Producers, who need to budget and schedule, based on the information in the script. An understanding of the script is necessary for answering the many questions that will come up during prep and filming. This allows the Makeup Artist to effectively deal with the changing conditions and concerns of a shoot. You will build lists of characters, scripted notes on the characters (how they look and dress), makeup effects, location or environments that will affect you, and any written descriptions affecting makeup. This information will influence the design and needs of the Makeup Department, including budgeting. Script breakdown is your chance to understand how the story moves, to get an understanding of everything that has to happen to the characters, how many “script days,” which scenes are day, which scenes are night, and if there are any environmental factors (such as rain). Script breakdown will help you make decisions on how to achieve and maintain the makeup looks. There are computer programs available for script breakdown. It is recommended that you use both manual and computer breakdowns for makeup.
1. Start by reading through the script without taking notes.
2. Read through a second time, making notes on what “day” or “night” it is, per scene.
Script breakdown is the process of analyzing your script. Breaking down a script is not a suggestion—it is essential toward your process of analyzing, developing, and designing makeup. All departments do a breakdown of the script, starting with the
Your days/nights will need to be checked against the Script Supervisor’s breakdown. Always defer to the Script Supervisor’s breakdown—this is given to all departments, and is the definitive breakdown of the script.
3. Read through a third time, making character notes, and start an effects list.
4. List all characters, along with any script descriptions of their looks.
5. List all makeup effects or looks that need to play in continuous scenes. Make notes on how long an effect or look works. This is your makeup continuity.
Example: Fred is hit in SC 3. His cheek is bruised.
Question: How many scenes does the bruise work, and what is the progression or age of the bruising? When is the last time you see the bruise?
Example: Mary and Joe leave the diner.
It starts to rain. They run two blocks to the car.
Question: Where do they drive to? How long do you maintain the “wet look”?
Your effects list will also help you in budgeting for the department. The better you know and understand the script, the
better prepared you are for conversations with the Director, Producers, and other department heads.
Wheeler, Paul. 2001 Digital Cinematography.
Linacre House: Focal Press, an imprint of Elsevier
—— 2003. High Definition and 24 P
Cinematography. Linacre House: Focal Press, an imprint of Elsevier.
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Internet Resources ——-
Digital photography. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Digital_photography.
Digital television. http://en. wikipedia. org/ wiki/digital_television.
EEFX. www. eefx. com.
HDTV. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/ HDTV.
For every person that sits down in your chair—whether you are working on a film, designing elaborate characters for theatre, creating an image for a photo shoot, or skillfully applying a beauty makeup for television—you will need to know that person’s skin tone. If you do not get this part right, your makeup will appear dull, gray, and lifeless. One of the things you’ll learn as a Makeup Artist is how to be quick and to think on your feet. In many cases, we do not have the luxury of time to work on a person—
6 8 everyone from the Director to the crew is waiting on you. Train yourself on the steps to analyzing skin tones, and you will be a better Makeup Artist. This would also include makeup effects. Makeup effects deal in great length in the art of skin tones and color layering.
The primary function of the skin is to protect, and to regulate heat. Differences in skin color are due to the amount of melanin activated in the skin and the way it is distributed. Melanin is the pigment of the skin. Melanin protects the skin cells from ultraviolet rays by absorbing and blocking UV rays through tanning, which is a reaction to sun exposure. UV rays have the greatest impact on how skin ages. Approximately 80 to 85 percent of our aging is caused by the sun. Melanin in the skin is nature’s sunblock, and the more melanin in the skin, the darker the skin tone. Scientists have estimated that people of African decent have some 35 different hues or shades of skin. Undertones that tend to dominate dark skin tones are yellow, orange, red, olive, and blue. You
have to learn and really understand how to deal with all the different undertones in the skin. Do not rely on just looking at the surface of the skin—the undertones that are present just under the surface will affect the color you apply to the skin. This takes much practical experience and exposure to the wide variety of skin tones and different combinations, as well as situations you will be with. Ethnicity, environment, and illness all play a part in a person’s individual undertones, and in some cases are not easily recognized. Look at what happens to color when applied to the skin. Does the color enhance the skin tone, or is there a gray or dull quality? Unless the part calls for illness, your goal is a healthy tone to the skin.
Nancy Tozier, Director of Education and President of Take up Make-up Cosmetics, says: Learning color theory can help you change a good makeup application into a great one. By understanding color theory, you can take years off a face, make eyes show from across the room, create harmony, and change dull to outrageous, while always knowing exactly what you’re doing.”
Tozier teaches throughout the United States and internationally. She specializes in teaching the artistry of makeup, color analysis, and skin care. The following outline will show you how to incorporate the color wheel to plot skin tones. You will also learn to custom blend foundations and powders with color to enhance or correct skin tones. Again, this theory in the use of color is a basic knowledge for all Makeup Artists. Nancy will guide us with her
to it, and can be warmed by adding a bit of yellow. You can see how very similar colors can be warm or cool depending on whether blue or yellow undertones are added.
How does the color wheel apply to custom blending cosmetics?
In Chapter 3, we showed you the Real Color Wheel (RCW) for mixing pigments.
Nancy uses the traditional artist color wheel for custom blending of cosmetics. The traditional color wheel primaries are red, blue, and yellow. Makeup foundations have 6 9 these colors in them. To custom blend a foundation to match the client’s skin perfectly, you must begin by determining if the client is warm toned (with golden undertones) or cool toned (with blue undertones). People rarely look blue, so we say cool (or blue) undertones. A variety of brown shades can be made by combining the primary colors.
To intensify a color, you add an additional amount of that same color. To neutralize a color, we look at our color wheel and choose the color directly across from the color we want to lessen. For example, if a foundation is too yellow, if we look at a color wheel, we see the opposite color is violet. We add small amounts of violet until we reach the desired tone.
Here is a guide to determine which colors intensify a color, and which colors neutralize a color.
• If the person needs more gold, add yellow.
• If the person needs less yellow, add violet.
• If the person needs less pink or has rosacea, add green.
• If the person needs less peach, first add mint, then violet.
This method can be used with translucent powders as well. Most private-label makeup companies offer the tools to custom blend, as well as empty bottles or jars, and larger-sized foundation bottles to work from. Always mix your foundations in a beaker for accurate measurements. With practice, you will learn the exact amounts to add. If you add too much color to neutralize, you can always add back in some of the opposite color. Check your color wheel.