An Insight About Me and My Achievements:

I am currently a 20-year-old SFX makeup artist and (BA) Film, TV, and Stage Design Student currently studying at the University of Salford in my second year, from Warrington, Cheshire, U.K.

Since my childhood years, I have always had a passion and strong sentiment for the film,
theatre, and television industry. More specifically, I gained a strong passion for SFX
makeup, which also, as a result, led me to adopt a passion for theatre production/set design.
Since this early age, I was mostly intrigued by darker films such as Tim Burton's
'Beetlejuice', and later on, the more crimson 'Saw' and 'The Walking Dead' franchises, where I
also began to make my own props, clay stop-motion characters, and LEGO sets.
 
As someone who endeavors in refined details/accuracy within my work, I have also researched other factors required such as human anatomy, chemistry, and prop/set design, as well as taking influence from award-winning SFX artists such as Ve Neill, Rick Baker, Dick Smith in who have magnetized me to become self-taught in SFX makeup since the age of 12. Actors, Directors, prop makers, and crew members who work to create and bring movie sets to life,  inspiring me in creating my own props from movies and video games from any materials I could find around my house at the time, at again an early age. Moreover, it has fueled me to take this further academically, to gain a vast knowledge of the ever-growing industry.
 
Consequently, this has allowed me to gain further experience/give me my first experience in the film/theatre industry, as I was able to join my secondary school's drama group and work on creating the SFX makeup and scenic design for Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' at Epstein Theatre in Liverpool, as a part of the Shakespeare Arts Awards competition at the age of 13 (2014). After completing secondary school, I took my passion for SFX makeup and set/prop making further into an academic enrollment at Priestley College, where I began my studies in the BTEC Production Arts course, as well as taking interest in photography and further honing my artistic skills from GSCE Fine Art where I studied A-Level Photography and A-Level Fine Art.
The Production Arts course included an active insight into all the job roles of the backstage department of theatre production, such as; stage management, set design, prop making, stage makeup, and lighting. Examples of my work include; stage managing a winter showcase performance, voluntarily stage-managing the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and set designing/building sets for a plethora of theatre performances for our college production e.g. 'Mary Poppins' (2018), 'Sister Act' (2019), and Beaumont High School's production of 'We Will Rock You' (2018).

Furthermore, this course also gave a perception within my SFX course, with the ability to recognize the effect in which lighting had on SFX makeup. Due to my progression in my self taught efforts, I got the opportunity at the ages of 15/16 to work on a horror film released on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and the Sky Store, titled 'Redcon - 1'.
Correspondingly, I got the chance to work with professional industry artists such as Annoskha Nereid and the reputable Shaune Harrison, whose skill-set include; Captain America; The First Avenger, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows (Part 2), Avengers: Age of Ultron, Star Wars Episode 1 and more, and subsequently has enrolled me onto the cast and crew list in the makeup department on IMDB/film credits.
This real-world experience also gave me an insight into the industry, as I found that timing and meeting deadlines were crucial factors.

As for my personal life, my hobbies/ further skills include; art, gaming, playing guitar, music, video editing, and films.
I have also designed a small amount of LEGO elements since an early age for my Father in his game levels in his 2006 - current year career at TT Games e.g. Joker's cake in the Lego Batman 3 75th Anniversary DLC.

Having attended my academic years and being one of the small numbers of people to become the school's first-ever year students of a recently new independent secondary school (King's Leadership Academy Warrington), I have also achieved a myriad of other diplomatic awards/experiences. This includes; Bronze and Silver awards from the British Academy of Fencing, the Duke Of Edinburgh Bronze Award, level 1&2 qualifications in the TFL Management public speaking/leadership courses, meeting NASA astronauts Tim Peak and Commander Ken Hamm, and Cadet training that conclusively, has driven me for my potential and hopeful future in the theatre/television and movie industry.
 
Please browse my work and contact me for any details.
If possible, any advice or help I can get from any professionals out there would be sincerely appreciated.

Thank you,
Maddie Deakin-Berry