Send pages
An actor's face split down the middle: on the left his own face at thirty, on the right a silicone old-age prosthetic with deep folds at the cheek and jaw
ABC
FIG. 1 · Old age, split · scale 1:1

KESSLER FX

Prosthetics + makeup effects for film and TV · Strathcona, Vancouver, BC

  1. ASilicone applianceCheek to jaw, one piece · 3 h
  2. BStipple ageBrow and eyelid · 40 min
  3. COwn skinMatched to camera, no appliance

Old age, scars and wounds, creatures, life casts and bald caps, built in our shop and looked after on set. Send the script pages; you get a breakdown with every piece and every application time.

ShopFilm + TV, since 2009Sheet01 / 09
DrawnR. KesslerTeam2–3 on set
Quote from your script pages · $300 holds the shop weekSend pages →
  • 17years building for film + TV
  • 240life casts on the shelf
  • 48 hpages in, breakdown out
  • 0edges flagged by continuity, last season

Work

Sheet
02 / 09
Title
Figures, 2024–26
Scale
As noted
Units
d = shop days
  • Old age, 40 years on: A period limited series, 6 episodes. Neck and jowl, one silicone piece, encapsulated; Hands: stipple, liver spots, veins painted on; Lace front, punched white over his own grey.
    5 dSculpt2 dRun3 h 10Application
    FIG. 2 — Old age, 40 years onA period limited series, 6 episodes
    1. ANeck and jowl, one silicone piece, encapsulated
    2. BHands: stipple, liver spots, veins painted on
    3. CLace front, punched white over his own grey
  • Creature appliance: A streaming fantasy series, season 2. Scale texture pressed from a real iguana cast; Edges thinner than paper at the eye; Brow and muzzle in two pieces so the actor can talk.
    6 dSculpt2 dRun2 h 15Application
    FIG. 3 — Creature applianceA streaming fantasy series, season 2
    1. AScale texture pressed from a real iguana cast
    2. BEdges thinner than paper at the eye
    3. CBrow and muzzle in two pieces so the actor can talk
  • Healed scar, cheek to jaw: A streaming crime series, lead detective. Raised ridge, 2 mm at the center; Pink at the jaw, where it healed last; Own skin, no foundation within 1 cm.
    1 dSculpt½ dRun40 minApplication
    FIG. 4 — Healed scar, cheek to jawA streaming crime series, lead detective
    1. ARaised ridge, 2 mm at the center
    2. BPink at the jaw, where it healed last
    3. COwn skin, no foundation within 1 cm
  • Nose, in the trailer: A feature, the actor plays a real-life boxer. Gelatin nose, a fresh one every day; Ruth, glue brush in the right hand, always.
    2 dSculpt1 dRun1 hApplication
    FIG. 5 — Nose, in the trailerA feature, the actor plays a real-life boxer
    1. AGelatin nose, a fresh one every day
    2. BRuth, glue brush in the right hand, always
  • Rain, eleven nights: A streaming thriller, the forest episodes. Rain towers, 40 ft, both sides of the path; The cast: four wound pieces, all glued wet.
    3 dPrep11Nights0Lifts
    FIG. 6 — Rain, eleven nightsA streaming thriller, the forest episodes
    1. ARain towers, 40 ft, both sides of the path
    2. BThe cast: four wound pieces, all glued wet
  • Life casts, the shelf: Every actor we build for starts here. Face cast, eyes and mouth closed, 25 min; Head and shoulders, for bald caps and necks.
    2 hIn the chair1 dPlaster cures
    FIG. 7 — Life casts, the shelfEvery actor we build for starts here
    1. AFace cast, eyes and mouth closed, 25 min
    2. BHead and shoulders, for bald caps and necks

