When he was talking about pink mermaids, I couldn't stop laughing. The end result wasn't all that great, but it wasn't terrible. Maybe I turned away for a minute, but I completely missed what caused Emily's meltdown. She just suddenly started crying. Weird. Didn't like her look at all, which surprised me since she was so enthusiastic. And it seemed like the perfect challenge for Miss Glitter Princess. The head on her pink rat creation just scared me. Why is it that Darla hasn't been called out yet on the fact that she makes the same creation every week? Emily was called out on the big hair thing, so Darla deserves to be called out on making the same face/mask every week. I haven't like any of her stuff for weeks now and this week is no different. Didn't like it. Loved Adam's work last week and loved it again this week! He is suddenly a front-runner for me. While everyone else seems to be going down, he's suddenly making these awesome creations and seems to be having a lot of fun with it. Go Adam!! My ideal final three - Adam, Logan, and Emily (as long as she stops the crying and making weird pink rat creations). 3 Link to comment
Monty9 March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Agreeing with most of the posters so far that Adam's was really incredible. I also thought that they would send Julian home but obviously I couldn't be totally surprised that Ben got the boot given what he put out. Ben was always a tough nut to crack for me. The little tearyness and legitimate appreciation of Anthony finally kind of let me into the fact that he had some actual softness to me for the first time. Before that if you had said to me that Ben had a)Dead Hookers b)Elaborate homemade sculpture depicting the Spartan battle of the 300 OR c) Teddy Bears set in obscene poses in his basement I would have believed any of them. 4 Link to comment
Pandora March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Ben was always a tough nut to crack for me. I thought it was kind of ironic Ben's pitfall was trying too hard to please the kid. He's shown a tendency to simply do what he wants, like the camouflage in the bodypaint challenge, or last week's super villain. I find it interesting he couldn't say no to a child. I think he would have a hard time in the industry since his weakness seems to be taking other's creative ideas and melding them with his own talents/ability. 3 Link to comment
mla40 March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I was so distracted by McKenzie's jeweled nipple on her dress that I don't even know who won. 3 Link to comment
Nutjob March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Loved, loved, loved Logan and the little girl. His dead-pan sense of humour just cracks me up. When he was talking about pink mermaids, I couldn't stop laughing. The end result wasn't all that great, but it wasn't terrible. I loved this, too, and that he didn't bristle at making a sparkly pink mermaid. Really, all the contestants were great with those kids, so kudos to them. 3 Link to comment
carrps March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 (edited) I loved this, too, and that he didn't bristle at making a sparkly pink mermaid. Really, all the contestants were great with those kids, so kudos to them. And the kids were good, too. I was so afraid of overly coached fakey actor kids, but this group seemed like real kids. Ben's kid was so funny. I didn't get his age, but he looked to be the youngest there. I agree that Ben went too far in taking on board ALL his ideas. And Anthony just being the model in the suit didn't help him. But, sniff, I love Anthony and was really sad to see him go. I think Adam has great ideas and was a well-deserved winner this week. But I think his final products have a tendency to be a little clunky and sloppy-looking. It was more noticeable to me with his last two works, because the concept and design were so good, but the application a little half-assed. Darla did a much better job than I expected with the diamond face. That could have gone so wrong so easily. I kinda get Emily's angst. When I get/got frustrated at work a good cry could do wonders. Not in front of everyone -- that's why I liked that Emily just took it outside, cleared her head and got on with it. Also glad the cameras didn't follow her. Good work, show! Edited March 30, 2015 by carrps 3 Link to comment
jbrecken March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Adam's reminded me a little of the old toy My Pet Monster. I really liked that they brought the kids to the reveal stage to see the final creations. They didn't do that with the child challenge in the past season. 1 Link to comment
