In the first part of our blog series on breaking into the makeup/SFX industry, we took a brief look at what being a makeup or special effects artist entails and covered the kind of practical and personal skills you need for each. It’s worth repeating here though that although makeup and special effects can work closely together and sometimes overlap, they are distinctly different professions!
So, with that reminder ringing in our ears, we move onto today’s article; a closer look into the world of the makeup artist!
Part Two - The Makeup Artist
Roles and Responsibilities
Within the world of TV and film, the role of the makeup artist is primarily to ensure that the actors are looking their best when in front of the camera. This won’t only involve work inside a makeup trailer though as you will quite often end up on set performing quick touch ups between takes. It can also be very repetitive and won’t flex the old creative muscles much as in reality you will only be providing the actors with more colour to their complexion. And, of course, at the end of the day it will be the makeup artists who remove makeup from the actors as well.
Don’t be fooled into thinking that your job is only about makeup application though. You will also have to look after any actors you’re working on. Making sure they are comfortable whilst you work on them and chatting to them to help keep them entertained are also part of your job. Think about how you were treated last time you went into a hair dressers salon. You now have to act like the hairdresser who chats to their client and gets them a tea or a coffee whilst you work on them. Why is this important? Why can’t you work in sullen silence? Mainly because you want to put the actor at ease as you work within their personal space, but remember that the last thing you want to do is upset or anger an actor before a shoot! We aren’t saying that all actors are moody pains in the rear end, but you do get some like this so be prepared to have the patience of a saint and the bedside manner of a doctor.
In relation to your bedside manner and talking to whomever you are working on, it’s important to point out that one of the most crucial questions to ask them is ‘Do you have any allergies or skin conditions?’. You should always do this before starting to apply makeup as you would not want to irritate someone’s skin or worsen a pre-existing condition through the use of a particular product. Sadly, you will rarely have this information before starting work on someone, so being able to work on the fly around such problems will be a major test to your abilities.
The job of a makeup artist also contains a continuity aspect to it so attention to detail is important. We’ve all seen bloopers or gaffs in TV or film where something that shouldn’t be in a scene has appeared there, but this can just as easily happen with makeup, especially if scenes that follow each other in the script are shot on totally different days! Do you remember the colours and method you used to apply the makeup 4 days ago? Good, because you now need to make sure the actor looks exactly the same. To this end, taking a quick photo of the finalised makeup, especially if the makeup is complex, can aid as a reference to later applications.
This, of course, doesn’t cover the whole range of roles of a makeup artist, but does hit the major points of what you will be expected to do.
Career Progression
When starting your career in makeup, you will usually start as a ‘Daily’. This is TV speak for a crewmember who is only called up for work on an occasional basis. You are unlikely to be on set every day for a given shoot and work may be somewhat sporadic. For this reason, a lot of junior artists freelance themselves to multiple makeup studios in an effort to get more work and exposure.
As your career progresses, you will eventually be offered a main makeup artist position. At this point you will be part of a core team for a given shoot and will most likely be on set daily throughout production. This can be particularly hard work, with long hours and early starts (03:00-04:00) every day for several months.
From here, the next step up is as Lead Makeup Artist. You will be in charge of the team for a particular shoot, usually being able to choose who works below you. You’ll also have an aspect of creative input in the project, working with the other departments during both pre-production and during shooting to achieve the overall desired look.
It’s worth pointing out though that as for most of your career you will be freelancing, your position can be fluid from one job to the next. Just because you were the lead on a project doesn’t mean that you will be on the next, and you need to impress people with your work to get further work. It isn’t uncommon for artists to receive more work based upon the recommendations of colleagues they have impressed or even actors they have worked with. Some actors even demand that a specific artist be the one to apply their makeup. So remember to always put your best foot forward, keep on top of new techniques or products and always keep practicing on friends, family and yourself.
Other Work
We have concentrated on looking at TV work here, simply as that is what we at the Little School have the most experience with and exposure too. But as we said in the last article, there are other areas that makeup artists are needed and these often have unique differences in what they entail.
Theatircal makeup has many similarities to TV in terms of the expected roles of the artist. Application and removal of makeup, looking after the actors etc. all still apply as will the short time frames under which you will usually be expected to work. The major difference here is the style of makeup that you will be applying. Subtlety will usually not be called for, as your makeup application will need to be seen by everyone in the theatre, including those seated at the back of the auditorium. This may be achieved with different products or application techniques.
Photo shoot makeup can also offer a drastic deviation from TV work as it is more often about the artistic expression of the shoot. It won’t take long flicking through any kind of fashion magazine to see examples of this kind of makeup either. Here are some perfect examples of fashion makeup. Note the use of bright, vivid colours to draw the viewers attention to the
You may also get offered body painting jobs. These usually involve a cross between normal makeup application and traditional painting, using someone’s body as a canvas. A really well applied example of this form of makeup can blend people into a background, make it appear as if a model is fully clothed when they aren't or even transform the body's appearance.
-
Well, that just about wraps up this week’s post. We apologise for the length and the lack of photos but a quick Google Image search should provide you with plenty of inspiration. A word of caution though! Makeup, as with a lot of art, is about the study of the human body. This means you may come across nudity in some images (which is why we haven't directly linked much). You have been warned!
Hopefully this all provides a useful glimpse into the world of the makeup artist and as always, you can put any questions you might have in the comments or send an email our way and we will be happy to answer. Next week, we will look at the special effects artist and, hopefully, highlight the difference between the two jobs!