Screenwriter, Set & Office Production Assistant, Old Age Makeup Artist for Film. New York, United States.
#FlashbackFriday #FBF Do you remember our Community Spotlight with Monique Wegmueller?
“I moved from Switzerland to Miami in 2005, and the colorful way of life inspired me to paint. Soon after I noticed that not only painting is a great way to express myself, but also writing. So I started to play around with words, and I ended up with the first 100 pages of my first book, ‘Mahalo Sunrise.’ But, it needs much more than just talent and passion to write a screenplay and to produce a feature film! So, I moved to Los Angeles and attended a motion graphics and editing school to learn all from scratch. I worked as a Set Production Assistant on a short film, ‘Twelve,’…”
Biggest Challenges:
“I guess it was the same challenge that everybody faces when you work as a Set Production Assistant for the first time. All is going crazy, and you are the only person that should keep everything under control. But these were exciting moments because that’s when you have to improvise and become almost stress-approved. And these are the best moments to get pictures of your crew. Another challenge is certainly to keep an eye on the budget… What would life be without challenges? Probably an empty canvas!”
Solutions:
“Work hard, get more experience, listen and learn from others. Never think you know it all, it would be the beginning of stagnation. Be curious and attentive.”
Favorite Technique:
“For Old Age Makeup, I certainly use painting techniques, because the color wheel doesn’t change even though we work on a human body. When working on the set as a Production Assistant, then it is more likely the techniques of ‘what worked in other jobs and what didn’t.’ Sometimes the best technique is improvisation. We have to follow lots of rules when producing a film, but we also need to think out of the box, be open for new experiments if nothing else works. While working on my book, I use the technique of freedom: let it out, write it down, corrections will be made later.”
Favorite Tool:
“My favorite tool is definitely my video camera. It is always with me, and I am capturing constantly to enlarge my footage library, to produce short city films. I am living in New York City at the moment, and there is so much to capture! It is a city that definitely never rests and never sleeps!”
Current Projects:
“At the moment I am working on my book, ‘Mahalo Sunrise,’ planning to publish it in 2009, teaching myself ‘visual effects’…”
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