The Makeup Artist Handbook
Page 30
Makeup Kits for Day Checking
Day checking, or daily hire, means you are called in one day at a time. Even though you might get a heads-up on more days, don't count on it. Anything can happen. Although there are people who consider day checking to be the least important part of the crew, that way of thinking is a big mistake. Department heads recognize the importance of their daily-hire crew. In general a department head who values the crew runs a more efficient operation and gets better results in the final outcome of the makeup look desired for the film. As a matter of fact, on a large feature film or project that Makeup Artists want to be involved with, they often work as day checkers. Skill is very important at this level, for often you are left alone to make your own judgment calls.
The right makeup kit for the right job is also important. If a department head has phoned ahead to recommend bringing very little or just what is needed, take notice and heed that request. The department head knows what is going on with the shoot. There is always time to bring in a larger makeup kit if you are hired for more days, or if you are assigned a specialized makeup procedure such as laying down sideburns for a period piece. You most likely have had conversations with the department head on any special makeup to bring with you. Every now and then, a production comes to town and the makeup department has not expressed to you what it is you will be doing or what to bring. Doing a little research on the production gives you a feel for the time period of the movie, and you can bring what you feel is needed.
The following makeup kit will cover you in all your needs as a day checker or union Makeup Artist (Figure 12.3). If you are working a non-union production, this same makeup kit would apply, but with the addition of hair products. Every Makeup Artist has favorite products, and no one is wrong. The products below are listed because they are popular with other working Makeup Artists—we are constantly trying out or using products that have been suggested by other professionals. I would also suggest that you buy small sizes that can be refilled, or products in tubes, or use small labeled containers to fill with your favorite products. Remember to stay portable!
Figure 12.3 Treatment bag and film day-checker bag and chair
Note: Most artists have a makeup kit or case, a makeup bag with additional supplies (including a treatment bag), a set bag or case, and a set chair. The average number of pieces is three. Some artists are great packers and have it down to two!
Gretchen's Treatment Bag Contents
• Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer for all skin types
• Kiehl's Sodium PCA Oil-Free Moisturizer (for those who do not want any oil added to the surface of their skin)
• Kiehl's Cucumber Herbal Alcohol-Free Toner (transfer to a smaller bottle, or use the travel size and refill from the large 16.9-ounce container when needed)
• Kiehl's Blue Astringent Herbal Lotion (transfer to a smaller bottle, or use the travel size and refill from the large 16.9-ounce container when needed)
• Kiehl's Close Shavers Shaving Formula #31-0
• Kiehl's Ultimate Brushless Shaving Cream
• Terax Body Moisturizing Shaving Cream
• Kiehl's Men's Alcohol-Free Herbal Toner
• Clinique Skin Supplies for Men, M-Shave Aloe Gel
• Remington FaceSaver Pre-Shave Powder
• Kiehl's Washable Cleansing Milk for Dry, or Normal to Dry, or Sensitive Skin
• L'annine Hand and Body Crème
• Kiehl's Lip Balm #1 with Sunscreen
• Fresh Soy Face Cleanser Makeup Remover
• Lancôme Bi-Facial Double-Action Eye Makeup Remover
• Evian Eau Minerale Naturelle Spray
• DHC Coenzyme Q10 Water Mist
• Travel-size container of witch hazel
• Sephora Makeup Brush Cleansing Wipes
• DHC Makeup Off Sheets
• Wet Ones Moisture Wipes Travel Pack
• Murad Day Reform Treatment (applied to skin before airbrushing)
• Sunscreen SPF 45 or higher
• Rubbing alcohol in a small bottle
• Natura Bisse Sponges
• Small, clean towels
• Eye Tees Precision Makeup Applicators
• Small scissors for cutting cuticles
• Larger scissors for all-around use
• Diamancel Nail File
• Disposable shavers
• No-shred cotton pads
• Sugar-free gum or mints in a variety of flavors and brands
• Norelco trimmer
• Tissues
Set Bag
The contents of a set bag or case are determined by individual preference. You can be on-set for long periods of time, and might not be able to get back to base camp if you have forgotten an item. Also, it depends on if you are watching large background scenes or one or two individuals. Try to keep your set bag lightweight and portable for easy maneuverability while on-set. If you are shooting outdoors, be sure to check the weather conditions. You might need to use a case that is waterproof or covered if rain is expected. A hard, portable gym locker bag works well because it is compact and has a long strap for shoulder use, as well as handles for carrying. It is also waterproof, so it works well outdoors in varied conditions that may include rain, snow, or high temperatures. Indoors or on smaller shoots, use a clear, larger set bag with long straps and that rests close to the body. With a clear bag, the contents are readily visible, which makes it easy to find a specific product. You'd be surprised at how hard it can be finding items when you need them fast!
