Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

MastersFX Creates Creepy Doll Special Effects for Lakeshore Entertainment and STX Entertainments Feature Film the Boy

28/01/2016

Character FX artists from MASTERSFX (www.mastersfx.com ) have created the featured creepy doll Brahms, the title character starring in Lakeshore Entertainment and STX Entertainment's horror film, The Boy.

For The Boy, which opened on January 22nd, MASTERSFX's Vancouver Studio created the title character - a four-foot tall doll that seems to rule the household of a remote manor. In the film, a young American woman, Greta, (Lauren Cohan of AMC's The Walking Dead), takes a job as a live-in nanny in rural England. She comes to find out that the child she was hired to care for is not an actual 8-year-old boy, but instead, a life-sized porcelain doll named Brahms.

Company president Todd Masters said, We have a long-standing relationship with our friends at Lakeshore Entertainment, usually making vampires and werewolves for their Underworld films. But this time, creating Brahms,' was a completely different challenge.

We knew that this Brahms' doll needed to be more like a supporting cast member for Lauren Cohan to play against, rather than just serve as her prop, Masters adds, So we added all sorts of weird little forms and details within his features. We wanted to depict a good deal of realism with his appearance, even by his ability to make a simple turn of his head. Adding in cinematographer Daniel Pearl's (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) incredible lighting, he, director William Brent Bell, and especially producer Richard Wright were instrumental in helping us to present Brahms' simple, downplayed, yet truly bizarre features.

MASTERSFX's Vancouver Studio created several Brahams dolls to accommodate the needs of various stages of the production. MFX's Lead Artist Yukiyo Okajima sculpted Brahms' delicate features, and finished each life-like doll with her special touch. This was tough in some ways, as sometimes subtle' nuances can be more painstaking, than, say creating a Lycan - where we have fur and slime to help us hide some of our FX tricks. But with The Boy, our team has really outdone themselves by creating a truly creepy doll' for the movie ages, Masters concludes. Working on-set, MASTERSFX artist Tannis Hegan operated and maintained each of the Brahms dolls to ensure that each dolls' features would reflect the proper emotion and tone. Each doll was articulated as though a large stop-motion armature was inside it. In this manner, Hegan could allow Brahms to make the slightest of head turns, or move into a body pose that would convincingly portray the appropriate character's emotion as each scene required.

The Boy is a haunting thriller, filled with more than meets the eye - from director William Brent Bell (The Devil Inside.)

In addition to the company's work on The Boy, MASTERSFX also recently completed its special makeup FX contributions to Underworld: Next Generation, for Lakeshore Entertainment -- the 5th installment in the successful action sci-fi franchise, starring Kate Beckinsale. MASTERSFX has once again provided the practical, on-set Lycan characters for this film, which recently completed principal photography in Prague. Anna Foerster directs Underworld: Next Generation, which Sony Pictures Entertainment will release.

About MASTERSFX:

Founded in 1987 by Emmy Award winner Todd Masters, MASTERSFX is a multi-award winning character and special FX house with studios in Vancouver, British Colombia, and Los Angeles. MASTERSFXs creative teams produce a unique blend of practical and digital makeup and special FX, prosthetics and animatronics, through a process called dMFX, for hundreds of hit feature films, TV shows, and commercials.

Included among the TV projects to which MASTERSFX has contributed its work are True Blood, Six Feet Under, Tales from the Crypt and Fringe. Among the companys Film credits are RoboCop, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Haunting in Connecticut, Star Trek: First Contact, The Horse Whisperer, Slither, Snakes on a Plane, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Look Whos Talking, and many more.

Todd Masters won an Emmy Award in 2003 for the 2001/2002 Season of Six Feet Under in the category Best Special Effects Makeup. MASTERSFX is also the winner of a 2006 Saturn Award for Best MakeUp FX for its work on the film Slither. See more at www.mastersfx.com

About STX Entertainment:

STX Entertainment is a fully-integrated global media company specializing in the production, marketing, and distribution of talent-driven films, television programming and digital content. It is the first major entertainment media company to be launched at this scale in Hollywood in more than twenty years.

STX Entertainment's motion picture division recently released their first feature films, the critically-acclaimed box office success The Gift, and the mystery thriller Secret in Their Eyes. The company will next release the horror film The Boy; the epic action-drama Free State of Jones; Hardcore, an adrenaline-fueled action film; Desierto, a gripping and suspense-filled thriller; the interplanetary adventure The Space Between Us; and the coming-of-age comedy Besties.Additionally, STX has five films set to start production over the next 6 months.

About Lakeshore Entertainment:

Lakeshore Entertainment is one of the leading independent production, finance and international sales and distribution companies. Founded in 1994 by Chairman and CEO Tom Rosenberg, Lakeshore has produced more than 60 films including the Academy Award winning Million Dollar Babyas well as the Underworldfranchise, The Lincoln Lawyer, Runaway Bride, The Ugly Truth, The Mothman Prophecies, Exorcism of Emily Rose, Crank, The Gift, Autumn in New Yorkand Arlington Road. Lakeshore recently released The Age of Adaline,starring Blake Lively, Harrison Ford and Ellen Burstyn. Upcoming releases include The Boy, which will be released with STX
LINK: https://news.creativecow.net/story/880613...
See more stories from creativecow

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

15/07/2026

Inside DAZNs Multi-Market World Cup Effort With CTO Sandeep Tiku

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...

