An Interview With Creature FX Master Howard Berger
Today's monster maker interview features Academy Award-winning character creator Howard Berger, co-founder of KNB EFX Group. In our exclusive chat with Howard, he reveals his monster-making origins, his history with mentor Stan Winston, and his vision for the future of Creature FX.
CLICK on the video above to watch the FULL INTERVIEW.
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- Howard Berger’s Love for Monsters
- Meeting His Idol, Stan Winston
- Co-founding His Own Studio, KNB EFX Group
- Seeing the Next Generation of Monster Makers
- Keeping Practical FX In The Family
- Creating Award-winning Effects
- Passing the Baton to Future SFX Artists
Howard Berger’s Love for Monsters
Academy Award-winning special effects makeup artist, monster maker, and animatronic character creator Howard Berger grew up in Los Angeles loving movies, special effects makeup, and monsters. "I just grew up watching monster films and wanting to be a monster and loved monsters. I had a Dracula cape and would run around the neighborhood with just the Dracula cape and shorts and cowboy boots. I had knocked out my front teeth, and all I had were my canines, and I'd run around like Dracula all the time.”
(Academy Award-winning character creator Howard Berger.)
Meeting His Idol, Stan Winston
He met his idol, the legendary character creator Stan Winston when he was 13 years old. Winston promised to give Berger a job at Stan Winston Studio after he graduated high school with the understanding he maintained high grades and proved his attention to detail. Five years later, Winston lived up to his promise and hired Berger at 18 years old to work at Stan Winston Studio on Predator, Aliens and Pumpkinhead.
(Budding special makeup and creature effects maestro Howard Berger poses with some of his early character creations.)
Co-founding His Own Studio, KNB EFX Group
In 1988, Howard co-founded KNB EFX Group, Inc. with Gregory Nicotero and former partner Robert Kurtzman, and over the past 23 years, they have become one of the most prolific Special Makeup Effects and Character Creation studios in Hollywood. Specializing in character prosthetics, animatronics, creature creation, and replica animals, Howard has over 800 feature film and television credits, including Inglourious Basterds, the Transformers Trilogy, Kill Bill 1 & 2, Predators, Splice, The Mist, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Water for Elephants, The Walking Dead, The Green Mile, and Tree of Life to name a few.
(Character creator Howard Berger gathers an army of KNB EFX Group creatures on the set of the Adam Sandler comedy Little Nicky.)
Seeing the Next Generation of Monster Makers
"I'm really looking forward to seeing what the next generation brings to the table. We can't do this forever. It's kinda like Willy Wonka, I can't live forever, I have to pass the Chocolate Factory to somebody. So I'm looking for that Charlie Bucket. And hopefully through the Stan Winston School of Character Arts, through excitement for monsters and movies that will happen.”
(Special effects character creator Howard Berger poses with two KNB EFX Group animatronic suit creature creations for The Chronicles of Narnia.)
Keeping Practical FX In The Family
Howard has 3 children Kelsey, Travis, and Jake. Travis Berger even makes a cameo as The Zombie in Howard’s lesson for the Stan Winston School of Character Arts, “How to Make a Zombie – Prosthetic 3D Transfer Makeup.”
(Award-winning special effects makeup artist Howard Berger hangs out with his friends, including the Oscar, Emmy, Saturn, and BAFTA winners.)
Creating Award-winning Effects
In 2006, Howard earned an Academy Award for Best Makeup for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. That same year, he also won the British Academy Award and Saturn Award for the film's prosthetic makeup. He's recently completed work on the remake of Fright Night with Colin Farrell, The Grey with Liam Neeson, and Disney's Oz: The Great and Powerful.
(KNB's Howard Berger touches up the animatronic face of the ruthless General of the White Witch's Army, Otmin (aka Shane Rangi).)
Passing the Baton to Future SFX Artists
For Howard, it's all about educating the next generation of special makeup effects artists and character creators and encouraging them to continue forward with their wildest dreams and hopes, as he has done. “We do need to pass the baton to keep this going, to keep the love we have for movies and monsters going. But it has to be to people who respect this industry, who love this industry, and who want to make the coolest, most badass monsters ever seen on film. And utilize all forms of technology, be it practical, be it digital, and who knows what's ahead in the future. That's what I'm really looking forward to, is seeing what's on the horizon."
Check out our course with Howard Berger: Zombie Makeup: 3D Prosthetic Transfer Application