Mr. Simpatico March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Sad to see Anthony eliminated, but Ben did have the worst creation by far, I think. So rough and unfinished looking -- too bad he bit off more than he could chew. But at least his kid seemed to like it. It was nice to see that all of the kids seemed to like their creations. Ben was a sure-fire goner. His work looked the worst and was unfinished. I know the show has sometimes made it obvious who the top look winner was going to be but has there ever been a case of only one bottom look? I don't think so. Just like last week with Emily, I'm pretty sure as lackluster as Julian's was, he was in no danger of going. It's tough for Anthony, but he had a bad draw of contestants I guess. Also he probably should have reined in Ben more. I know you want to give the kid what he wants but looking at the reaction of all the children (who did not all get what they wanted - even Julian's kid seemed thrilled and that was far from what he described) I think if Ben had concentrated on something that sorta-looked like what his kid described (maybe three heads, a tail, and wings) he would have been thrilled. Ben's kid seemed to think that unfinished mess was "cool" as it is. I know Laura may have done Julian no favors by telling him to avoid the ultra-gruesome (though I'm pretty sure if he done it the judges would have roasted him for that as well in a kid challenge) but if it was his idea to go with the skeletal look and the bone mohawk than that's what really doomed him. None of that said kid or zombie (he could have totally kid-friendly with a kind of hapless funny zombie like the kind of Scooby Doo). Link to comment
GaT March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 (edited) I felt like he, Ben, and some of the others took the kids' requests too literally. I think that was the whole point of the challenge. In their business, they don't create things for themselves & then people buy them, they are told what to create by a client, & the client doesn't necessarily have a reasonable request. It was their job to either explain why something the client requested couldn't be done (like not enough time for 3 heads) or to do what they wanted. Maybe I turned away for a minute, but I completely missed what caused Emily's meltdown. She just suddenly started crying. Weird. It was the old reality show trope "I miss my family!" because being on a reality show away from your family, & never seeing them again is pretty much the same thing. Edited March 25, 2015 by GaT 4 Link to comment
FormerMod-a1 March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I thought it was the kids description to have half the skin off the face and that's why Julian ended up with the half skull thing. That said, I don't think he executed that well anyway (the half skin/half skull thing). Link to comment
diebartdie March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 Why is it that Darla hasn't been called out yet on the fact that she makes the same creation every week? Emily was called out on the big hair thing, so Darla deserves to be called out on making the same face/mask every week. I haven't like any of her stuff for weeks now and this week is no different. Didn't like it. Nevil brought it up when the judges were taking their up close look but then didnt mention it to her at all which I thought was weird, she REALLY needs to stop doing that, it looks stupid. 2 Link to comment
Shannon L. March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 (edited) I loved this, too, and that he didn't bristle at making a sparkly pink mermaid. Really, all the contestants were great with those kids, so kudos to them. And the kids were good, too. I was so afraid of overly coached fakey actor kids, but this group seemed like real kids. Ben's kid was so funny. I didn't get his age, but he looked to be the youngest there. I agree that Ben went too far in taking on board ALL his ideas. I usually lurk here, but I wanted to highlight this (and the others who mentioned how great Logan was with his client). I thought it was great when she kept piling it on and he said seriously, but with enough levity in his voice, "how long do you think I have to make this?". Her response was to giggle and then retract a couple of ideas. I liked all of the kids and Adam, who is also becoming a favorite of mine, had my favorite final design, but Logan's was my favorite collaboration of the night. Edited March 25, 2015 by Shannon L. 4 Link to comment
nottopbravo March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I was so distracted by McKenzie's jeweled nipple on her dress that I don't even know who won. Placement is the key. 1 Link to comment
frenchtoast March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 It was the old reality show trope "I miss my family!" because being on a reality show away from your family, & never seeing them again is pretty much the same thing. I cut her a lot of slack about her mini-breakdown. She is only 18/19 and this is probably the toughest thing she's ever done. She had a moment where she felt overwhelmed and it all hit her, she took a bit, listened to Laura, and came back and didn't harp on it. She's at the age where she would start leaving the nest, but this is much more difficult as they don't have any contact, or at best, minimal contact. That's a big change, and as much as she is ready, at that moment it was just too much. She's acted a lot more mature and less whiny than others older than her. I usually lurk here, but I wanted to highlight this (and the others who mentioned how great Logan was with his client). I thought it was great when she kept piling it on and he said seriously, but with enough levity in his voice, "how long do you think I have to make this?". Her response was to giggle and then retract a couple of ideas. I liked all of the kids and Adam, who is also becoming a favorite of mine, had my favorite final design, but I Logan's was my favorite collaboration of the night. I loved Logan with the kid. He didn't talk down to her, but he did steer her so well. But I especially loved the talking heads: the deadpan Shiiiiiiiit. And then, "If she wants mermaids, that's what you give her." He really seemed to understand the challenge the best and was able to relay that to his kid. But he also had the right attitude of it may not be my favorite thing, but I'm going to my best. Loved him. And I loved Rayce's reaction to the mermaid tale. 8 Link to comment
