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Face Off: What a Dahl

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Face Off What a Dahl

It’s time for a whimsical challenge, and we all know how much I like whimsical challenges. Not very much.

Sometimes a contestant just doesn’t connect with a certain type of challenge, and they’ll say something like, “I’m just not into wizards,” or, “I’ve never seen a zombie movie.” Well I really know how they feel. I’ve got no interest in children’s books or Roald Dahl. I actively despise that Chocolate Factory movie and always have. So despite Dahl’s daughter Lucy being involved, I wasn’t really feeling this one.

That said, the challenge was pretty cool: apparently there are a bunch of creatures in one of his books that Dahl mentions but never gives a physical description of. Creatures that eat Oompa Loompas (I’m totally on the creatures’ side here). I don’t know if I can remember them all. Vermicious Knidd. Wangdoodle. Hornswaggler. Schnozz…something? The artists have to create these strange beasts and make them scary but also whimsical.

There was some mold drama this week, with Chloe’s failed cowl and Niko’s massive bodysuit. What’s interesting is something I’ve been noticing all season. At the end of the day, the artists are in a big rush to get their molds cleaned out. So they’ll have the piece run in foam and waiting the next morning. It used to be (if my memory is accurate) that they had to run the foam themselves. It seems the producers have a crew that comes in and runs foam after hours, giving the artists more time to focus on design and other creative aspects.

On to the makeups. I feel really terrible slagging people’s work sometimes. I can only manage it because it’s a contest, a judged show, and the point is to compare them against each other.

I liked Niko’s stalk-eyed chicken creature thing. It looked really goofy, yet had that hideous toothy mouth. The judges were totally right that the body piece lacked any detail or much of anything really. And Glen had the quote of the week without a doubt: “It looks like it would be subject to gang beating by Oompa Loompas.” Chloe’s venus fly trap was pretty neat. Let’s be honest, it was a vagina face.I thought it could have been saved though. Losing the cowl was a big setback, and the paint and spines she added occluded some of the detailed work she had accomplished.

George’s rabbit beast was well-done. It looked mean and threatening up close, but had a cute bunny profile. While the mouth in the chest worked conceptually, it also feels like contestants have gone to that well a few times too often this season. Daran’s frog creature was fun, especially the feather hair and eyebrows. Rashaads split black and white creature was brilliantly executed. However, again, that particular concept just turns up too often on Face Off.

I really liked Graham’s snouted safari guy. While kind of cute, it was also horrifying in its way. Reminded me a bit of Monty Python for some reason. It wasn’t the most detailed sculpt or perfect paint, but he pulled off something really weird, and he nailed the technical challenge of making that snout stay on.

It was great to see Tyler win. He’s always so positive and enthusiastic, and has done some incredible work. He might be the most consistent artist. I love watching him and Rashaad together, goofing around, helping and hassling each other. His work guy was extremely creative, I’ve never seen an earthworm monster before. It was a great blend of fabrication and sculpting. Absolutely loved the tuft of Loompa hair in the teeth.

I’m bummed that Chloe is gone, I’d have sent Niko home first, but what can you do?

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Posted by on Tuesday, March 18th, 2014. Filed under Dark TV, Headline. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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