If you're a film studies student or somebody who loves to understand what you see in the movies, then you'll be aware that even the most ordinary looking person on film has been made to look the way they do.
From the very earliest days of moviemaking, cosmetics artists have had to refine their skills to make movie makeup work. And the makeup artist is a true artist! They have to understand colour, light, shade and many aspects of photography.
For example, actors in silent films often had to wear very yellow makeup to compensate for the "orthochromatic" black and white film that was not able to capture anything red.
The first make-up range ever designed just for movies was launched in 1914, Max Factor's Supreme Greasepaint . . . you wouldn't want to name any cosmetic product anything-"grease" nowadays I guess!
1969 saw the longest ever single make-up application for a movie. For the "Illustrated Man" actor Rod Steiger had to be, well, illustrated! Applying those tattoos took a make-up artist and assistants 10 hours on the torso and another full day on the lower body, hands and legs! Personally, I cannot imagine being that patient.
On the other hand, where a film has many extras and special background actors, there needs to be a fast technique, you can't do everything by CGI. Frank Westmore had to make up several thousand extras each day for "The Ten Commandments" (1956). The spray-painting technique he developed to do the job quickly is still used.
Types of Makeup Artist:
Nowadays Hollywood's union regulations classify movie make-up artists based on the area of the actor's body being made up! A make-up artist is only allowed to apply cosmetics only from the top of the head to the top of the breastbone, from fingertips to wrists and from toes to ankles. On the other hand, a body make-up artist applies cosmetics as required to any other areas of the actor's body. While the regular make-up artist generally works throughout filming, the body make-up artist is hired per day when needed. The key make-up artist, or make-up designer, is the person in charge of the make-up department for a movie. During pre-production, the designer reads the script and meets with the director and screenwriter to discuss their needs and ideas for the film.
The key make-up artist also will work with the key hair designer, costume designer, set designer and director of lighting throughout the film. After that, the key make-up artist researches and determines how to design the make-up and special make-up effects for the film.
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| GoT actress, Natalia Tena (property rights Game of Thrones / HBO) |
Sometimes the MUA just has to prevent an actor or actress' features from bleaching out under the lights, sometimes enhance their beauty and sometimes, well, to switch off the beauty and dirty them up!
Often complex effects or prosthetics are handled by a special effects department or a consultant company. The key make-up artist also brings together additional make-up artists for the film, sets their work schedule and supervises them during production. She or he then has to check everybody's work, make sure the make-up applied matches the agreed style, and that continuity is maintained every day during shooting.
In addition, the key make-up artist develops and stays within a budget. Once prosthetics, hairpieces and other make-up elements are finalized, they all must be inventoried and stored when they are not in use.
Where there is a big team the key makeup artist might have a senior makeup artist under them who has responsibility for continuity as well as ordinary makeup artists and assistant makeup artists.
It's a long but creative day, finding solutions to make the 'look' and make that look work on screen. Putting it all on the actors from extremely early in the morning and then taking it all off again after the end of the working day.
Annual earnings for makeup artists seem to start at around £14,500 per annum and can rise, over time and experience, to anything around £62,000 per year. A practised eye, skilled hands, creativity, determination and a splash of luck are required to get into this field, so it's a good thing to have a focus of interest like our Key Makeup Artist, Nealy Horsfield who really aims to get into blood scars and injuries for tv!
Annual earnings for makeup artists seem to start at around £14,500 per annum and can rise, over time and experience, to anything around £62,000 per year. A practised eye, skilled hands, creativity, determination and a splash of luck are required to get into this field, so it's a good thing to have a focus of interest like our Key Makeup Artist, Nealy Horsfield who really aims to get into blood scars and injuries for tv!
Nealy is already superb at what she does, now that I know her I'm excited to watch her career blossom. Here she is talking to me on the day she agreed to join our team:
