‘Wednesday,’ ‘Beef’ and ‘Stranger Things’ Crafters on the Tools They Need

Every artist needs one important tool to do their work.

In a special edition of Variety For Love of the Craft, presented by Netflix, senior craft editor Jazz Tangcay spoke with the craftsmen behind some of the streamer’s biggest shows to learn more about what they need to do their work.

Eryn Kruger Mekash, head of Stranger Things’ makeup department, revealed that brushes were a must-have: “I couldn’t do my job without a simple brush, whether it’s an airbrush or just a hand brush.”

It’s all about simplicity, too, for Wednesday’s co-music supervisor Jen Malone. Her go-to is a notebook and an automatic pencil. “I can’t live without my very special sanitary pads.” However, it is not just any notepad. “It has to be five by seven; it can’t be eight by ten. It has to be hardcover, it has to have spirals and it can only be with one of these pencils. That’s it. Nothing else.”

However, what she writes in her notebook remains ‘top secret’. Malone’s colleague and the show’s co-music supervisor, Nicole Weisberg, simply needs “sparkling water every hour.”

Technological advances help “Beef” editors Laura Zempel and Lauren Connolly when it comes to watching dailies and deciding on the best takes. Zempel says, “The biggest thing we used when editing ‘Beef’ this season was ScriptSync.” She explains that it is a way to keep track of all statements. “We can make notes with selections that our showrunner likes and keep track of the improvisation. It’s just a really fun way to stay organized as we edit our scenes.”

Connolly adds: “It creates a visual roadmap for all the footage and the tone of ‘Beef’ is really in all the details and it allows us to dive in while still working very quickly.”

The pair also uses scene cards that they create for each scene. Connolly says, “It allows us to see all the different character arcs clearly on the wall. So you can use that to keep track of things, even if you want to do a little restructuring. It’s really useful to see the episodes as a whole at once.”

Production designer Matthew Flood Ferguson worked on building the world of a serial killer in “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” and before that he delved into a series of books. “I have quite a few film books, photography books and architecture books and I need them on every job. Even if it doesn’t relate to the job I’m doing, I still need them because you never know,” he says.

Those books are his most valuable possession. Magnum Cinema spans 50 years of filmmaking. “Sometimes I might think, ‘What am I doing? Do I know what I’m doing?’ and I will look at these pictures and it is reassuring and reminds me that this is how it should be done.”

Tradition is also the secret of the work of set designer Kellie Jo Tinney of “Beef”. She carries a mini measuring tape with her everywhere, attached to her car keys. “I use it all the time. I like to play with scale so you never know when to measure a lamp, whether to measure the depth of a table or the depth of a shelf or the height of a shelf. This is the one tool I can’t live without.”

Has she ever lost her keys? Not yet. “I wouldn’t be able to work if I lost my keys,” she laughs.

Like anyone, Barrie Gower, head of the makeup effects department on “Stranger Things,” needs his team. “I can’t do my job without a tremendous amount of talent for the people around me,” he says. “I am very happy and friendly every day and grateful for their help every day.”

“Wednesday” visual effects supervisor Tom Turnbull agreed that his crew was what he needed most.

“A good night’s sleep,” he says first, then adds, “It’s really my team. Without them I wouldn’t have a day to even start.”

With an extensive body of work behind the artisans, Tangcay also asked them what the public should look for to get to know them. See their responses below.

Meet the artisans.

Eryn Kruger Mekash – “American Horror Story” season 1-10
Mike Mekash – “American Horror Story” season 1-10
Jen Malone – ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Soundtrack
Nicole Weisberg – ‘Wednesday’ Season 2 Soundtrack
Tom Turnbull – “Wednesday” season 1-2
Laura Zempel – “Beef” season 2
Lauren Connolly – “Beef” season 2
Matthew Flood Ferguson – “Monster: The Ed Gein Story”
Kellie Jo Tinney – “Beef” season 2
Barrie Gower – “Stranger Things” season 1-5