Liz completed our Special Effects program. She currently works as a curator at a wax museum. This is what Liz has to say about her experience at AMUA.
Q: What sparked your interest in AMUA’s special effects program?
A: I was most interested in the AMUA because it was close to my home, but after visiting and a lot of praying I knew it would be better than traveling West where most of the other makeup effects schools were and I liked the smaller learning environment.
Q: How do you use the techniques learned in class in your work life currently?
A: I use all of the techniques I learned with Ben in my job as Curator at the Hollywood Wax Museum in Pigeon Forge because I take care of the wax figures. So I use makeup application, molding, fiberglass, and prop making techniques that I learned at school every single day!
Q: Would you ever come back for a different course? or was the SFX course perfect for you and your career goals?
A: I would absolutely love to do the Wig making course because I have to deal with wigs quite a bit here at the museum.
Q: Did you do any of the sfx summer workshops?
A: haven’t gotten the chance to do any of the workshops but would love to do it should I get the chance.
Q: What stuck out to you about special effects/What encouraged you to choose special effects over the other courses?
A: Special Effects was my sort of therapy, I grew up in a theatre/film background and always wanted to make the magic happen. When I got older I was having quite a hard one with stuff going on in my life and makeup effects were my distraction and therapy to help me feel in control of something, it’s a great feeling.
Q: Are you happy with the sfx course as a whole? What was your favorite part?
A: The FX course was absolutely amazing, My class and I were all very close and Ben was awesome. He’s always still watching out for all of us and makes sure we get the support we need. Final projects were definitely the highlight because it was so much work and so tiring but extremely rewarding when it all came together.