Along with the products mentioned below, a small, clear cosmetic bag containing the products you will need to use on the actor for touch-ups on-set is useful. Large freezer bags also work. If you have several actors to watch, use individual bags marked with each actor's name, so there is no sharing of products among the actors. Most important of all, individual bags will keep brushes and powder puffs separate.
Pro Tip
Cover your powder puff with a Kleenex tissue for on-set touch-ups. After each touch-up, toss the tissue away and put a new one around the powder puff. This way, you can touch up many people without contaminating anyone.
Gretchen's Set Bag: Contents for Film Set Day Checker
• Kleenex tissues
• Skin Illustrator Grunge
• Sponges
• Powder puffs
• Wet Ones Travel Pack
• Temptu Trauma Pallette
• Evian Eau Mineral Spray
• Pointy Q-tips
• Package of disposable mascara wands
• Remington FaceSaver Pre-Shave Powder
• Small bottle of glycerin
• Small pair of scissors
• Band-Aids
• Small eye pencil sharpener
• Tweezers, Laura Mercier by Tweezerman
• Eyedropper
• Three Cutex Nail Polish Remover Pads
• Refresh Eye Drops Single-Use Containers
• Visine
• Gum and mints of choice (regular and sugar-free)
• Small Jao Antibacterial Hand Refresher
• Small Bliss Body Butter
• Small Lise Watier Equilibre Solution Double Eye Makeup Remover
• Kiehl's Lip Balm SPF 15
• Lancôme Pure Focus
• Carmex
• Small package of flesh-colored ear plugs
• Andrea Eyelash Adhesive
• Two containers of individual eyelashes in dark brown and black
• Two eye shadow palettes with the following colors: black, dark brown, light brown, off-white, rust, gray blue, taupe; eye shadow palettes by Make Up For Ever and Viseart
• Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat Radiant Touch
• Natural oil-absorbing rice paper tissues with rice powder and Bobbi Brown Blotting Papers
• No-color powder pressed compact
• Red eye pencil
• Black eye pencil
> • Menthol vapor for the eyes
• Small squeeze bottle of Ken Diaz KD151 Flowing Blood Syrup, Drying Blood in Dark and Light
• Skin Illustrator Flesh Tone Palette
• Skin Illustrator FX Palette
• Reel Color Palette Cover-Up/Effects Kit
• Braun electric shaver
The last five items of the above list I store in my set chair (if not needed), and then they are readily available on set. (See Figure 12.3 for photo of film day checker bag.)
Pro Tip
If you need to use powder, switch among several products like anti-shine, blotting papers, and no-color pressed powder to avoid excess build-up.
Gretchen's Makeup Bag for Film Day Checker
The makeup you bring as a day checker on a film set can be contained in a bag or case of some sort. If you are directed to bring makeup for a certain character or time period, you should adjust the contents of your makeup bag to fit the need. If the job is going to entail helping out the department head most of the time, and is not so much about applying a lot of makeup, you won't need to bring a bulky case. A clear bag with a large strap and handle that can accommodate only what is necessary should work. What you do and how you transport your makeup becomes a personal challenge. Changing out your makeup to fit the job at hand happens no matter how well you think you're organized. Having at home a few different makeup bags or cases already set up and ready to go helps cut down the “What to bring?” question.
• Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics water-based foundation (can be mixed with another brand)
• Kett water-based foundations (can be mixed with other brands)
• Le Clerc pressed powders: Banana and Apricot
• RCMA KO/MB Palette by Vincent Kehoe
• Sephora makeup brush cleaning wipes
• Visiora MV in all colors
• DermaColor Camouflage System
• A few setup towels
• Metal palette to blend makeup
• Book of artist paper to blend makeup
• Palette knife
• RCMA No-Color Powder
• Laura Mercier Secret Brightening Powder
• Iman Pressed Powders
• Guerlain Bronzing Powders
• Tarte Stick Color Stains in all colors
• Eye shadow palettes in various colors (I like to have a compact shadow palette that I can use on anybody for large crowds, containing colors in black, dark brown, taupe, creams, white, blue, violet, green, and gray. I have every NARS compact that has come out! My favorite for on-set is Skin Deep.)
• Eye shadow palettes in frosty gold tones
• Eye shadow palettes in frosty silver tones
• Blushers (Blushers should be simple. Light pink, coral, burgundy, red if needed, and a warm neutral color. Again, I can usually find this combination of colors in a palette; therefore, I don't need to bring a lot of loose colors. Make Up For Ever has a good combination of colors you can put together. I have one or two creams that I can use if someone has a dry skin tone.)
