op Quiz - What do the films Jason and the Argonauts, Interview with the Vampire, Fight Club, The Godfather and The Nutty Professor all have in common? Now some of the movie buffs amongst you may be searching and racking your brains for some deep-rooted connection between the five movies yet the link is actually quite a simple one if you're Jon Bayliss. CityofAngel.com met up with Jon at the recent Starfury event Hyperion in London while Jon watched his girlfriend [Claire North] being transformed into the demon Goddess Illyria by Angel head make-up artist Dayne Johnson. CoA discovered that Jon too had some creative talents of his own to offer; those being model making, special effects, prop design and a little costume creation thrown into the mix. And so, CoA decided to find out a little more about Jon in this special Citizen profile.
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Angel puppet, ready to kick some demon fluff!
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Born within a stone's throw of the world famous Elstree Studios, Jon recognized quite early on that his future career path would take a creative turn rather than an academic one. "Well basically, because I'm dyslexic, it was either art or music on the cards for me and whilst I can sort of play the sax I'm no Charlie Parker," he explains, "so from when I was very small I loved animation and Sci-Fi and making little models out of plasticene. I could sit for hours making monsters. I was a big fan of Greek Mythology and loved watching Jason and the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans and there were loads of monsters in those stories. I was also a huge fan of Jules Verne and there were loads of films in that vain made as I was growing up." In fact, two of the most successful trilogies ever were filmed within a mile of his front doorstep and Jon didn't even realize it. "Little did I know that theStar Wars and Indiana Jones movies were being produced so close by," he admits regretfully at an opportunity lost, "but for months after they had finished making Raiders of the Lost Ark snakes were being found everywhere in London!" As Jon advanced in years so his interest in animation also took a step forward. "As I got older I became interested in 'drawn cell animation' and spent long hours pouring over run cycles and watching how things moved. I made an odd, very bad film with an old cine-camera my grandfather gave me. From there I moved onto special effects leaning more towards monster effects as there is more sculpting involved. I also loved making props, finding out about materials and what they could do. It's still something I do a lot of now, searching the Internet for materials that will give me effects for a costume or art project."
As a profession, Jon currently makes his living building replica models of some of today's most recognizable characters but admits that if given the opportunity he would like to peddle his wares in the world of special effects after already having had a small taster of that kind of work. "I did some work on a medical drama for Granada called Always and Everyone with a guy named Davy Jones [not the Davy Jones of 'The Monkees' fame but the successful UK make-up artist scheduled to work on the forthcoming Doctor Who in 2005]. It was a lot of fun and a little bit stressful with the very tight deadlines but it's all good experience. Whilst there I also mocked-up a set of false boobs for a drama on BBC2 which was one of my first body life-casting jobs and have also made props for various low budget film projects. My ultimate goal is to be like Robert Hall and run my own visual effects company. To be top of my game and to be the guy that teenagers in art college say, 'Did you see that film last night? Those effects kicked ass!' I want to be the Rick Baker of the future generation." Rick Baker is just one of the few names Jon cites as being the inspiration behind his chosen passion (as well as being the answer behind the pop quiz question at the beginning of the feature). "I guess the guy who got me started was Ray Harryhausen as he did loads of animated films in the 40's and 50's," Jon explains when asked, "The Mighty Joe Young was a favourite of mine and later on he made Clash of the Titans, which is still a firm favourite in my mind.
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"Two very big heroes of mine would have to be Dayne Johnson and Robert Hall. Dayne's work on Angel is fantastic." ~ Jon on his inspirations
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As I moved more towards special effects, then we get the work of Dick Smith (The Godfather, The Exorcist), Rick Baker (The Nutty Professor, Men in Black Hellboy), Stan Winston(Interview with the Vampire, Terminator 2 Artificial Intelligence: AI) and Rob Bottin (Fight Club, Robocop Se7en). They were the big boys on the block when I was at college. People like Rick Baker and Stan Winston are totally at the top of their game and they take visual effects and make-up to new heights."
