The Art of Gore with Mica Stone & Mark Kiazyk
Dates: Monday, October 26
Time: 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Class: Limited to 30 participants
Address: 100 Arthur Street (Artspace Building)
Location: WFG Black Lodge (3rd Floor)
Cost: $30 Members | $45 Non-Members
JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN
CALLING ALL DOOM-POLE OPERATERS, SCREAM WRITERS AND GRIP REAPERS!!! We are hosting a flesh and bone series on the Art of Gore!!! A 3-hour dive into the gory mechanics and SFX of makeup and cinematic prosthetics!
Perfectly timed just days before Halloween, this DIY is a show and tell Masterclass that peels back the skin on how to capture unforgettable get-that-out-of-my-sight, stomach-churning horror on a budget. Whether you’re a filmmaker looking to elevate the body count in your next B-movie, an aspiring effects artist, or simply a die-hard horror fan who is in the spirit of Halloween, Mu Ha ha!!!
About the Class
We’ve packed this three-hour session with gruesome inspiration. Rather than a messy, hands-on building class, this workshop serves as a visual introduction to the craft of gore. Through a curated presentation of photos, clips, in person application, and in-depth process breakdowns, you will discover what goes into fabricating blood, flesh and trauma for the screen. Instructors Micaella Stone and Mark Kiazyk will take you step-by-step through the pipeline journey—from concept to on-set application. By the end of the night, you’ll be armed with foundational knowledge of how professional effects are designed on an independent budget, making this the perfect stepping stone before you dive into our hands-on horror SFX workshops in the not too distant future.
What You’ll Learn
- The Anatomy of a Scare: We’ll analyze customized gore clips and photos breaking down the practical techniques that make them viscerally effective.
- Blood & Viscera 101: Discover secrets behind formulating different types of fake blood, creating realistic organic textures, and utilizing the best application methods.
- Demystifying Prosthetics: Learn about makeup effects, tracing the process from sculpting and molding to painting and blending it flawlessly on an actor.
- Microbudget Macabre: Uncover resourceful DIY techniques that allow you to achieve realistic trauma on an independent Prairies budget.
- Camera-Ready Carnage: Understand how lighting, camera angles, and on-set ingenuity play a critical role in selling your practical effects on screen.
Who Should Attend
- The Horror Crowd: Fans who are obsessed with blood, guts, and the art of the scare, eager to peek behind the curtain of practical effects.
- Filmmakers & Directors: Independent creators wanting to step up their game, add serious production value, and bring terrifying realism to their thrillers and B-movies.
- Aspiring SFX Artists: Anyone looking for a comprehensive introduction to special effects makeup before diving into more advanced, hands-on training.
- Cinephiles & B-Movie Enthusiasts: Film lovers who want a deeper appreciation for the resourcefulness and ingenuity behind old-school and modern horror effects.
- Doom-Pole Operators, Scream Writers, Grip Reapers…
Workshop Details & Requirements
Class Size: Designed for an energetic crowd of 30 participants to foster discussion and networking among the local horror community.
Format: Visual presentation, clip analysis, and process breakdown (Note: this is an introductory, non-hands-on session).
No Age Requirement: HOWEVER; due to the graphic nature of the content and clips, this workshop will be open to youth under 18 with parental permission!
About the Instructors
Micaella Stone is a Winnipeg-based Makeup Artist, Special Effects Makeup Artist, and professional Face & Body Painter, with more than 15 years of experience across the film industry, including post-production and on-set work. Her specialties include SFX makeup, prosthetics, aging effects, wounds and trauma, character design, and camera-ready transformations. Her teaching focuses on effective techniques that filmmakers and artists can confidently apply on set, regardless of budget, schedule, or available resources.
Mark Kiazyk is a Brandon, Manitoba-based microbudget filmmaker with a focus on practical gore and special effects. Working outside the studio system, he builds his films from the ground up — hands-on effects, DIY prosthetics, and old-school horror ingenuity over big budgets. It’s that resourceful, Prairies-made approach that defines his work: gritty, visceral, and unapologetically independent. He continues to develop projects rooted in horror and dark fantasy, known among collaborators for pushing effects work as far as it can go on a microbudget.