yourdreamer March 25, 2015 Share March 25, 2015 I didn't remember Logan from anybody else in this season but between him and Adam in the past week (superheroes) and this week (imaginary friends), they are becoming my favorite duo. Logan's way of describing the challenges, with the deadpan/sarcastic lilt to his voice, is amazing. His creations both this week and last were some of my favorites of both the season and the series. Adam's superhero was awesome and this week's toy monster even better. I don't care who else is in the final three - those are my picks for the final two! 1 Link to comment
hincandenza March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 Interesting show; I honestly thought Emily was going home until we got to the stage, because she didn't get a Westmore section, her sketch looked bad, and the finished product showed once again that most people can't seem to sculpt bunnies on this show. They always make them too rat-like, with long snouts and never actually "cute". Although I also agree with "Make up your mind, Ve!", since it's pretty of unfair of Ve to ding her for not using big wigs, when she explicitly told her three times last week not to do that. I agree with the posters above that at 19, she handled her breakdown maturely: realized she was emotional, stepped out privately, and got herself focused again. It's the weepy-all-day breakdowns that are uncomfortable, but this wasn't it. I'm rooting for her, but over the past couple of weeks she's gotten off-track of her early excellence, whereas Adam and Logan are stepping it up. Even though she's been off her game lately, I still like Emily for the finale because I don't see Darla or Julian making that last jump to the "next level", whereas Logan and Emily and Adam have gotten there. Neville in particular is somehow smitten with Darla's sculpted shapes, but while the diamond woman was good this week- and those crystals were well done- I agree with Canada above that Darla's reliance on that smooth creamy face sculpt is becoming her "big wigs" habit. Neither Julian or Darla seem to have "awesome" in their toolkit, just "decent"; I almost never recall their pieces, whereas I can recall several of the others' off the top of my head. Ben's was a total mess, enough to go home when you're in top 6! Early in the season, being that ambitious might have gotten him a save, but at this point having unpainted pieces is unacceptable. Time management- and client management- is the advanced skill to have gotten down at this point since by now everyone left sculpts and paints well enough. Partly Anthony is to blame since he didn't really do much to dissuade Ben when that is the exact kind of advice you'd expect a returning Champion to offer... although I wonder how invested he was at that point (see the gif last week). I think if Ben had made a simpler body construction of just a very wide shoulder harness and draped fun fur, he could also have spent more time on the heads and done something like have the arms be the necks of the other two heads coming out of the body, so it looked more like a three-headed creature and less like a dude squatting in a throw rug while wearing two puppet heads on his hands. Adam's was once again a very solid concept and execution. I wish he'd gotten the head proportions right like in the sketch (not sure how it ended up undersized, do they not have rulers or measuring tape?), but it was still well beyond what anyone else churned out. He's becoming my second favorite this season behind Emily (and possibly first by the time the season ends, with how things are going) even though I lambasted him early on. I'd like to see a finale of Emily, Adam, and Logan winning in that order. 1 Link to comment
snakenax March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 not sure how it ended up undersized, do they not have rulers or measuring tape? They've only mentioned it a few times before on Face/Off, but there is fairly significant shrinkage capabilities in a foam or latex appliance. Especially for a gigantic solid piece like Adam's head this week. It came up a lot more on Jim Henson's Creature Workshop, which Adam's creation was really more in the wheelhouse of. But at that size, several inches of shrinkage once the whole thing cured up wouldn't be unheard of. 3 Link to comment
