Creative career in making faces

Have you wondered what it would be like to legally give someone a black eye or a gashed forehead? What about being able to create a serious laceration or burn to the arm?

A training organisation specialises in teaching this and more.

SSI Institute of Education and Training is a private training organisation operating from Pah Rd in Royal Oak. Over the past two years SSI has been offering training and qualifications in make-up artistry and production design. Special effects are a part of this and that is where the cuts, burn and wounds come into the picture.

Quality assurance manager Paul Exton says that SSI seems to be meeting a need for people who want to have a creative job that opens opportunities to meet people and to apply artistic flair.

"There are so many opportunities opening in the film, television, beauty and make-up industries," he says.

"Our training opens doors to all of these options."

The make-up artistry courses were started by the SSI directors Keneti and Tessa Apa when they saw a need to provide basic training for people wanting to enter the make-up, modelling, production and film industries.

The make-up artistry and production design course is registered with the Qualifications Authority. It enables trainees to gain practical skills in a number of fields and covers up to 17 unit standards, with a total value of 84 credits.

Subjects include an introduction to film and television, make-up artistry, hair styling and design, wardrobe design, staging assistance and special effects.

There is a balance between theory and practice.

"We achieve that balance by presenting the material in an interesting, practical way where tutors and speakers demonstrate techniques and then supervise trainees as they apply those techniques in the classroom," says Mr Exton.

"Trainers have had experience in either the modelling, hairdressing, make-up or film industry and so we have an abundance of knowledge and experience to offer."