#87 – Frank Ippolito

Frank Ippolito is something of a practical effects polymath. From starting out with makeup effects and putting in solid work in the lab, he has gradually expanded to running a company and crew with impressive credits and a high standard of work.

Running a busy shop isn’t easy, as it requires one to both know the work intimately and to be able to entrust that work to others as the volume required exceeds the scope of a single person. That is a switch, like when a trot becomes a canter and then a gallop. It isn’t just a simple increase in speed but a different arrangement.

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The switch is risky, and it deserves huge respect. It means stopping being the maker of everything and enabling a group to do that whilst remaining responsible for it all. It means taking care of the job itself, the folks doing it, the building it all takes place in and making sure that it keeps ticking over whilst keeping one eye on the horizon for what is coming next.

Checking out Frank’s IMDb, you’ll see a switch around 2016 as he started working on speciality costumes. This is a big overlap in the practical effects industry as creature and ‘hero’ suits become more sophisticated.

To blow off steam, Frank rides dirtbikes. Sometimes as a speeder bike trooper.
“I raced the @redbull “Day in the Dirt” this year as a Biker Scout (yes, I know there are a few more parts to this costume). Awesome time as always, and thanks to @fasthouse_ for putting on such a great event! Thanks to @beermoneyprops for getting the armor race-ready too! And @tk421andme was the best pit-crew we could ask for!”

Think of The Umbrella Academy, The Orville, Mandalorian, Westworld, and Stranger Things….these are big hitter shows with a lot of work which, as is often the case when done well, is assumed to be digital. Happens all the time….people assume if it’s realistic or complicated, then it MUST be a visual effect added in post-production.

For the Netflix show ‘Umbrella Academy’. Practical ‘Christopher Hargreeves’ with working lights is a perfect example of what many consider a digital effect made in post-production. While enhancements and inserted shots are often done in post, achieving what is possible in the real world makes sense. Good design and engineering skills allow this stuff to happen.
Check the insta post to see it in action!

“The inner lighting grid on Christopher was a team effort between @frankippolito, @beermoneyprops, and @jeff.jingle . Inner brackets and mounts were all printed on our @markforged printer. Jeff designed a great cable controller for the puppeteering of Christopher, and he had us all hard anodized black. Because it’s cooler that way.”

Does it get any better than wearing a Mon Calamari costume and being in a Star Wars show?
“So much fun to be a part of such a great episode! And a total blast to play a Mon Calamari in the Star Wars universe!
We built this character at @thingergy_inc – animatronics by @jeff.jingle , eyes painted by @badfishsfx puppeteered by Jeff Jingle and @janina. I built and painted all of the Mon Calamari in this episode !”

Looking at the Thingergy INC Instagram, you will see a lot of practical stuff – suits, props, bodies, statues and interactive effects which are real, there on the set and being filmed on camera. Why? Because often it is quicker, cheaper but mainly because it means the cast can interact, respond and perform with something that is actually there.

In the Netflix show ‘Umbrella Academy’, one unusual character was **Atlas Jericho “A.J.” Carmichael**, a Shubunkin goldfish inside a robotic body. Even if an effect is to be digitally created, there is still the necessity of real-world design, which needs as much consideration as a physical object. Digital work is not just hitting a few buttons and out spits the finished thing – practically minded people have much to offer a digital workspace.

“One of our favorite things from the new season of @umbrellaacad was AJ Carmichael…. and we’re probably a bit biased because we built him! The always amazing @kylebrowndesign designed it, then we printed it on our @raise3d printers here at @thingergy_inc and I painted it. The one we made was used for the actor to wear while filming, and for the VFX reference. Then @beermoneyprops, @yelenaivy and @joannahadfield made it into a display for the production office.”

Material technology and tools have all improved, and the digital benefits of scanning, machining and milling, 3D printing, etching and digital sculpting are part of the practical effect wheelhouse. They can play nicely with the post-production as a result.

Luther Hargreeves suit for the Netflix show ‘Umbrella Academy’.
“We had the pleasure of building Luther’s muscle suits for “Umbrella Academy” for season 2 and 3. Tom came here and got a body scan and then @gregpolutanovich sculpted the muscles, which Chris Alexander molded and @bluesa ran in foam latex. On season 2 the suits were built by @quesada_heat and season 3 by @jessicaowenarts.
Many thanks to @christopherhargadondesign for his guidance to make these work for his amazing costume department. And tons of thanks to @everettburrellvfx for bringing us on the show!”

Frank started as a freelancer doing the thing; now, he runs a shop and has a well-trusted and reliable workforce at his shop, Thingergy INC. Because of his heavy lifting, now a team of folks get work and get paid, and our chat was an amazing dive into how a workshop is set up and run. This is a great episode to listen to if you are serious about getting work in the industry and want to understand how workshops work.

“More Umbrella Academy baddassness!
We got to do design and build the Hotel Oblivion Guardians from the ground up. It was great working in conjunction with costume designer @christopherhargadondesign to make sure it echoed his designs and choices for the Hotel Obsidian, and to make sure we delivered the best product for his awesome team to take over once they got to set. It all started with a ton of designs, and got refined down to these 3, with all the heavy lifting being done by @natalie.3dblah !”

We particularly appreciate Frank discussing budgets with actual numbers. Not often will folks spell out the costs of making stuff so clearly, but this is SO important. Often, a suitable budget is put together and whittled down until there is no profit or financial gain from an endeavour. It is particularly the case for creative freelancers who are often people pleasers and feel uncomfortable discussing money and defending their costs. (Hint: Just because they say they can’t afford it doesn’t mean you have to work for nothing and do the job! Saying no to something that takes your time and gives nothing in return is often the wisest move.)

*“We are the first to become a Specialty Costume manufacturer for the @motionpicturecostumers 705, and first to bring together Props (44), and Costume Design (892) all under one roof.”*

“I sought this out because I believe in taking care of my employees first, and always have. This change does not make it easier or cheaper for me to do business, but it’s the right thing to do for all of our futures. Too long have some shops taken advantage of peoples rates, and not paid properly for overtime, and not provided safe workspaces. These are not my practices, but with the help of a few other shops that are going to flip, we can put pressure on the shops that have done this, and make a better, more professional environment for people to work in. And with this change, I’m proud to be able to provide pension and healthcare for my employees.⁠⠀

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