• Kiehl's Lip Balm SPF 15 in hues 30G and 58B
• Kiehl's Lip Balm SPF 15
• Laura Mercier Brow Powder Duos in all colors
• Bobbi Brown Long Wear Gel Eyeliners in all colors
• Brow pencils in all the brow colors
• Eye pencils in black, dark brown, dark blue, dark green, and white
• Lip Pencils: M•A•C Rosewood, Trish McEvoy Deep Nude, T. LeClerc Tendre, M•A•C Mahogany, Guerlain Rouge #2, By Terry #11 and #12, Lancôme Lip Coloring Stick Inspire, Mauvelle, Lancôme LipColor Cherub, plus a few colors that will work in any situation, such as pink tones, coral tones, reds, burgundy, and a rust color; Yves Saint Laurent Touche Éclat, all colors
• Various lip glosses in tubes
• Bobbi Brown Eye Brighten
• Laura Mercier Secret Brightener
• Laura Mercier Eye Basics Liner
• Lancôme Definicils Waterproof Mascara
• Lancôme Definicils High Definition Mascara
• Trish McEvoy High Volume Mascara
• Brush roll with a variety of brushes
• W.M. Creations, Inc. Stacolor full palette
• Hand-held fan (for those hot days or sets) (See Fig. 12.3 for photo of film day checker bag.)
Set Chair
Having a set chair available is welcome when you will be sitting for long periods of time. In film, it is important because of the amount of time you spend shooting. Everyone has their favorites. Every day, new chairs surface that we all like to check out. I still like my larger chair that has a pocket below that I can stock with extra items. You will find yourself storing extra pieces of clothing for different weather conditions. The chair is compact and easy to move in a hurry. Observe what your department heads are doing. In some cases, the production or makeup teams do not believe in sitting down on the job. Although this is rare, don't assume that everyone brings a chair to the set.
Commercial Versus Film
Makeup kits for the commercial world are similar to those in film. There are a few differences between the two. For one thing, you probably will need to bring a hair kit as well as the makeup kit. In many cases one person does makeup and hair for a commercial. Do not do hair if you are not qualified or comfortable with it. If you are working on a non-union shoot, you most definitely will be doing both. On a union shoot with a budget for two or more artists, they will hire a Makeup Artist and a hairstylist. The union requires that all hairstylists be licensed in cosmetology and keep their license current.
Just as with film shoots, someone should be contacting you with your call times the day before you are to work. Call sheets are usually faxed or e-mailed. Follow the directions and get to work on time!
When you reach crew parking, you'll be escorted by a van to the makeup setups. In commercials, RVs are usually used instead of makeup star trailers. There can be multiple locations in the course of a day, so traveling is easier for production in RVs. Plus, the number of actors you'll be working on at a time can be smaller. Of course, this isn't always the case.
Once you have set up, an AD should start bringing in your actors. Once done, you're off to the set! On commercials, clients who are representing the company that is being filmed are on-set. Clients are there to make sure the company is getting what they need out of the shoot. Be professional at all times. You never know who is listening or who it is that you might be talking to.
At the end of the shooting day, make sure that you've filled out your time card. Turn in your time card to production. Be sure to stay and wait for the actors to help remove any makeup if needed. If there is room, I like to have hot towels available.
Now you can find your way back to crew parking. Drive carefully and slowly going home. You've worked long hours.
Daniela's Makeup Kit
Many Makeup Artists, including me, have separate kits for commercials and photography. Commercials are not only very tiring, but you work with actors, which is different from working with models. Actors need many more products and attention throughout the day. Therefore, I always have a security kit with me that includes eye drops, different bases, a nail kit, body cream, and a first-aid kit, to name just a few items. For photography, the makeup kit contains a lot of products to create effects, such as glitter, different textures of glosses, and all sorts of eyelashes, powders, stones, jewelry, and stencils. I make some of the stencils myself.
Time Cards and Kit Fees: Instructions
Get your start paper documentation in order to bring with you. On union shoots, you will need a copy of your makeup kit rental inventory, which includes a total value and product list, an invoice for your makeup kit rental fee (or box rental), and a copy of your IDs. Whatever you do, don't forget to bring these in. Everyone is busy; production people have no interest or time to hear your reasons for forgetting. They need the information to process your start papers, so you can get paid. Try to make
life easier for everyone. I usually have several copies ready to go ahead of time. Fill out the correct information for that job. I put the papers in my makeup kit so as not to forget. The makeup department should have your start paperwork on the first day to fill out and turn in. The combination of the papers you brought in, and the start papers you'll fill out, are turned in together. If the makeup department does not have start papers for you, find the production trailer and get the papers yourself. Again, it looks good for you to know where to go and what to fill out correctly. If you have any questions about your rate or pay, if no one has told you or if they don't know, ask your local union. If the makeup department is from a different local they might not know your rate. Rate of pay fluctuates with regions and union locals. If you think about it, not knowing what your salary will be isn't very professional.