The following is an article taken from Fangoria, detailing the special effects done to create the realistic, and supremely gory melting scene in "Wax Magic." Most of this is a photo article, with captions detailing each step of the process. Since you cannot see the photos unless you get the magazine, I have tried to describe the photos to the best of my ability in [brackets]. Of course, you can always go back and watch the melting scene to get a better idea of what is being talked about. AN INSIDER'S GUIDE: MAKING "WAX MAGIC" When TV's "Friday the 13th" called for an actress to melt on screen, they couldn't fall back on run-of-the- mill TV FX. By: Dennis Curico Taken from Fangoria #83 Used without permission. No copyright infringement intended. Working in television is different than feature films because of the time restrictions. No kidding, eh? A show *has* to be on schedule, or there will be nothing to broadcast that week. My assignment from "Friday the 13th: The Series" FX supervisor Megan Hope-Ross gave me two weeks in which to create a full wax figure, a melted hand, the complete meltdown of a wax woman, and a room stocked with wax statues. A tall order, but not impossible. I could not do it alone. Luckily, there was a local guy trying to break into the business, Darren "Derwood" Perks. Between the two of us, I foresaw no problems. (Famous last words in the FX trade.) The hand, which had to be shot first, consists of a gelatin appliance that fits like a glove. The wax statue will take about another week to create; we cast a crew member's head and hands and used a mannequin for the body. An old trick, we filled the wax museum with actors made up to look like wax statues. All that remained was to melt a "living" wax statue down. The script of "Wax Magic," written by Carl Binder and directed by William Fruet, details the evil exploits of mad sculptor Aldwin (Angelo Rizacos) and his carnival of horrors. Aldwin brings a wax statue of Lizzie Borden to life, who picks up an ax and decapitates unlucky customers. Shock of shocks, it is revealed that the murderous waxwork is actually Aldwin's duped wife Marie (Susannah Hoffman). Understandably perturbed, the living waxwork throws herself to the flames. That's where I come in. Photo 1: [Susannah Hoffman standing next to a wax model of how she is to look while being melted] How do you go about turning the lovely woman on the right into the hideous dripping candle on the left? In this case, it all begins innocently enough, with a life cast -- a plaster or Ultracal 30 duplicate -- of terror trouper Susannah Hoffman. Photo 2: [Susannah with her hair pulled up into a high ponytail, wrapped in plastic, with Vaseline being applied to her face] As you can see in the previous picture, Susannah has long thick hair. while quite attractive, these trresses are hell to stuff under a bald cap. My solution: Give her a plastic-wrapped ponytail. In case you're wondering what I'm up to here, I'm furnishing Susannah with a good coat of Vaseline, so that the plaster bandage does not adhere to her skin. Photo 3: [Susannah with plaster on the back half of her head, neck, and shoulders] Since her long hair will be covering the back of her head and the scene will be shot from the front, I decide to use plaster bandages on the back of her head. This method does not give you as nice a surface to work from, but in this instance, that wasn't necessary. Photo 4: [Susannah covered in plaster] The back of the head didn't require detail, but I need every pore to show up from the face. To capture minute detail, I use alginate, a substance dentists employ to make teeth impressions. It's a powder that, when mixed with water, becomes a paste, which i then use to coat the face. We need to be sure that every part of the face is covered properly, so Megan applies one side while Derwood applies the other, and I handle the front. Danny Gibson makes sure that no alginate covers the nostrils; for some reason, Susannah insists on breathing. (You know these demanding actresses!) Photo 5: [The plastered Susannah with a layer of cotton pressed into the alginate] about seven minutes after the alginate is mixed, it begans to solidify. I then press cotton into the alginate so the plaster bandage backing I am about to put on will stick instead of pulling away when the cast is removed. Photo 6: [More plaster on Susannah] When the alginate solidifies, it becomes rubbery and wont hold its shape. We therefore need a coating of plaster bandages over it to support the plaster's weight when a positive is being made. Once the bandage hardens, it is customary to draw a funny face on the outside to humiliate the subject. i skipped that step on this one, since Fango is a very classy magazine. Photo 7: [Dennis pulling the plaster mold off of Susannah] Rescuing Susannah. as always, I hold my breath when pulling apart a life cast; I have a fear of not putting on enough Vaseline, which would make the front and back plaster bandage stick, forcing my subject to be fed intravenously for the rest of her life. Fortunately, my nightmare has yet to become a reality. The two halves seperate easily, resulting in a perfect negative of Susannah. Photo 8: [The postitive, and the negative it was made from] You can now see Susannah's positive made