Maclean’s magazine chooses Trigger as one of TIFF’s Top Ten Films of 2010

Toronto production company, New Real Films, premiered their feature film Trigger at 2010’s Toronto International Film Festival as the inaugural film for TIFF’s new headquarters, the Bell Lightbox Theatre. Trigger was chosen by Maclean’s magazine as one of the top ten films to see at this year’s festival. In his review of the film, Brian D. Johnson of Maclean’s calls Trigger “witty, moving and immensely satisfying.”

New Real Films has long been a supporter of Complections graduates, hiring many for assistant make-up positions on their films. Marnie Cossarini graduated from Complections in 2009 after successfully completing the 26-week Comprehensive Make-up Artist Program. She got her foot in the door by taking every job offered to her, both volunteer and for pay. Having always wanted to work with Bruce MacDonald, Marnie was very excited to be offered the position of key make-up artist for Trigger. On watching the film during TIFF, Marnie muses, “being able to be in a jam-packed theatre watching people react to something you worked on is just surreal.”

Trigger screens daily at the Bell Lightbox Theatre beginning September 30, 2010.

I was recently contacted through the Complections Job Posting Service for a job with the Canadian Film Council called Creating Strong On Screen Characters (a film to be used during workshops held by the CFC). Each day of the directors' workshop had a different set and script. The actors usually wouldn’t come to the make-up room until around 9AM; being there at 7:30 gave me a lot of time to set up and head by craft! There was usually 20 minutes to process both the actors, then it was off to the set where all the finishing touches were done by the rest of the crew. Of course I had my final touches to do as well, just before the cameras were ready to roll.

One very interesting aspect of the workshop was getting to see how different directors worked and set up the scene. Creating Strong On Screen Characters was a great first experience in film. I had the opportunity to meet both those who were new to the industry and people who have been working in it for years. The whole experience has me looking forward to working on many more sets in the future.

I recently had the opportunity to work on a commercial assisting make-up artist Ava Stone (Adoration, Bollywood/Hollywood, Vendetta: No Conscience, No Mercy). Another top Complections graduate, Christina Scott, and I were selected to work on the shoot, which was a three minute dance sequence that was filmed in 3D. And the coolest part? The sequence was then replayed for her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, as they were here in Toronto for a Royal visit. I was quite surprised when I found out that the Queen would be visiting the set, but it made it all more exciting!

To help with the looks during the shoot, I took what I learned about period and film make-up in school, and through Ava's guidance, we did an 1800s inspired make-up consisting of strong brows and red lips, which complimented the accent colour of the dancers’ clothing.

I've had the opportunity to be on quite a few sets since graduating in December, but it was very amazing to be part of such a large production. The mechanics of the 3D camera was really fascinating to watch – it would swoop in and out on a giant dolly, getting so close to the dancers; you could tell that they put a lot of trust in the technicians.

The most satisfying part was seeing the hair, make-up and wardrobe come together so seamlessly; it really made me feel like an important part of an accomplished team. I really had a great experience, and will take what I learned and continue to move forward in my make-up career.