Bill of materials

Sheet
03 / 09
Title
Rates, CAD
Rev.
C, Jan 2026
Tax
GST extra
ItemQtyDescriptionUnitCost
011Breakdown from your script pages: pieces, shop days, application times per sceneper jobNo charge
021Shop week hold, comes off the invoicedeposit$300
03as quotedShop day: sculpt, mold, run and paint appliancesday$850
04as quotedOn-set day, Ruth, 10 hoursday$750
05as neededAssistant on set, 10 hoursday$450
061 / actorLife cast, face or head and shoulders, at the shopeach$650
07per sceneScar or wound appliance, pre-painted, from a stock moldpiece$180
08per dayOld-age makeup, stipple and pieces appliedapplication$450
091Bald cap, made and laideach$220
10per dayKit fee, on setday$75
11—Silicone, adhesives, blood, hairat costAt cost
12per hourOn-set overtime after 10 hourshour$95
TotalQuoted from your script pages

Worked example — one healed scar, three shooting days

1 shop day $850 + 3 pieces $540 + 3 on-set days $2,250 + kit fee $225 = $3,865, plus materials at cost. The $300 hold comes off it.

The day

Sheet
04 / 09
Title
Schedule, shoot day
Scale
1 div = 2 h
Call
05:00

  1. Trailer openRuth + 1 · 30 min

    Pieces out of their trays, adhesive patch on the back of the hand, chair at height.

  2. Old-age, leadRuth · 3 h

    Neck, jowls, eye bags, then stipple and paint. The bar is the slot on the call sheet.

  3. Scar, day playerAssistant · 45 min

    One stock piece, pre-painted, color-matched under the trailer lights.

  4. Camera checkRuth · 15 min

    At the monitor for the first setup. Edges looked at in the frame, not the mirror.

  5. Set maintenanceRuth + 1 · 4 h 15

    Kit bag at the edge of set. Shine, lifts and sweat between takes.

  6. Lunch resetRuth · 30 min

    Re-glue edges, refresh the stipple at the eyes, 20 minutes in the chair.

  7. Afternoon, blood workRuth + 1 · 5 h 30

    Blood in three kinds: fresh, tacky, dried. Continuity photos every setup.

  8. RemovalRuth · 45 min

    Remover, not force. The actor leaves with clean skin and moisturizer.

In a makeup trailer, Ruth seen from behind glues a prosthetic nose onto an actor in the chair, mirror lights around them
DETAIL D — 06:10, trailer 3, nose going on

Spec — R. Kessler

Sheet
05 / 09
Title
The maker + kit
Scale
1:1
Material
As listed
Ruth Kessler, mid forties, safety glasses pushed up on her head and a stained canvas apron, white plaster head casts on shelves behind her
Ruth, the shop, 2026
NameRuth Kessler
TradeProsthetic and special-effects makeup
ShopStrathcona, East Vancouver, since 2009
TrainedTheater wigs, then four years assisting a creature shop
On setUnion card, makeup local; 160+ production days a year
TeamRuth, plus one or two: Omar on molds, Jess on set
ToleranceAn edge you can see on a 65-inch TV is a failed part

I started on wigs at a theater in Winnipeg, ventilating hair one knot at a time. Then four years sweeping and running molds for a creature shop, until they let me sculpt.

The shop opened in 2009 in a building that used to make fruit crates. Most of what I do now is quiet: a scar that has to look ten years old, a man who has to look ninety and still act through it. If you notice the makeup, I got it wrong.

I read the pages before I quote, because the pages say what the piece has to do. A stunt, rain, a close-up, a kiss: they all change the build.

Overhead on a steel bench: sculpting loops and rakes, silicone cups, adhesive bottles, paint palettes, torn sponges, an airbrush and bottles of stage blood
EXPLODED VIEW — the bench kit, items 1–8
  1. 1Loop tools and rakesFor sculpting in clay: wrinkles, pores, scale.
  2. 2Platinum silicone, two partsWeighed by the gram. Softened for faces, firmer for noses.
  3. 3Medical adhesive + removerPatch-tested on every actor at the life cast.
  4. 4Alcohol-activated palettesPaint that survives sweat, rain and a hand across the face.
  5. 5Stipple sponges, tornTorn, never cut. A cut edge prints a line.
  6. 6Airbrush, small cupVeins and age spots, in thin layers.
  7. 7Blood, three kindsFresh, tacky and dried, each in its own bottle.
  8. 8Cap plastic + spirit gumFor bald caps, laid on the head, never on the cast.

