Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Fiora Parks.
Emily Fiora, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I became interested in makeup effects when I discovered and watched all the Evil Dead movies for the first time. I started out by taking a stage makeup course at a local community college. From the class, my teacher helped get me in touch with a local special effects artist named Devon who was working on independent films and a lot of his own personal projects, some of which were really amazing. He helped introduce me to the work it entailed and I got a better understanding of how to make prosthetics, do life castings and things like that. Devon was very inspirational and my mentor for a while, but unfortunately passed away before I moved to Los Angeles. I moved here to go to school and graduated from Cinema Makeup School which was a great experience for me and gave me the extra confidence to do makeup on set and take on more jobs. Since I graduated I have spent my time doing all kinds of different freelance makeup jobs and it has been a challenging but rewarding experience to far.
Has it been a smooth road?
There have been ups and downs along the way, but I like being challenged and in the long run the challenges help me gain experience so I can improve. Some struggles have been with consistency. Since I mostly do freelance work, it can be tough to keep my life and income consistent when I never know what my next job will be. Although I’ve learned not to worry about it too much, because it always seems to work out in the end.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and career?
Rather than calling it luck, I think synchronicity plays a big part in my creative career. If I really want something, and put my energy into it, it eventually happens.
Sometimes luck plays a part when I find myself in the right place at the right time, or I may meet someone who I click with really well and I end up working with them quite a lot as time goes by.
Is there a quality or characteristic that has played an outsized role in your success?
It has always been important for me to be reliable and on time. I try to make sure I am someone on the crew that no one has to worry about and will just do my job efficiently without unnecessary problems. Also being flexible, open minded and passionate about my job has helped a lot.
What do you love about our city and what do you dislike?
I like the opportunities that are here in LA and the endless amount of things you can do to keep yourself entertained. I definitely don’t like the traffic and wish it was a little more peaceful and calm, but sometimes I like the chaos and challenge of it too.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.emilyfiora.net
- Phone: 831-601-6886
- Email: emilyfiora@hotmail.com
- Instagram: emilyfiora
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emily.fiora
