Hair and makeup

Hair and makeup in production means both: the work step in which hair and makeup are prepared for the camera, and the area in which that happens. Camera makeup differs clearly from everyday makeup — it is designed for light, resolution and hours of hold, not for the view from two metres away.

Time needed on the shoot day

Count on 45 to 90 minutes for the first makeup, depending on the effort of hair and makeup. Simple looks can go faster; elaborate hairstyles take longer. This time stands on the Call Sheet and sits before the start of shooting, not inside it.

Important for your calculation: makeup time is working time and part of the paid shoot day. Anyone who sits in makeup at seven and first stands in front of the camera at nine still started at seven.

What is supplied and what you bring

The production supplies the makeup artist with kit: foundation, powder, eye and lip products, hair styling, setting. The costs for that sit with the production, not with you.

Still useful in your own bag: your usual daily care, a lip balm, hair clips and bands, a deodorant without a strong scent, your own comb, and cleansing products for the evening. If you tolerate one product and not others, bring it — that is the fastest way to avoid discussions.

Allergies and sensitive skin

Raise intolerances before the shoot day, not in the makeup chair. Latex, certain adhesives for lashes, fragrances, nickel in jewellery and individual preservatives are the most common triggers. Irritated skin on the shoot day is not only unpleasant; it is also visible in the picture and can cost the day.

With sensitive skin it helps, the day before, to skip peels, shaving immediately before the shoot and new care products. If you know you react to a product, name the ingredient, not only the brand — makeup artists can do more with that.

Why it is constantly retouched in between

Under lights and with physical effort no makeup holds for hours. Shine on the forehead, a slipped liner, loosened strands: all of that shows at once in a close-up. That is why someone comes between takes with powder and a comb.

The second reason is continuity. Because a scene is assembled from several, often widely separated takes, your appearance has to stay identical across the whole block — see Continuity. So change nothing on your own, not even in a break. If something bothers you, say so instead of fixing it yourself.

Application photos, by the way, need exactly the opposite: little makeup and no camera look. Why is in the article application photos that work.