Kelda Feegle March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was kind of sad to see Sir Smellsafart go home on this challenge. I had really high hopes for Ben's design based on his sketches--I was getting a great Banana Splits vibe, if anyone besides me is old enough to get that reference--but he was overly ambitious and his final execution sucked. I'm glad his little partner liked it; it was too cute when he said, "It's funny, right?" Anyway, I felt like Julian's was equally bad and that Julian's overall performance has been less memorable, so I would have given Ben another chance. Big YES on Adam's win! I'd predicted it was going to be a hot mess, but he did a phenomenal job of turning it into a cohesive piece. Oh oh Ben's on Danger Island! Not even Chongo could save him - valiant attempt that could have gone well but didn't. Emily's bunny was creepy not cute and Darla needs to break out, Julian I never remember from week to week anyway. Anthony should have been more assertive I think even within the confines of his role. Adam's was deserving of the win (offspring of My Pet Monster and Sully from Monsters Inc.?) 3 Link to comment
hincandenza March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 (edited) They've only mentioned it a few times before on Face/Off, but there is fairly significant shrinkage capabilities in a foam or latex appliance. Especially for a gigantic solid piece like Adam's head this week. It came up a lot more on Jim Henson's Creature Workshop, which Adam's creation was really more in the wheelhouse of. But at that size, several inches of shrinkage once the whole thing cured up wouldn't be unheard of. That is fascinating, thanks for sharing! I wish we'd heard that on the show this episode when Adam was lamenting the size difference. Does anyone know if the live sync feature shows are doing now (with the website that plays along while you're watching) include tidbits like this? Edited March 26, 2015 by hincandenza Link to comment
Ruprecht March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 Regarding Emily's breakdown: I agree that she's young but I would also add that it's amazing someone hasn't done this every week. Occasionally I bake and decorate wedding cakes. That kind of creative stress over a short time frame is INTENSE. I thought she did the right thing and recovered nicely. Link to comment
LoneHaranguer March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 I thought Julian's was actually pretty interesting but when they showed a close-up I realized that it was just a skull and not a zombie. Of course, how do you do a child-friendly zombie? You make it look like a cartoon zombie, which is what he did, but he should have picked something a little more towards the traditional style; he was too afraid of it coming out gory and used something sanitized for very young kids. Link to comment
Primetimer March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 The facetestants each team up with a kid to bring children's fantasy pals to life. Read the story 1 Link to comment
Richness March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 Maybe it's just my aversion to kids, but I did not enjoy this episode. Deliberate use of kid cuteness just grates on my nerves. It happened the last time they did this challenge as well. It ends up producing weird work, so I hope they don't do this challenge again. However, I will take this over yet another monster challenge any time. I also wanted to slap Ve for daring to suggest Emily return to the big hair routine. While I can understand the reasoning for it, just no. Big hair suited an intergalactic beauty queen just fine, but not so much on a bunny that's not Jessica Rabbit. I've got to hand it to Emily for styling the rabbit ears down instead of sticking up like a TV antenna. But at the same time, I can't stand the sob fests. Therefore I'll blame the editors for including it. I'll give her some leeway since she is so young and lacks the emotional maturity that comes with age. Julian's "zombie" b-boy or whatever it was called just sort of went way off the rails. I'm not sure why the hair mohawk had to be replaced with a bone fin. WTF?!?!? It reminded me of the Robbie Sinclair muppet from the early 90s Dinosaurs show. At least it looked finished with a decent paint and make-up. Unlike Ben's unfinished dull-a-rama. I don't think the three heads is what did him in though. That huge cart of a lower body was just way too massive. I had to laugh when he was told to explicitly to paint the eyes as expressively as possible, and it looks like they barely had a single solid bad color. Maybe the mood around the shop will lighten up a bit with Mr. Sourpuss gone. Finally, congrats to Adam! I really enjoyed his fun monster. And Logan brought the fun snark in his Talking Head. 1 Link to comment
Kromm March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 (edited) I also wanted to slap Ve for daring to suggest Emily return to the big hair routine. I was very "WTF" at that point. I was totally like "how is this poor girl supposed to be psychic enough to know she took enough of a hit from the arbitrary critiquing of her wigs to go the other way now? It was the old reality show trope "I miss my family!" because being on a reality show away from your family, & never seeing them again is pretty much the same thing. I really fault the show for not reminding the viewers how painfully young this girl is. While I'd have hated if they'd dwelled on it, but other than maybe her first intro card, when they flashed her age next to her name, they haven't even mentioned it. Not that the show should be about that angle, but if you bother to show the mini-meltdown, then at least bother to explain WHY it happened. While it's true that most 19 year olds (EDIT - and 18 at the time the show was filmed) are away from home (in college), that doesn't make it any less true that most of them probably go through a version of this. Edited March 26, 2015 by Kromm 2 Link to comment
