LOS ANGELES, CA and VANCOUVER, BC - Character effects company MastersFX unveiled its dMFX (Digital Make-Up) Division in conjunction with Season Four of the Amblin Television/TNT series Falling Skies, which premiered in late June.
MastersFX, the shows producer of practical creature FX since the series launch in 2011, has evolved the company's skill set for this series. For Falling Skies, MastersFX has implemented a new digital enhancement process, dMFX - one that mixes on-set special FX creature work with the company's proprietary digital tools, ultimately creating unique alien beings prominently featured in Season Four.
Starting with the Emmy-nominated pilot for Falling Skies, MastersFX has created for the series armies of practical monsters, from small parasites, to the 12-foot-tall spindly Overlords and car-sized Skitters.
A lot of the fun of this show is the creative force behind the stories, says Todd Masters, president/founder/chief monster maker for the company. Every week, when we receive the new scripts, we salivate - like the shows fans - because we are excited to see what the writers have conjured up next. And we also enjoy challenging ourselves to see if we can fulfill those challenges.
As they perfected their practical creature FX work over the first three seasons of the series, MastersFX, working from studios based in both LA and Vancouver, was already developing techniques to better integrate their work along with modern digital visual effects. During Season Three of Falling Skies, MastersFX began to add its unique digital process to the series with the company's creation of the Volm alien race.
During Season Four, the facility is expanding use of its dMFX process to include other alien characters as well. Said Masters, Even the most unruly critters were somehow engineered to believably arrive on set; the 12-foot-tall alien Overlord characters were created at actual size and lensed in-situ, in motion, as portrayed by real actors on leg extensions. Later, to depict the creature's demeanor, we integrated expressive alien eyes and emotive facial features by using our dMFX process during postproduction.
By incorporating the company's unique dMFX process, MastersFX can mix their decades of on-set know-how with the flexibility and control of several digital techniques. We like to think of ourselves as representing the next era of monster-making, Masters states. Our dMFX process allows us to integrate more traditional creature and character FX techniques with high-end tracking, photo processing and performance transfer, to solve monster problems for our clients, in a highly efficient way. Achieving great characters for commercials or producing interesting new creatures for film and television is no longer just for big budgeted projects.
Andr Bustanoby, visual effects supervisor within the dMFX Division, adds, As artists, working in both make-up and visual effects, we prefer to embrace any tool or technique appropriate when helping our clients tell compelling stories. In Falling Skies for example, the alien characters are a unique amalgam of techniques, built by our studio between our make-up and digital divisions, thus sharing the same artistic direction and goals. One mind, one monster. With too many cooks in the kitchen, the effective depiction of unique characters can get easily out of control or lose design cohesion. At the end of the day, helping create an organic, relatable character, in service to the story is paramount.
We have the ability to take advantage of all the artistry of the sculptors, lighters, cameraman, and actors on-set, and then extend their capabilities, says Johnathan Banta, senior visual Effects supervisor within the dMFX Division.
The most popular new alien character from Falling Skies is Cochise, introduced to the series at the beginning of Season Three. Cochise is a warrior of the Volm alien race, portrayed by actor Doug Jones. Jones - known for his portrayal of Hellboys Abe Sapien, and Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four films, as well as the character Faun in Guillermo del Toros multi-Oscar-winning fantasy/horror project Pans Labyrinth - has also performed as several other members of the Volm species, even playing his own father in last seasons finale.
By integrating the company's dMFX process, MastersFX prides itself on helping to embellish Jones performance - actually allowing him to drive the digital enhancements of his Volm characters. The dMFX system analyzes the actors original performance - tracking the precise on-set movements of Jones --and then super-sizes it with proprietary methods. The MastersFX team then blends together the on-set prosthetics, Jones performance, and the digital enhancements crafted in post.
Regarding this digital makeup FX process, Jones says, The character of Cochise, which I portray in Falling Skies,' is a combo platter of both practical and digital techniques, all under the MastersFX umbrella. I always prefer to wear prosthetic make-ups on-set when I'm playing other-worldly characters - this allows for normal interaction with the other actors in each scene, since they are able to talk with this alien character during a scene. Over the years, I've also noticed that wearing prosthetic make-ups actually affects my posture and gestures, and makes me move and react differently.
MastersFX delivers Jones character to the physical set in all of its camera-ready alien glory, with fully detailed practical prosthetics - created fresh every morning by the company's Vancouver team, led by Creature Art Director Werner Pretorius and on-set Makeup Artists Felix Fox and Maiko Gomyo. Even though the practical version of Cochise is limited in movement, Jones character appears perfect on-set in every detail. This is done so that other actors can better rel
Most recent headlines
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
30/12/2025
It marked the first civilian operational authorization for a HAPS flight in Europe, led by Space42's subsidiary, Mira Aerospace
The flight demonstrated HAP...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
From crisper Lossless audio and immersive music videos in beta to new Audiobooks+ plans, custom transitions between tracks, and in-app Messages, we keep levelin...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
The year is winding down, the weather outside is frightful, and it's the perfect time to escape into a story that warms the heart. For listeners looking for...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
23 Dec 2025
VEON's Beeline Kazakhstan and Rakuten Symphony Collaborate to A...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
33 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watched Jake Paul vs. Ant...
LOS ANGELES, CA and VANCOUVER, BC - Character effects company MastersFX unveiled its dMFX (Digital Make-Up) Division in conjunction with Season Four of the Amblin Television/TNT series Falling Skies, which premiered in late June. 