It must have seemed like a strange quirk of fate therefore that Jon should witness first hand the skills of a man who, for all intent and purposes, he is - in his own way - trying to emulate, as he cites fan favorite Dayne as one of his key influences today. "Two other very big heroes of mine would have to be Dayne Johnson and Robert Hall," Jon adds, "Dayne's work on Angel is fantastic. Having done a little television work, I know how time critical some make-ups can be and that puts the make-up artist under a huge amount of pressure. How Robert Hall could come up with so many cool monsters almost at the drop of a hat with a TV budget defies explanation. I have been very lucky in being able to watch Dayne work at some of the conventions I have attended. I went to Eclipse for the sole purpose of meeting Dayne though I have to be honest that I do tend to clam up and go a bit shy in the mans' presence."
Lorne, in its early stages of sculpting
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One of Angel's successes over the years has been the imagination used when creating demonic villains or allies. Considering that Jon has already confessed to his love of monsters, there were a few from the Angel-verse that particularly caught his eye, "I would have to say Skip and The Beast," Jon explains, "both of which are as cool as hell. I also like The Cockroach Men (Season 3, Episode 5 Fredless) but I'm still not sure how they did the legs. I think they used chrome key on the legs and removed them digitally later and had puppeteers working the buggy legs but I'm not 100% sure." With such a critical eye to detail, Jon often finds himself watching TV and film with a professional point of view, "But I don't realize I'm doing it until I come out with. 'Wow that was bad,' or 'Oow that kicks ass,' or sometimes I will say how stuff was done. For example, in Planet of the Apes, I liked the way they digitally alter the actors mouths so they can open their mouths wider to make it more ape-like. Little touches like that I love as it's just going that extra mile."
On the convention front, Jon turns his creative talents and his imagination to costume design as he contrives to come up with new and original ideas for the ever-popular Fancy Dress competitions that take place at each event. Unbeknown to the casual observer (and our American fans), the Fancy Dress competitions are actually very competitive costume contest with those taking part often planning months in advance to try and come up with something that will take the ultimate first prize, yet not everything always goes to plan. "It all started at the Chariots of War convention run but Starfury," says Jon, "and I think there were only about ten of us that made costumes, I was lucky enough to come 1st. The second year I was hoping to do something a little more impressive but things got in the way so my costume was half finished and I wasn't going to wear it. Then I spoke to a guy who thought I should just do it any way and so I set my alarm for 5am in the morning and drove home as the convention was about a 30-minute drive away. I got my hot glue gun out and basically stuck some stuff together and again I was lucky enough to come in 1st. The costume was Lucifer and it got a great response from the crowd and from Hudson Leick who played Calisto on Xena: Warrior Princess. It was great from then on and I was totally hooked always wanting to put more into a costume but generally making it last minute." During the 2004 convention scene, Jon was transformed into Hell Boy at Fusion and as Smile Time Angel at Hyperion. The competitive edge that participants have taken means that the standard of the Fancy Dress competition has become incredibly high and that a bit more planning may be needed for the next event. Jon assures us he has something special up his sleeve but refuses to reveal what it is.
The end of a long day at the W&H office
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Jon has actually been offered the opportunity to work over in America but unfortunately a lack of funds has meant that he has to put that particular plan on hold, "I would very much like to move to the States in the not too distant future," he explains, "I feel there is more in the way of smaller productions going on although I realize in the UK we have several of the best studios in the world with Pinewood, Shepperton and Elstree. But they are generally for huge productions where as in the States there are far more opportunities for working on smaller projects to really cut your teeth on." So what advice can Jon give to anyone wanting to pursue a similar career, "Well, you have to be able to sculpt and a good grounding in art is always handy but as for qualifications you don't really need any. A grasp of history is good if you're doing period make-up but it's all pivotal on your portfolio. To anyone who wants to get into special effects or make-up I say just give it a go and always read the safety guidelines on the packets or chemicals. With the Internet so readily available it's easy to look up sources for materials and some step-by-step guides for doing make-up so just avail yourself to the information that's available." Everyone at CityofAngel.com wants to wish Jon continued success with his career and looks forward to his next creation.
Written by CoA Writer, Sue Grimshaw
CityofAngel.com would like to give our Thanks Jon Bayliss for his time and allowing us this opportunity.
If you would like to view or purchase some of Jon's work then go to: RoninCreative
If you have any comments regarding this CoA "Happenings" feature,
we would love to hear from you. Just email us at:
comments@CityofAngel.com
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