If you have seen the gory, torture scenes in action movie Operation 021 or the artful depictions in feature film Moor and would like to know one of the faces behind the hard work that went into the intensity of the portrayals, then look no further. We present you our very own homegrown special effects and makeup artist Danial Shahzad Khan, who with his skillful mastery has sprinkled magic into those scenes.
In Pakistan, with the creme de la creme hoping to explore broader horizons rather than staying put in the entertainment industry, often the general public remains oblivious to the struggle of young artists.
We catch up with Danial on a crisp September morning to familiarise ourselves with the special effects landscape in Pakistan that people usually know very little of.
With his easy humour and accessible behavior this artist is quite easy to get along with, although one look at his work makes one realise that there's certainly more to him than meets the eye.
We ask a couple of questions from this super talented guy and see what side of the spectrum a makeup/SFX artist falls on in Pakistan.
What are the major projects you have done till date?
My major projects include feature films such as Moor, Operation 021, Jalaibee and TVC's in which the one I enjoyed working on the most was the Dettol commercial with Shahid Afridi.
What was your first project? How was the experience?
My first project was a feature film called "Downward Dog" which was directed by the amazingly talented Jami Mehmood. I must say working with him and his crew was a great experience, as it was my first big project after coming to Pakistan, I wasn't quite sure as to what's going to happen or what kind of people I'd be dealing with over here by that I mean the different mindset from country to country.
But turns out I was actually working with some amazing people, everyone looking out for one another like a family. Though there were times where fatigue sets in due to long hours of shooting and leads to people losing their temperament ,things do work out and at the end of the day its one team trying to build something great.
I gained a lot of experience working with Jami ranging from art direction, camera handling, light set ups for various scenes and got complete freedom to display my bloody, gory SFX arts. Overall, it was a great experience.
In this field, what were your motivations? Name your greatest influences in your artwork.
I have always been fascinated by the magical world of movie monsters and effects and was always curious as to how these things were brought to life such as vampires, zombies, werewolves and the dinosaurs from Jurassic Park.
Two of my greatest inspirations are the amazing Stan Winston and Rick Baker whose works the world has memorised through their special effects and creature creations so the motivation was always there, just needed to start working on what I actually wanted to do.
CGI animation has taken over the world by storm, but I believe that traditional special effects will always have their place and my aim is to combine the two and create something amazing.
How much international and local acclaim have your garnered till date?
I have done international projects such as short films and also concept character arts for Japanese video games ,one that I can recall right now is TOKYO YAKUZA. Then I did a short film called "The Waves" which was directed by the young prodigy and my friend Usman Riaz.
Later on I joined in on a Pak/Canadian zombie movie called 'SIDARE' on which I was an SFX artist, it was like a dream come true as I finally got to enter the world of zombies! Don't judge, it's fun doing zombie make up and monster choreography. Our cast included Robin Dunne who is a Canadian actor mainly known for for his role as Doctor Will Zimmerman in the science fiction television series, Sanctuary and Pakistani-Canadian actress Juggan Kazim.
To a stranger how would you define yourself?
I'm an artist, I like to play music, especially the flute, I love nature, trekking, disappearing into the wild and animals. I'm a man of simple taste, and just want to make the world a better place for me and everyone else.
Being a fanboy I'm a follower of the DC universe especially Batman because he is one of the most inspirational characters in existence and Joker and Harley Quinn because of the crazy love chemistry they have between them.
I usually end up bringing in whatever stray animals I can find and raise them till they are strong enough to fend for themselves.
I've worked in different IT based fields but art has always been my passion and when your passion becomes your work, I don't think there's anything better. My work ranges from designing concepts digitally to creating live SFX props, characters and prosthetic make up. And as I have an I.T background, I can now combine the two which you will see in the near future.
This is a unique field, income worries are there, what made you choose this field?
Yes, I won't deny that that there are income worries in this field sometimes, but that also depends on the people you work with, it's kind of hard at the beginning as you might also have to do multiple jobs to sustain your finances but hard work always pays off.
What are your thoughts on how artists are treated in Pakistan? Are you happy, or what would you like more in this regard?
I can't be the judge on how an individual artist may be treated here in Pakistan, but I have seen that there is a fair amount of appreciation for artists over here.
Pakistan has a lot of hidden talented artists yet to be discovered but unfortunately some are hardly recognised due to favoritism and what not. It would be great if we at least start getting some recognition too.
Although I have one advice for the young, seasoned or aspiring artists alike; put your ego, professional jealousy and favoritism aside, work on a project as one unit and you will succeed.
Who are your mentors? Also, what do you do besides artwork?
I was self taught all thanks to God and my parents who gave me the freedom to go crazy with my crayons on my house walls. Artwork such as designing concepts, character designs, illustrations and storyboards are just one of the initial steps of my work.
Apart from that I design sci-fi and horror movie props, sculptures character costume designs for movies and cosplays, live SFX ranging from action packed gun fights, knife assaults, torture and special effects make up, character movement and fight choreography.
What are the future projects? How hopeful are you in this regard?
Currently, I'm working on a feature film of which I can't disclose any information due to legal issues, all I can say to the young Sci-fi generation is that buckle up, something amazing is coming your way soon.
Any vivid or interesting detail/incident during work that you would like to share?
Well there was this funny incident once, we were shooting a zombie attack sequence outdoors, The director screamed, "action!" and a hoard of zombies started crawling and staggering all across the set attacking, biting the extra actors and doing normal zombie stuff. What we didn't realize was that there were civilians passing by and they actually thought it was a real attack and they started running and screaming like our actors, one unfortunate biker lost control and went skidding across the road, and then he threw his bike and ran for his life! And our production team screaming at them that it's a shoot, it's not real! That was one hilarious day.
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