15/07/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Qumulo's Chris Horn on Powering Global Media Workflows Across Edge, Core, and Cloud

As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...

15/07/2026

FIFA World Cup 2026: Inside the HBS Non-Live London Production Hub

HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...

15/07/2026

IBC2026 to Spotlight AI, Live Sports Production, Creator Economy, and Trust in Media

IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...

15/07/2026

Vanessa Paradis Tour Adopts Sennheiser Spectera Wireless Ecosystem for 2026 Production

Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...

15/07/2026

Telos Alliance Integrates AudioShake Source Separation Into Minnetonka AudioTools Server

New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...

15/07/2026

AIMS Schedules Second IPMX Product Certification Event for August

Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...

15/07/2026

Force Tech Appoints Bryan Adams as Vice President of Integration

Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...

15/07/2026

USA Sports and Bundesliga Announce Exclusive Multi-Year U.S. Media Rights Agreement

USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...

15/07/2026

Inside ITV Sport's Stunning FIFA World Cup Studio in New York City With Paul McNamara

ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...

15/07/2026

CatchLight, Sony Launch Equipment Initiative for Local Visual Journalists

Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...

15/07/2026

CornerstoneSF Installs FOR-A HVS-Q12 Switcher in New UHD Production Facility

San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...

15/07/2026

Steve Bornstein Joins Advisory Board of Scott Cokers New Global MMA Promotion

Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...

15/07/2026

Space City Home Network Executive Producer John Valek on Leaning Into Innovation, Access, and Opportunity

The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...

15/07/2026

Freqport unveil the Dual FreqInOut FO1-2RK

Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...

15/07/2026

Expressive E's Summer Offers

Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026 Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...

15/07/2026

Peel Stems 2 from zplane

Real-time stem-separation tool updated zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...

15/07/2026

Baby Audio SubCulture

A new benchmark in bass enhancement Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...

15/07/2026

DMC Production Reimagines Live OB with Calrec

DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...

15/07/2026

FCC to Vote on Replacing National Broadcast Ownership Cap

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

ATSC Updates Industry Audio Loudness Guidance

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

GigaCloud and Cubbit partner to deliver sovereign and res...

GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...

15/07/2026

SMPTE Launches 110th Anniversary Campaign to Advance Its...

SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...

15/07/2026

STUDIO TECHNOLOGIES UNVEILS MODEL 762 STEREO LEVEL CONTRO...

Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...

15/07/2026

COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried

COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried Brie Clayton July 15, 2026 0 Comments Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...

15/07/2026

SIMBA powers new streaming delivery network with Broadpea...

Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...

15/07/2026

DHD Introduces Discovery Utility for Network-Connected Au...

DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration. Anyone w...

15/07/2026

BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026 Breaking t...

BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...

15/07/2026

S&P Analysis: Three Quarters of Americans Watch Live Sports

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

Scripps Sports, Ion Score Women's Volleyball Rights

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/07/2026

Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Origins premieres on Sky and NOW on 28 July

Wednesday 15 July 2026 Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...

15/07/2026

Audiences to get behind-the-scenes access to Trinity College Dublin's Old Library in new RT series

Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...

15/07/2026

Building Ireland explores the River Shannon region from Leitrim to Limerick in a new series

Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...

15/07/2026

NVIDIA and Japan Bring Full-Stack AI and Robotics to Every Industry

Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and gaming, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI - building across...

14/07/2026

Bowling Green State Upgrades Doyt Perry Stadium With New Daktronics LED Display

South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...

14/07/2026

Mizzou Athletics Launches Connected Digital Platform

Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...

14/07/2026

DePaul Athletics, Playfly Sports Agree to Multimedia Rights Partnership

Agreement spans sponsorship sales, digital monetization, radio production, and new practice facility naming rights...

14/07/2026

American Association Expands Broadcast Reach Through FanDuel Sports Network Partnership

Independent league adds 14 regional sports network affiliates, growing distribut...

14/07/2026

Euroleague Basketball Introduces Euroleague Basketball+ Digital Ecosystem Initiative

New strategy aims to unify competitions, content, fan engagement, and commercial...

14/07/2026

Professional Fighters League, ESPN Reach Multi-Year Media Rights Deal for Brazil

ESPN and Disney+ become exclusive home of PFL events in key international MMA market...

14/07/2026

TEGNA Names Scott Gill VP of Technology and Operations

Gill will oversee engineering, technology, and sports operations across the company's 64 local television stations...

14/07/2026

Guest Post: Dynamic Media Facilities Could Reshape the Future of Broadcast Workflows

Submitted by North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) As broadcasters con...

14/07/2026

Bayerischer Rundfunk Debuts Fully Software-Defined SMPTE ST 2110 Radio OB Van Built Around Lawo Technology

Modernized mobile unit combines HOME Apps, mc 56 console, and IP infrastructure ...

14/07/2026

Scripps Sports, ION Secure U.S. Rights to 2027 FIVB Womens Volleyball World Cup

Every match of the 32-team tournament will air across ION and Scripps Sports platforms in English and Spanish...

14/07/2026

FloSports Lands Exclusive U.S. Rights to IIHF Mens World Championship Beginning in 2027

FloHockey to stream every game of the annual international tournament under four...