*Updated March 26, 2006. Last revision; March 13, 2006
Basic Questions Regarding Special Effects Makeup
Q. Can you tell me how to do this?
A. No. This is how I make my living.
Q. What do you use special effects for?
SPFX is used for movies, disaster drills, ads, magazines, webisodes, commercials, photography, events, theater productions, etc.
Q. Isn’t that like the makeup they use on models for runway shows?
Most often, high-end makeup is used for runways such as MAC, Trish McEvoy, La Femme, Laura Mercier, NARS, etc.
Special effects makeup also involves making facial molds, prop building, sqibs (gunshot simulations) and materials like plaster bandages and rigid collodian, which isn’t found in places like Sephora.
Q. Why does it cost a lot of money to make special effects?
A. The cost of materials is extremely pricey.
Movie makeup is not like the average makeup found in your local pharmacy. It is most often highly pigmented and comes in diff. grades. It is makeup made to last for several hours under hot lights before a re-application is necessary. Certain stage lights (colored light gels) weather or working conditions can dull the colors applied onto an actor or change it's appearance to the point that it does not appear behind the camera anything like it did during the application process. Certain products are made to correct this, but granted these are by no means cheap.
These and other unaccounted variables can also lengthen the labor time originally scheduled.
It's not just makeup your dealing with. Makeup makes up a good third of an SPFX's artist's kit. The rest includes popular items like prosthetic appliances, adhesives, spatulas, liquid latex, removers, stipple-pad sponges, finishing sprays and all other materials you've never heard of that are absolutely necessary in achieving 'the look'.
Q. Can you recommend someone to do _______?
A. Yes, and No.
The people I know are all Union and you have to have several thousand dollars just to even hail down 5 min. of their time.
As a rule, I never recommend anyone wonderful to any unknowns. If an unknown director screws over any of my people, it reflects badly on me and makes for shaky relations. In other words, you're on your own. Tough shit.
Q. How professional dows one have to be?
In terms of education, most people I’ve ever met have been self-taught or with very little schooling.
I’ve met students who have had all their materials together and demonstrated a high level of professionalism, and I’ve met directors with loads of experience show just how distracted all they are over the place. Get yourself together and have your ideas and all related materials ready to go. From my end, I’m not a mindreader so it becomes frustrating to pull out visions that are locked inside so many creative minds. Don’t be of few words and get it together.
Contracting Services
Q. How much does it cost?
A. My first question is always, what’s your budget?
It’s a waste of both our times if you haven’t already seperated out a budget for special effects. If you don’t have your money ready to go, don’t contact me.
All projects are custom jobs, so it's impossible for any makeup artist to give a flat service fee.
In general, one gets charged on 4 things:
- kit fee (for makeup used)
- labor hours (myself and any assistants needed for your project)
- travel (could be train fare, could be cab fare)
- overtime (any extension of time going over what we originally discussed)
Additionally I need to know A) who is ordering the effects B) who is disbursing payment.
Depending on the nature of the project, I will charge either by hour or by a flat-rate shoot. And you don't get to choose that, I do.
If you are a student going to film school and will plan on shooting once the new semester begins, please contact me first so we can discuss your movie and get you an approx. estimate on effects before filming. This will help you determine how much the overall production cost before you decide to take out a student loan or ask mom & dad to bankroll your vision.
Q. Do you work on tips?
A. Let’s be honest. With the collapse of the economy, not a whole lot of people tipping. I’m not interested.
Q. Do you charge for consultation?
A. Usually no, but only if I must travel very far, or, if the consultation drags on for over an hour. Just as with the makeup, it's all custom.
However, I won't give you detailed instructions on how to do the actual makeup application step-by-step, if that's what you mean by consultation. If you want to learn how to do that you'd better intern with me first.
Q. Do I need to bring anything to the consultation?
Please bring your story boards with you, treatment, flyer of the event, press kit of event, copy of script for me, actors who will be wearing the makeup, costume they will be wearing, photos of locations, just everything you can think of that will be relevant to your project.
Q. I don't have a lot of money. Will you volunteer your time?
A. Absolutely not. I am not a volunteer.
Fact: There is just no logistical way to do this fast and cheap.
This isn't something one can do quickly or cheaply. It takes it's sweet time. Even to put on latex ears takes over an hour to do flawlessly.
The cost of materials and labor + amt. of time to execute =
Far outweigh whatever benefit returned. Plain and simple.
This is not my project, so the best thing you can do is to find a student makeup artist who will volunteer their time. Yes, you lose experience but you gain a willing individual who will donate their free time to overseeing your production needs.
Q. What if we cut down some steps to bring down the price?
In order to achieve a certain look, an SPFX artist uses a variety of step-by-step processes that take quite some time and effort.