from the alginate negative. The positive was made by filling the alginate with Ultracal 30 (a gypsum cement commonly used for moldmaking). From this life cast, my creation will have it's beginning. Photo 9: [A model of "Susannah" or rather the model that was made in her likeness, sculpted into the final stage of melting] The pretty creature you se before you is Susannah, sans wax skin. (Remember guys, beauty is only skin deep.) This was made by first taking a silicon negative of the life cast and pouring melted clay into it. The result is a clay positive from which I sculpted what became known as the Rocket Zombie Monster. The reason a silicon negative is made is that alginate begins to shrink in just a few hours, whereas silicon retains its shape for many years. Another silicon is made of the clay sculpture and a fiberglass positive is taken; the head you see here is the fiberglass positive painted with acrylic paint. Photo 10: [Dennis sculpting a gelatin melted face on the Rocket Zombie Monster] While the acrylic paint dries on the Rocket Zombie Monster, I sculpt a melting Susannah face that she can wear as a gelatin applience for the second stage of the meltdown. I chose gelatin to represent wax because it's flexible and resembles wax when it melts. Another set of the same appliance was put on the Rocket Zombie Monster's face, which is what you see me doing here. To simulate our subject's lovely coiffure, I cut up an old wig and glue it to the head with melted gelatin. Photo 11: [Dennis applying the first stage of meltage to Susannah] Due to the problems inherent in shooting TV, the third stage of the melt down has to be ready to shoot before the first stage. When we have finished filming, I can remove the first stage makeup and put her in the second stage. Once the second stage is shot, all we have to do is have Susannah walk off camera, wheel in Rocket Zombie Monster, and we are ready to melt the face. Here is the first stage, where a little bit of gelatin is dripped on the face as it starts to melt. Photo 12: [A gelatin prosthetic is being applied to Susannah's face] This is stage two of the meltdown. I am applying a gelatin prosthetic piece to Susannah's face. Since it's a speaking part, it must be glued securely. Photo 13: [Susannah's face piece is getting a touch-up] The third stage makeup begins where the second stage ends, so it is very important that Susannah and the Rocket Zombie Monster look the same. Here I apply gelatin to blend the appliance into the hairline. Photo 14: [Susannah, in full second stage makeup, standing next to Rocket Zombie Monster, with makeup done to pick up where Susannah's left off] Is it live or is it Memorex? If they aren't exactly twins, it's because it has been decided that the Rocket Zombie Monster will be seen for the first time mid-drip, shich means that matching isn't as crucial as we originally thought. Photo 15: [Susannah in second-stage make up beginning to drip, on the set with the flame bars] Here we see the second stage makeup complete with flame bar which Jordan Craig is operating. Before each take, melted gelatin is dripped on the face. You can see it running down while Susannah delivers her lines. Melt, Lizzie, melt. Photo 16: [Rocket Zombie Monster in second stage makeup, being melted into third stage] A behind-the-scenes shot to show how it's done. Jordan and I weild flameless heat guns which melt the gelatin. Flame bars front and back give the illusion that she's surround on all sides by fire. If you think makeup FX are all fun and games, you've never worked with 2 feet of flame behind your back. (In case you're worried for her saftey, that's no longer our actress, but the Rocket Zombie Monster wearing her dress.) Photo 17: [Rocket Zombie Monster melting, with the right eye about to fall out] By this time, you must be wondering how the name Rocket Zombie Monster was coined. If you look closely, you will notice an eye falling out of its socket. This was achieved by putting a metal tube through each eye hole and out the back of the head. The tubes are connected to plastic tubing through which is pumped a bloody-looking methocel mixture. The eyes fit snugly into the front of the tubes, and when the methocel is pumped, it pushes the eyes out so that they run down the face. Always a crowd pleaser! The metal tubes sticking out the back of the head resemble rockets. Hence the name. Photo 18: [Further melting of the Rocket Zombie Monster, minus one eye] This is the aftermath of an eye dripping gag. The red stuff oozing from the eye socket is the methocel mixture. For the uninitiated, methocel is a food thickener made from wood pulp; when mixed with water, it becomes very thick and goopy. Add it to your Christmas list. Photo 19: [Rocket Zombie Monster almost completely melted down to the "flesh" with the other eye ready to fall out] Here we see the Rocket Zombie Monster begin to show through the melting flesh. Poised on the socket's edge is an eye about to plummet. Jump! Photo 20: [Rocket Zombie Monster completely "fleshless" on fire for the final destruction scene] Finally, to add insult to injury, poor Susannah bursts into flames and ends up a cinder. Now it's Jordan's turn to have fun as he torches two weeks of my life... and *laughs* while he does it! Finale.