This page gives you an explanation of what S.A.P.S.E.M.A. is and what I hope to accomplish with this site. Of course, explanations abound here and there but this is the "official" page of explanation. Please read this entirely to see if what I am trying to do meshes with your ideas about the nature of what special effects makeup means to you as artists and what we would all like to be the realities of how information is shared or taught.
S.A.P.S.E.M.A. is a worldwide collaboration of film and theatrical special makeup effects artists and enthusiasts who are of varying levels of expertise and who may or may not be working professionals BUT who want to be connected to a site that is a true "society" of artists to exchange and share ideas, techniques and knowledge to enhance our skills and learn more about this craft.
Anyone of any age can belong to this "society of artisans". Actually EVERYONE is appreciated and can contribute significantly to everyone else's advancement, encouragement AND inspiration. You need not possess great skill because the whole concept of this site was for purposes of education and the sharing of knowledge and information to learn about this common interest. Varying skill levels are welcomed, from amateur to professional.
Checking in to S.A.P.S.E.M.A. can give you a sense of "belonging" as you collaborate with others like you who are interested in film or theatrical special makeup effects and who may possess the skills or who have made many of the mistakes you might make and from whom you can learn and improve in this craft. This homepage was created to be a resource where you can get tips, ideas, E-Mail help, resource links to companies, addresses of suppliers, interviews (when I can get them) with many people from amateurs to semi-professionals to working professionals, notices of conventions or group activities and a whole world of other valuable things as you pursue your own path in this artform.
Truly there are none - anyone can belong. First and foremost, the main thing is that you would WANT to be a part of this fellowship. I want to make this a valuable resource and an interesting site where you can get a lot of the help you may need. Plus, being a regular of the site should be something you WANT to do.
I tried to keep a database and a resource list of all who have been part of S.A.P.S.E.M.A. but it quickly became a difficult thing to try to keep up with. Member E-Mail addresses change frequently without notice to me and other people drop out without notice. And all that is fine. It's just harder for me anymore to keep everyone as a part of a "membership" so I am dropping that requirement and you'll just be part of this "society of artisans" and this site. And if you have any needs regarding anything related to this subject, there will always be a source of help here among the members and/or friends.
Being a contributing associate of a group like this, you should at least, be committed to sharing your knowledge and to learning and improving in this craft.
If you want to be an active contributor to this effort you may submit your ideas, articles, tips, results of your experiments, photos of your work, or anything of general interest to other colleagues of this site. You MUST submit those items to my E-Mail address and I will review what you have submitted and if I determine that it is within the scope of interest of everyone, they will be included as part of these pages. And with this new hosting site, I have more space to do that now.
No items will be accepted that are in violation of copyright laws or standards of good taste. Any written submissions can be edited for content and brevity by me but I will endeavor to keep the nature and content of those submissions intact as much as possible.
Photos, in the form of .gif or .jpg, will be accepted ONLY if they are strictly your photos of your work and are accompanied by a simple statement of release for use and inclusion in these pages. If there are photos submitted that are obtained from someone else or other source then a note of the right to use them or at least, proper credit given for their use, MUST accompany them. Also, all items submitted by you from an outside source will be checked as valid before being included on these pages. The owner of these pages will NOT accept anything that has been plagarized nor will I accept responsibility for the use of plagarized material submitted by someone else.
If it is discovered that material has been used wiithout permission then it will be immediately removed from the pages and the name, E-Mail address and material will be turned over to the rightful owner for disposal or any further litigious action.
Basically, S.A.P.S.E.M.A. grew out of the desire to learn by sharing. The "protected" information that some professionals felt too good to share when I had contacted them as an amateur, was another reason. I felt that I was made to feel "inferior" because I was only an interested amateur at the time. My philosophy is derived from the philosophy DICK SMITH has operated under since his early days. That is, to be open to teach and share information. This organization was begun and exists to honor him and that philosophy.
Copyright (c)1997 - 2004 S.A.P.S.E.M.A.(r)