No matter what time-crunch you're in, an SPFX makeup artist cannot cut out any of these crucial steps. The effect will not work.
This is why it is highly recommended that a director have storyboards to estimate the alotted time given to shoot scenes. To help adjust to these changes, makeup artists pull all sorts of tricks and makeup out of their bag.
Q. What if I buy my own makeup? Will that bring the cost down?
A. First off, don't-don't-don't buy the makeup first, then tell me about it. You think you're being sly and saving a buck or two, when in reality you bought the wrong kind of makeup and/ or realize later you may not need it at all. And most makeup you can't return for a refund depending where you bought it.
And for f***'s sake, don't buy old Halloween makeup left over from last October; the kind that sits in a dusty corner and is marked down. That crap is never good for anything.
I already add the cost of materials to your overall price anyway because only I know what you need to buy to get the effect done.
Sorry, but I don't gain anything by telling you to buy more expensive sh!t.
If anything, I do my best to cut out of the scene any wasted motions and I always advise what is the best way to achieve an effect with less. If we can use coffee grinds to get an aged effect then great, let's go with that instead of having someone on set purchase dye. Less wasted motions are to everyone's benefit; director and crew alike. It leads to trimming out a few hours from a film shoot or avoid having to purchase expensive materials just by consulting with me.
Consult with me first, dammit!
Q. I'm a student film-maker/ independent film director. Can't you give me a good price?
A. My rates are extremely low-cost for this type of industry.
Typically, the going rates for an SPFX artist are double to triple and far more than what I charge. I'm one of few SPFX artists willing to work with students and low-budget film crews.
But don't take my word for it. Do your own investigating.
Q. What if I offer to pay for your food/ travel and get you a dvd copy of my film? Would you do it for free then?
A. That offer works well for the average novice. On the other hand, I'm professional and expect monetary compensation all the way.
When people offer me this, it is typically in the way of a slice of pizza and soda,
and subway fare (we're in New York City).
On Food: I've had enough pizza and soda to make a frat house puke. So get one of your P.A.'s to get me lunch because we're crunched for time and I can't leave
my post.
And if I have to leave my post during your long-ass shoot, it's like 20 min. to find a place to eat at, 13min. standing in line, 20 min. chowing down and another 20 min. to get back so, 73 min. total! Consider all these variables, then consider how much I am charging you by the hour. So send someone to get lunch and not pizza, who you can sacrifice.
On Travel: The cost of travel is included in the labour hours or negotiated separately, and that's determined by how complicated it will become to get to and from the shooting location.
Sometimes I will have to get cab fare to and from the destination because I carry a big-ass Black & Decker industrial-sized tool box that's set on wheels and has a handle. That thing is so big it doesn't even fit on the bus (i tried!). Anyway, the bus doesn't run late at night so I charge cab fare for late night shoots.
As for a DVD reel: Be honest. You are never going to get around to that.
I'm still waiting 5 yrs. later on the false promises of aspiring directors who change their email and cell phone numbers. Sometimes it's just the people editing the reel that take their sweet time. Now I don't really expect footage but if you offer it as part of the deal then you'd better come through! Have it ready at the time of your film debut. So if you're out of time (and what student isn't?), remember that I don't need the whole film- just a clip of the scene with the makeup effect. Email it, if file size is small enough.
I always expect you guys to maintain professional decorum, even if you are film students. Don't be wishy washy assholes. Cuz I can be one too. The kind that goes home early and leaves you to deal with your own mess.
So don't burn your bridges! And I am the wrong person to burn!
Q. Would you be willing to work with out non-profit organization for one day on...?
A. FYI: Your tax-exempt status doesn't mean anything to me because I am a freelance makeup artist. That only works with agencies.
Many charities usually attempt to contract me for body painting or face painting gigs, which is not my top choice but if it's under reasonable terms and time constraints then it's something I can do.
The reason I bring it up is because I get many calls from panicky festival organizers who are in a rush to fill some lower end entertainment, usually at the last minute. And they always want to pay me 2mo. later in the form of a $75.- check that needs to be signed and approved by many hands before it finally gets printed by the bookkeeper.
And I only have a few short hours to prepare., according to them.
For a mere $75.00 usd I will not run & jump through hoops. I'm a professional special effects makeup artist, not some loopy college intern. No, I don't care that you have to fill some void or that your champagne-sipping moron boss is gonna kill you.
Understandably, I charge a lot for last minute gigs. Please don’t try to bribe me with "I'll pass your name along to people". That ploy never works. I don't care you you know in the industry because chances are, I know even more people, so go stuff it. Also non-negotiable: Waiting around to get paid. Write out a business check, or pay me out from your petty cash box you keep in the office. If I show up and you don't have payment in hand, I'm gonna turn around and go straight home and you can answer to your angry boss as to why I left. It's payment on demand. Period.