starri March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 (edited) I appreciated Ben's departure. Not so much that I was pleased to see him go (although he was my least favorite of remaining artists), but more because it affirmed the show's willingness not to use the reality show tropes and find some reason for him to stay around so each judge could have a horse in the race, but they played it straight. Right winner, right loser, no drama, no bullshit. I think it says a lot of good stuff about Emily that even with her massive case of the sads (I think we all had that reaction when we were freshman in college), she didn't let herself get thrown. She had a minute, broke down (not unreasonably, she's a long way from home), shook it off, and got back to work. I don't think I had that kind of maturity at that age. Hell, I don't know if I do now. I also appreciated Laura letting her have her moment, but then encouraging her to pull it together. I'm sure she wanted to avoid another Lainey situation, not that Emily is anywhere near that shrill. Loved Laura's shout-out to continuity, warning Julian from being too literal with his approach because of what had happened to Rod in her first season. ETA: And another non-monster weak. Well done, show. Edited March 26, 2015 by starri 2 Link to comment
Kaoteek March 26, 2015 Share March 26, 2015 (edited) Funny thing is, I liked that zombie b-boy. Way more than the mermaid, the diamond face, or that awful, awful rabbit girl. Now, what's killing me is that for some weird reason that i can't explain, no sir, i can't, the bottom two ended up being the two concepts least easy to work with given the parameters of the challenge : the three girls basically wanted princesses, easy enough to do. The three boys ? Monsters. And among those three, one was a hideous non-human three-headed monstrosity, one was exactly the antithesis of the challenge's "whimsical" parameter, and the third one was a big humanoid thing, aka guy in a suit (which totally deserved to win, even though the head was strangely bland and underpainted, compared to the rainbow-colored body). Sorry, but even if Ben clearly botched his 3-headed beast, or could have turned it into something more manageable at the concept stage I clearly would have been harsher on princess diamond-face or rabbit-girl rather than on the guys facing the biggest, hardest challenge. Or at the very least, that was the perfect moment to use the good ole "Ben & Julian, you're the bottom 2, but considering what the kids wanted, and the fact that they all seemed happy with it (except rabbit-girl's kid), this week, there will be no elimination." Edited March 27, 2015 by Kaoteek 3 Link to comment
paramitch March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I love this show. The fact that the show let Emily go outside and cry (and Laura to go console her) without pursuing her with a camera is just one more way to point out how classy "Face Off" is compared to other reality shows. And I'll always love the ways in which the contestants help each other -- they make the competition about the work, while forging friendships and even professional relationships that will continue to nurture them in the industry for years. It's awesome. It's also been fun to see Adam get into the groove. Instead of tiring and losing his creative edge, the competition seems to be really inspiring him to grow and push himself, and that's so fun to watch. He's also a really funny guy who seems at ease with himself -- I think he's going to do really well after this, regardless of whether he wins, because he appears to be so talented and easy to work with. Nooooo, not Anthony!!! So sad to see him go, he's one of my absolute faves. Both genuinely talented and a genuinely nice guy. Sniff. It's been a privilege to be able to watch him on Face Off again this season. We love you, Anthony! I love Anthony too -- he's such a nice, talented guy. I think he just had some bad luck in his pick of the contestants, and his team didn't come through. But he's such a smart and brilliant makeup artist, and he should be proud of what his team accomplished, and as others noted, he's already mentored one winner in Dina anyway. I think Ben and Julian both suffered from poor mentoring this episode. Ben should have been told to edit it way down because there's no way to do all that work and do it well. Anthony just went along with his madness. And Julian was just given poor advice by Laura. His original idea was a good one and he just needed to be told not to make it too gory; he seemed to completely change his idea, though, which didn't work out well. I disagree. I thought Laura was absolutely right to get Julian to go more kid-friendly in his design -- the problem was in the execution. The Judges' problem with it was simply that it was in no way a zombie, and they seem to be sticklers when it comes to finishing a concept. The creature's facial bone