Prosthetics artists Shaune Harrison and Paula Anne Booker have joined the team behind ‘Tumbbad 2’, bringing their expertise in practical creature design and makeup effects to the upcoming horror sequel starring Sohum Shah and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The artists, known for their work on major Hollywood productions, said the original film’s haunting atmosphere and practical filmmaking drew them to the project and shaped their creative approach to the sequel.
Prosthetics artists Shaune Harrison and Paula Anne Booker join ‘Tumbbad 2’
According to Variety India, Harrison and Booker began their journey with the sequel after first watching the original ‘Tumbbad’. Harrison admitted he had not heard of the film before discussions about the sequel started.“In the U.K., I hadn’t heard of Tumbbad,” Shaune Harrison told Variety India.
He recalled that the connection happened after earlier conversations with the producers about another project. “We had spoken to the producers about another project a couple of years ago that never happened. Then the director Adesh Prasad reached out about ‘Tumbbad 2’ and asked if I had seen the first film. I said no, but I would. So we watched it that night.”The reaction came quickly. “I was blown away,” Harrison said. “I didn’t know what to expect, but it was amazing.”Paula Anne Booker shared the same enthusiasm after seeing the film. “I loved it,” she said.Harrison said the horror elements and atmosphere stood out immediately. “I’m a massive horror fan, so the horror element really appealed to me,” he explained.
Research and creature design for ‘Tumbbad 2’
The prosthetics team soon began studying the script and exploring ideas for the film’s creatures and characters. Harrison said the process involved close discussions with the filmmakers.“The first script came over and I thought there were some really cool characters in it,” he said.The design process included multiple conversations about how the characters should appear on screen. “Then we had a lot of back and forth conversations about how we could approach the designs and how the characters should look. There are multiple things we’re doing for this film that we can’t talk about yet, but there are some very cool characters,” Harrison added.Research into Indian mythology also became an important part of the preparation. “We did a lot of research into Indian mythology to understand the background of the film,” Harrison said. He added that analyzing the script was essential. “Breaking down the script is the most important step. Sometimes you think something might be digital, but then you start exploring how to create it physically.”The pair also revisited ‘Tumbbad’ several times while preparing for the sequel. “We’ve watched ‘Tumbbad’ about four times now,” Harrison said. “And every time you see something new.”Booker praised the film’s visuals. “The colours are beautiful,” she said, pointing to the film’s use of reds, blues, and shadows.The artists were also impressed by the practical filmmaking approach. “There’s very little green screen,” Harrison said.Booker added that the realism surprised them. “We didn’t even realise the monsoon rain was real at first. Everything has a very real feel,” she said.One character that particularly caught their attention was the demon god Hastar. “I loved him,” Booker said.The couple admitted that watching films often becomes technical analysis. “We pause movies constantly to figure out how something was done,” Booker said.Harrison said they did the same while watching the original film. “We did exactly that with ‘Tumbbad’, trying to work out whether something was a real set, CG or green screen.”
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