Q. We are a hip, trendy, fledgleling start-up, with sales of over $$$$ a month. Please do this cheaply for us? We'll backlink to your website in return.
A. I don’t have a blogroll/ webroll because I reserve the side bars for advertising and other needs. If you’re interested in advertising here, contact me at my email address.
The economy's a shit, no doubt. Most start-ups vanish in this town after a few weeks. Suffice to say it’s not worth it for me to lose a few thousand out of my own pocket to boost your business needs.
I work with any business that has the budget to match the vision.
I have done high-end commercial work before due to the client safeguarding enough within the budget to meet expectations.
I applaud your enterpeneurial efforts and trust that you can use that know-how to raise cash for these projects as well.
If your start-up is able to raise a few thousand dollars of capital during any valuation round, you can pay me out of those funds. There’s no reason not to.
At this time, I'd like to point out that I am an incredibly amazing bullshit detector.
See, when the following happens:
- an NYYoo brat comes up to me saying that his buddy needs a complicated effect for a photo shoot of his brand new indie magazine
- but he can't be bothered to meet with me, even upon return
- because he's out of town
- and wants me to do this incredibly complicated effect FOR FREE
- because he has no $$$ being a start-up and all
- and the guy sends his lackey to tell me all of this who is also not getting paid squat
- and continues to insist the dude WHOSE PARENTS PAY his NYYoo tuition are also vacationing with him IN FRANCE (hence the out-of-town thing)
Then it’s easy to deduce the dude's got money. No sh!t. I told lackey to tell him to go f*** himself.
Sadly, this is a real life example. I wish i was kidding, but I can't make that up. And yes, there's been several other instances of assholes trying to pretend they have no money and trying to squeeze out free services from me.
It never works. Don’t bother.
Bottom line: If you have money, I will know.
Q. Do you work with kids?
In what context? If by kids you mean the kind that do fashion modeling and have agents, yes, I can work with them. In fact, they are the best kind. Because they know how to sit still and behave. They are trained to do so. This makes my job easy.
If you mean do I do face painting for kid’s birthday parties then no, no, and no. It would take a sh!tload of money for me to agree to something like that!
Q. I have a HUGE project coming up. I may need someone to do SPFX by the end of the week.
A. Then you'd better have a HUGE SPFX budget. Whatever timecrunch you're in,
I still charge what I charge. If you call me the night before or last minute, I will charge you out the ass for my services.
This is because I have to scramble to get my kit ready for your 6am shoot in a few hours.
Or maybe your effect is so complicated I'm going to need an assistant for tomorrow and have to make many phone calls after midnight to find one that's free.
Or I'm going to have to custom make some prosthetics and/ or seperate out tubes and blood and realize that I'll need some material I'm out of, and have to get up early in the morning to go to the makeup store that's out of the way.
Any number of reasons. I'm still gonna charge you like crazy for calling so last minute. Better call me a few days in advance to reserve me for on-call. That costs you nothing, just don't call me to show up in 1 hr if film shoot is 3 hrs away. Common sense!
Q. HELP!!! My A.D. quit on me at the last minute/
Two of my P.A.'s haven't shown up yet with the props/
My actress is 2 hours behind schedule and can't be reached by her cell phone/ Pyrotechnics guy isn't here yet/ etc.
A. All movie sets have their own crisis. Believe me when I say the aforementioned
examples are pretty common blunders. I see it all the time; this is nothing new. Poor planning.
To save time and energy, approach me as soon as possible so we can determine how to achieve the effect in the absence of crew members or whatever other factors have changed.
Please remember that your crisis is not my problem.
My only concern is getting the SPFX done and getting paid as discussed. I get my end done and you keep up your end of the bargain. This note is more aimed at student directors and newbies more than anything. Anyone who's already in the business knows logistics.
Whatever the crisis is, I always keep a head cool and perform my duties as discussed. Keep in mind that now the playing field has changed, so my billable hours change with it.
The only time things become complicated for me is if Actor A (whose makeup I'm doing) isn't already on set. The Rule: Actors need to get there a few hours earlier than whatever their shooting time.
Some makeup effects take as much as 3 hours, even with the aid of an assistant. So if the actor is 4 hours late, makeup is still 3 hours late and thus, filming is pushed back another 3 hours.
Just have an understudy ready for any special makeup effects scenes to avoid all this nonsense.
Getting Into Special Eeffects Makeup Industry
Q. What kind of training do I need?
A.You don't have to be a graduate of a prestigious makeup school or anything, but it couldn't hurt. Even if you can draw, that definitely helps. More importantly, you need imagination and creativity, and willing to commit to the long hours and little pay.
Ask yourself how bad do you want it.