structure wasn't remotely humanoid (or zombie-like), and it seemed like the judges were really irritated by the bone mohawk simply because there is no natural way for it to exist. The bummer of it is, I actually think a bright mohawk of hair could have been cute and funny (and far less time-consuming for Julian).I also felt like Ben had proven so resistant in the past when confronted with feedback and suggestions (see last week's recap gif) that at this point Anthony had given up trying to get him to change his concepts and instead simply tried to support him in what he was predictably insisting to create. Ben is just intractable and I suspect it's going to make it hard for him to progress professionally. I think he would have a hard time in the industry since his weakness seems to be taking other's creative ideas and melding them with his own talents/ability. Yeah, I definitely agree with this regarding Ben. He's one of those contestants who week in and week out, just makes what he wants. The problem is that in makeup and effects work, your entire job is creating someone else's vision and being willing to adapt in order to create what they want, so like you say, I think he's gonna have a tough go professionally. I don't see Ve, for instance, hiring him on as she has so many other past contestants--he doesn't work well with others. Nevil brought it up when the judges were taking their up close look but then didnt mention it to her at all which I thought was weird, she REALLY needs to stop doing that, it looks stupid. But Neville's comment was actually praise, that he likes Darla's approaches to smooth or shaped faces. It wasn't a criticism. I loved Logan with the kid. He didn't talk down to her, but he did steer her so well. But I especially loved the talking heads: the deadpan Shiiiiiiiit. And then, "If she wants mermaids, that's what you give her." He really seemed to understand the challenge the best and was able to relay that to his kid. But he also had the right attitude of it may not be my favorite thing, but I'm going to my best. Loved him. And I loved Rayce's reaction to the mermaid tale. I did too--Logan was really funny and charming with the kid, and throughout the creation process. I didn't like the hues he chose for the mermaid face, though -- they looked a little too ghoulish to me, although I did love the coral on her face. Now, what's killing me is that for some weird reason that i can't explain, no sir, i can't, the bottom two ended up being the two concepts least easy to work with given the parameters of the challenge : the three girls basically wanted princesses, easy enough to do. The three boys ? Monsters. And among those three, one was a hideous non-human three-headed monstrosity, one was exactly the antithesis of the challenge's "whimsical" parameter, and the third one was a big humanoid thing, aka guy in a suit (which totally deserved to win, even though the head was strangely bland and underpainted, compared to the rainbow-colored body). I don't agree that the bottom two were any tougher conceptually than several others -- Ben simply seemed unwilling to edit his kid's wishes at all, unlike several others, and Adam's and Darla's to me were easily just as challenging. The guys seemed thrilled to get monsters (it was telling that Logan was incredibly nervous about the mermaid, on the other hand). I thought Darla's was one of the toughest challenges upon initial presentation, and I was pleasantly surprised at what she created. The stills on the SYFY site really do it justice -- the diamond face is so sharp and smooth, and the makeup is absolutely consistent. I especially loved that the crystal forms around the neck truly blended with the face. For me it's one of the best pieces I've seen on "Face Off."Ironically, I thought Julian was thrilled with the zombie opportunity, and that he actually did himself in by going too easily in the monster direction, simply because that's what he's comfortable with. Added to that a really problematic makeup that was not even a zombie, even in the cartoonish sense, and I felt his bottom placement was justified. 3 Link to comment
Kromm March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I love this show. The fact that the show let Emily go outside and cry (and Laura to go console her) without pursuing her with a camera is just one more way to point out how classy "Face Off" is compared to other reality shows. Yeah, but they still has her miked, and they still felt they had to put it in the episode edit, when in fact they didn't have to. Overall the show takes the Reality High Ground more often than most, but they're not perfect. For me, ideally the whole sequence, visibly shown or not, shouldn't have been in the show. That said, if they DID put it in, as I said before I think they needed to remind us that Emily is 18 years old (something they've barely acknowledged) so she didn't seem like a whiny wimp to viewers (something from not only this thread but our recappers husband that seems to have inevitably happened). An 18 year old fresh away from home is allowed to be homesick. A normal contestant, I think, most viewers will toss the bird at them onscreen and say out loud "suck it up, you signed up for this--stop whining!" 2 Link to comment