Approvals

Sheet
06 / 09
Title
Sign-offs
Clients
On request
Status
Issued

Streaming series, network dramas, features and two seasons of a kids’ show with a talking lizard. Shot in Vancouver, Burnaby, Squamish and on the Island. Productions ask us not to name them; their schedulers will take your call.

  • “Pages went to Ruth on a Thursday. The breakdown came back Saturday with application times per scene, and the times were right.”

    Approved — 1st ADDev MalhotraA streaming crime series, Burnaby

  • “Our lead aged forty years over four episodes and continuity never flagged an edge. Not one.”

    Approved — Script supervisorColleen BryceA period limited series

  • “Eleven nights under rain towers and the brow piece never lifted. I stopped asking.”

    Approved — DirectorTomás RheeA streaming thriller

  • “She told us the hand appliances would cost half a shooting day and to cut them. We cut them. She was right.”

    Approved — ProducerAnnika SorensenA feature, Squamish
On a film set, an actor made up as a very old man sits in a worn period armchair by a window, thin white hair and spotted hands on the armrests
FIG. 2, as approved — day 31, the same face as day 1

Site plan

Sheet
07 / 09
Title
The shop
Grid
49.276 N
North
Up
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Kessler FX, Strathcona Workshop in an industrial building, East Vancouver. Address with your booking. Open the map
The workshop: steel benches, a sculpting stand under a work light, molds stacked on racks and tall factory windows
ROOM 1 — Bench + mold room
Shelves of white plaster life casts of faces and heads, each labeled with a date
ROOM 2 — Casting + the shelf
Life castsAt the shop, 2 hours, the actor sits up
FittingsWeekdays, 30 min to 2 h
ParkingTwo spots out front, for the actor
Greater VancouverIncluded
Squamish to VictoriaHalf-rate travel day + mileage

General notes

Sheet
08 / 09
Title
What producers ask
Read
Before booking
Notes
8
01How do you quote?

Send the script pages or the breakdown, with scene numbers and shoot dates. Within 48 hours you get our breakdown back: pieces per actor per scene, shop days, application times, and a total.

02How does the $300 hold work?

It holds the shop week, so the bench is yours and nobody else’s molds are on it. It comes off the invoice. If the schedule moves, the hold moves with it once.

03How much prep do you need?

A stock scar: a week. Old age on a lead: three to four weeks, from the life cast. A full creature: five to six weeks. Less is possible; it costs shop days and it shows.

04Who comes to set?

Ruth on every day. An assistant for two or more actors in pieces, or anything with blood. Three of us for a big day of extras in wounds.

05Do you work with the makeup department head?

Always. We work in their trailer, on their schedule, and their team does the beauty makeup. We do the pieces and look after them all day.

06What about the actor’s skin?

Medical-grade adhesives, patch-tested at the life cast. Removal is on the call sheet, never rushed. Any reaction and the piece comes off; we re-plan the scene.

07Do you travel?

Greater Vancouver is included. Squamish, Whistler, the Fraser Valley and Victoria are a half-rate travel day plus mileage or the ferry.

08Can you just make the pieces?

Yes. We run appliances for other departments and ship them pre-painted with application notes. Shop days plus materials, no on-set days.

Work order

Sheet
09 / 09
Title
Hold the shop week
Deposit
$300
Approved by
You

Pick the week we start building. $300 holds the bench; it comes off the invoice.

  1. 1Choose the job and the first shop day.
  2. 2Ruth texts you the same day for the script pages and the shoot dates.
  3. 3The breakdown and the quote follow within 48 hours. Life casts get booked from there.

Shop day $850 · on set $750 · life cast $650 · scar $180 a piece

  1. 1Service
  2. 2Date
  3. 3Details
Work order
Start from this design