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Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects Program is a two-year academic program at the Douglas Education Center in

Monessen, Pennsylvania Monessen is a city in southwestern Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, located along the Monongahela River. The population was 6,876 at the 2020 census. Steel-making was a prominent industry in Monessen, and it became a third-class ...

, outside of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. The program awards an associate degree in Specialized Business. The program began in 2000. The program curriculum was designed by

Tom Savini Thomas Vincent Savini (born November 3, 1946) is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including ''Martin ( ...

, a horror

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as 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 fictional events in a story or virtual world. ...

and

makeup artist A make-up artist, also called a makeup artist, and often shortened to MUA, is an artist whose medium is the human body, applying makeup and prosthetics on others for theatre, television, film, fashion, magazines and other similar productions inc ...

known for his work in ''

Friday the 13th Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition. It occurs when the 13th day of the month in the Gregorian calendar falls on a Friday, which happens at least once every year but can occur up to three times in the same year ...

'', '' Dawn of the Dead'', and ''

Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead () is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pa ...

.'' Instructors also include long-term Savini associates, including Jerry Gergely, who earned a 1998 Emmy nomination for his makeup work for ''

Babylon 5 ''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...

''. Students study Make-up Application, Mold Making and Casting, Animation Fabrication, and Exhibit and Display Design. In addition to learning the skills with

and make-up for films, students learn skills that can be applied in creating scenes for museums, molding prosthetic limbs, or creating toys. Program alumni have gone on to work at

McFarlane Toys McFarlane Toys is an American company founded by comic book creator Todd McFarlane which makes highly detailed model action figures of characters from films, comics, popular music, video games and various sporting genres. The company, a subsidia ...

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

, Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights,

KNB EFX Group KNB EFX Group is an American special effects company that specializes in prosthetic makeup, animatronics, and other practical effects. It was founded in 1988 by Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Howard Berger, though Kurtzman left in 2003. Afte ...

Jordu Schell Jordu Schell (born June 5, 1967) is an American sculptor and concept artist who has been working in the film and television industries for over twenty years. Career Jordu Schell began his career as a sculptor and Halloween mask maker. He primar ...

, and

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

. As of 2010, the program had 144 students with an average age 24.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom Savini's Special Make-Up Effects Program Special effects Education in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania American horror fiction Culture of Pittsburgh