tobysmom March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Funny thing is, I liked that zombie b-boy. Way more than the mermaid, the diamond face, or that awful, awful rabbit girl. me too, I actually liked zombie b-boy, looked like he could fit into Monsters High. Loved Adams and yes, Sully from Monsters, Inc. is what he was reminded me of. :heart: Sully I, for some reason, am not of fan of Darla's work. I just watched this episode last night and was a little tired, so maybe I didn't look well enough, but wasn't her "friend" suppose to have button eyes and that is why she made the glasses? Maybe I didn't look well enough, but did she have button eyes? Put me in the Logan and Adam fan train and hope they are the top 2. Link to comment
starri March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 (edited) Sorry, but even if Ben clearly botched his 3-headed beast, or could have turned it into something more manageable at the concept stage I clearly would have been harsher on princess diamond-face or rabbit-girl rather than on the guys facing the biggest, hardest challenge. Or at the very least, that was the perfect moment to use the good ole "Ben & Julian, you're the bottom 2, but considering what the kids wanted, and the fact that they all seemed happy with it (except rabbit-girl's kid), this week, there will be no elimination." Sure, if the challenge has been to make the kid happy. It wasn't. The challenge was to take kid's imaginary friend and translate it into a workable makeup. Just literally doing what the kid wanted was the wrong tack; Laura said that to Julian directly, and she was right. I, for some reason, am not of fan of Darla's work. I just watched this episode last night and was a little tired, so maybe I didn't look well enough, but wasn't her "friend" suppose to have button eyes and that is why she made the glasses? Maybe I didn't look well enough, but did she have button eyes? She said--not incorrectly--that the girl wanting button-eyes were problematic, because that kind of thing tends to read as creepy (see: Coraline). So, as a compromise, she came up with the lorgnette with the button lenses. Edited March 27, 2015 by starri 1 Link to comment
tobysmom March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 She said--not incorrectly--that the girl wanting button-eyes were problematic, because that kind of thing tends to read as creepy (see: Coraline). So, as a compromise, she came up with the lorgnette with the button lenses. ah thanks, I did miss that, guess I was tired :) Link to comment
Reishe March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 (edited) Re: homesickness. On previous seasons, the finalists at the end have gotten a special treat: Skyping with their loved ones back home. These guys aren't just away from home, they're apparently not allowed to talk to their families and friends for the duration of the competition (which is understandable, given the need to control what the outside world knows). Going through the competition with only your "new friends" (who happen to be your competitors) to interact with, not having your friends and family to confide in and occasionally reassure you--that can be very hard.I've been very impressed with how Emily deals with things when they go wrong. She acknowledges the problem, pivots and moves on. In this case, she took a moment to regain her equilibrium without calling attention to herself and dove back in. I also loved absolutely everything having to do with Logan this week. Edited March 27, 2015 by Reishe 2 Link to comment
starri March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 I think I had a vague sense of this before, but until I looked at Laura's portfolio on the SyFy website, I hadn't quite remembered that in the very similar kid-inspired monster challenge from her first season, she won that week with a makeup that was not that dissimilar to what Adam put out. Link to comment
sourpickles March 27, 2015 Share March 27, 2015 Well, I can't say I'm sorry that Ben and his odd mustache thing are gone. His was just really bad in comparison to the other contestants. It looked rather like a Sesame Street/Muppet reject. I personally think the only thing that saved his buns in the Miss Intergalactic week was that he did try to go out of the box with the mold, even if it didn't turn out. He tried it again, and it flopped madly. Count me in for liking the zombie b-boy as well, even if it had skeleton overtones. The first thing I thought when I saw Darla's was "hey, wasn't this the same face she did on card week, except that was a heart?". I like the concept, it just seems her go to now. Poor Emily, I still love her and am rooting for her, but she needs to get it together, soon. At this stage, it takes one bad week and you're gone (unless they pull out the whole "look at what he/she has done this season" reading). I've always liked Logan, and I'm really glad to see Adam making a surge for it as well. Julian and Logan seemed like sleepers to me, and Logan is punking along, I'm just not so sure Julian can pull through. The kids thing was a little precious, but it could have gone a lot worse, methinks. So sign me up for next week, whatever mold/sketch/concept catastrophes may come! Link to comment
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