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Mark Rappaport (born 1954) is an American
special make-up effects Prosthetic makeup also called special make-up effects and FX prosthesis) is the process of using prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects. Prosthetic makeup goes back to the beginning of film makin ...
artist. Working in film and theater, Rappaport and his company ''Creature Effects, Inc'' specialize in creating hyper-realistic make-up effects and animatronic animals, including the horse rode by Tom Cruise in '' The Last Samurai,'' and prosthetic makeup effects for ''
300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 (Roman numerals, CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, ...
'' and '' I Am Legend''.


Biography

Rappaport was born in Yokohama, Japan. At the age of three, his family moved to the Napa Valley in northern California. He graduated fro
Justin-Siena High School
in Napa and attended San Diego State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree. Upon graduation, he returned to Northern California and worked in law enforcement before meeting and working with Bob Hartman, a San Francisco
puppeteer A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden from ...
and street performer. His work with Hartman sparked an interest in creating effects for the entertainment industry and he pursued employment at
Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
. At ILM he worked on feature film projects, including ''
Innerspace ''Innerspace'' is a 1987 American science fiction comedy film directed by Joe Dante and produced by Michael Finnell. Steven Spielberg served as executive producer. It was inspired by the 1966 science fiction film '' Fantastic Voyage''. It stars ...
'' and '' Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home''. From ILM, Rappaport went to work with Chris Walas and created effects for films including '' The Fly II'' and '' Child's Play''.


Career


''The Last Samurai''

The production of ''The Last Samurai'' required an animatronic horse capable of performing stunt sequences that would put a real horse and rider at risk of great injury. Rappaport was commissioned to build a horse that could seamlessly replace Tom Cruise' real horse for those scenes. Rappaport said "It's probably the most sophisticated horse or animatronic creature ever made for film. It cost $1.5 million to make. It gallops in place. It reared up. It fell over. And it looks completely real."


''300''

Rappaport (creature effects supervisor) and Shaun Smith (makeup effects supervisor) teamed up to create the world of effects for ''300''. This extensive body of work included prosthetic makeups, animatronic animals, props, weaponry and costume elements. In addition to the amazingly lifelike horse effects for this film, Rappaport created an animatronic wolf puppet for scenes where young Leonidas faces off with the predatory animal. "The filmmakers shot interactions of the practical puppet attacking young Leonidas in a narrow rock crevice. Veteran creature effects supervisor Mark Rappaport and his team mechanized the puppet with: eye-blinks; head, neck, brow, jaw and tongue movement; saliva tubes and glowing eyes."^Cinefex, Issue 109, April 2007, A Beautiful Death, Joe Fordham http://www.cinefex.com/


''I Am Legend''

For ''I Am Legend'', starring Will Smith Mark Rappaport developed full body silicone makeups for the primal, aggressive beings known as "Darkseekers". The translucent makeup creates the look of zombie infection and a spiked metabolism desired by director Francis Lawrence. The makeups were to be applied to very thin performers to create the look of zero body-fat and protruding veins. The makeups included rotten teeth dentures and fully dilated pupil contact lenses. In addition to the creature makeups, Mark's studio created animatronic puppets of the likeness of "Sam" the German Shepherd, a digitally scan model for the infected dogs, scar and knife wound moulage for Will Smith and numerous other effects for the production.


Other Projects

After designing and producing a rideable animatronic horse for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, Mark's Studio created a second ride-able horse for
Bedtime Stories A bedtime story is a traditional form of storytelling, where a story is told to a child at bedtime to prepare the child for sleep. The bedtime story has long been considered "a definite institution in many families".Dickson, Marguerite Stockma ...
. The motion and animatronic features of the two horses were enhanced and refined for True Grit and further developed for Cowboys & Aliens. The animatronic horses are used where the action (if performed by real horses) might put the riders or horses at risk of harm or injury.


Filmography

* '' The Revenant'' (2015) (animatronic horses) * '' Cowboys & Aliens'' (2011) (animatronic horses) * '' True Grit'' (2010) (animatronic horses) * '' Shutter Island'' (2009) (blood effects) * '' Dance Flick'' (2009) (makeup effects and animatronic effects) * '' Don't Look Up'' (2009) (makeup effects and animatronic effects) * '' The Awakened'' (2009) (creature effects) * ''
Bedtime Stories A bedtime story is a traditional form of storytelling, where a story is told to a child at bedtime to prepare the child for sleep. The bedtime story has long been considered "a definite institution in many families".Dickson, Marguerite Stockma ...
'' (2008) (animatronic effects) * ''
Soul Men ''Soul Men'' is a 2008 American musical comedy film directed by Malcolm D. Lee, and starring Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sharon Leal and Sean Hayes, released on November 7, 2008. It was one of three Bernie Mac films that were released after ...
'' (2008) (makeup effects) * ''
Meet the Spartans ''Meet the Spartans'' is a 2008 American parody film written and directed by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. The film is mainly a parody of the 2006 film ''300'', although it also references many other films, TV shows, people and pop cultura ...
'' (2008) (creature effects supervisor) * '' Bratz: The Movie'' (2007) (creature effects) * '' Shooter'' (2007) (animatronic effects) * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian'' (2008) (creature effects) * '' I Am Legend'' (2007) (creature effects supervisor) * '' The Comebacks'' (2007) (animatronic effects) * '' The Departed'' (2006) (blood effects) * '' Epic Movie'' (2007) (creature effects supervisor) * ''
300 __NOTOC__ Year 300 (Roman numerals, CCC) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Constantius and Valerius (or, less frequently, ...
'' (2007) (creature effects supervisor) * '' In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale'' (2007) (animatronic effects) * '' Date Movie'' (2006) (creature effects supervisor) * '' Flicka'' (2006) (animatronic effects) * '' Four Brothers'' (2005) (animatronic effects) * '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005) (animatronic effects) * ''
The Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...
'' (2004) (animal props) * '' The Last Samurai'' (2003) (hero animatronic horse) * '' Seabiscuit'' (2003) (animatronic effects) * '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (mechanical props) * '' Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins'' (scan reference and eyeline models) * '' The Core'' (bird effects) * '' Punch-Drunk Love'' (gloves for Adam Sandler) * '' Scary Movie 2'' (makeup effects and props) * '' No Such Thing'' (makeup effects) * '' Pterodactyl'' (creatures and makeup) * ''
Dragonfly A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threate ...
'' (animatronic baby) * '' Backlot Murders'' (makeup and props) * '' T2 3-D: Battle Across Time'' (animatronic mechanical arms) * '' Predator 2'' (weaponry) * ''
Army of Darkness ''Army of Darkness'' is a 1992 American comedy horror film directed, co-written and co-edited by Sam Raimi, co-produced by Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell and co-written by Ivan Raimi. Starring Campbell and Embeth Davidtz, it is the third i ...
'' (animatronic skeletons)


See also

* Prosthetic makeup *
Special effect Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wor ...
*
Animatronics Animatronics refers to mechatronic puppets. They are a modern variant of the automaton and are often used for the portrayal of characters in films and in theme park attractions. It is a multidisciplinary field integrating puppetry, anatomy a ...
* In-camera effect


References


Sources

# https://web.archive.org/web/20110714155359/http://www.narniafans.com/archives/tag/mark-rappaport # http://www.losangelesopera.com/artist/rappaport.mark.aspx
Animatronic reindeer replace living variety in Narnia film

300: The Set Visit!


External links


Creature Effects, Inc. Web site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rappaport, Mark Special effects people 1954 births Living people San Diego State University alumni Animatronic engineers