Q. I want to be your assistant. What do I need to get started?
A. Most people who want to assist me come from all walks of life.
If this sounds like you:
* just graduated from the beauty academy looking to learn what they failed to teach you
* already work in tv shows looking to strengthen your expertise
* are young professionals who just got laid off from your boring high-paying job and looking to jump into a brand new field
* don't know what to do with your lives after attending 5 diff. colleges and looking to enrich your being somehow
* wanna moonlight for extra cash by doing this
Then don't bother. Sounds harsh, but so is the film industry.
What you need to understand is that this IS NOT glamorous work! It is a labor of love and you seriously need to love your craft, otherwise, you will not have a good time.
The hours on any film set are long (anywhere from 3-16 hr. shoots), and you are there until they are done filming the SPFX scenes and/or until you can hitch a ride back home with someone who has a car.
It's not like you can bolt whenever just because you've been standing around for 4 hours so far with nothing to do. Too damn bad! Remember everyone on set is tired too.
People who pull stunts like that are never called back and believe me, people notice.
Word gets around. So don't make yourself look bad, because this is one of the most fickle industries ever. If you ever plan for a solid career anywhere in film, even if you first start out as a P.A., never ever burn your bridges!
Expect that sometimes it's an hour or longer commute to the filming location.
Sometimes they shoot in the middle of torrential downpour and you are there for however long it takes for them to get the shot.
We could be shooting for 5 hours in a freezing basement in the middle of winter with only one small space heater.
We could be shooting past sundown in the woods getting bitten by mosquitos and trying to find our way back to the trailer by the beach with only a pen light.
We could be doing makeup in a dark corner because the production people went over budget and couldn't get a P.A. to go to the damn drug store and buy a $5.99 power surge and extension cord (that they're supposed to provide!) so we have to make do with what little sunlight filters in through the tiny window.
It won't always be in some glossy studio with professional catering service surrounded by models and beautiful people and expensive camera equipment.
If you can endure this, congratulations! You are on your way to the film industry!
Now what I expect from an assistant is hard work, dedication, and a genuine love of this art. Sounds simple but you'd be surprised how arduous a task this is for most folks. Assistants are always on standby, and may not have anything to do for several hours until called out of the blue to achieve some enormous task. Think you can do that?
Q. What should I do/ not do when assisting on set?
A. Be prepared. Shit always happens and you need to be the first one to piece it all together. Below is a list of things off the top of my head. Other things to consider when assisting a professional makeup artist:
- When you first arrive, arrive on time and in sync to the makeup artist. You are expected to set up their equipment however they tell you to arrange it.
- Make sure all brushes are crystal clean. Makeup artists usually don't clean them each and every time but they need to be clean of makeup before applying to someone's face. This is a hygenic practice and law.
- Always carry enough makeup remover for the brushes and babywipes for people. Makeup remover for brushes is smelly and toxic so try to remove that shit a few days in advance. If you have to do it on set, dab it on in small amounts in the bathroom. Just never do this in front of the talent, because all this should be taken care of before they arrive on set.
- DON'T piss off the makeup artist you assist. They may never call you back to assist them, or paint an ugly picture of you to the agency that employs them. This could be a number of things so be on your best behaviour.
- Dress accordingly. Don't wear a crisp white $38.00 shirt from Urban Outfitters you just bought if you're going to do a lot of blood work or heavy oil based makeup for appliances and such. Likewise, don't wear paint or latex spattered shorts with holes in them if you're working on the set of a television commercial, or some glossy photo shoot.
- Be on stand-by. That means you spring forth like The Flash armed with the proper makeup/ tools
- Don't sit around. This makes you look lazy, unreliable and ultimately, undesirable. You are expected to stand around and stand by to patch up any makeup issues. Sitting around is highly improper and viewed as bad manners on set. Wear those Dr.Sholl's insoles if you suffer foot problems.
- Keep out of the view of the cameras. See where the gaffing tape is marked on the floor?
- Don't be a chatterbox on set. The only people who should be talking are directors/ photographers/ A.D./ D.P./clients.
- QUIET ON THE SET.
- Don't chew gum on set. On ANY kind of set, this is taboo. Switch to mints.
- Don't wait to be called on more than once by the director/ photographer/ makeup artist. You'll piss everyone off and that will be the end of you working with that production company. You'll be lucky if anyone calls you again.
- Don't bad mouth people. Someone always loses it on set and that's the norm. Even if you're working with bitches or impossible directors, word always gets around.
- Don't point out loud any mistakes the makeup artist or whoever makes. Quietly talk with them aside away from the talent and clients.
- Don't smoke. In an enclosed space, the smell goes everywhere and can piss people off. If you must, do it before the shoot and during lunch break, but hose yourself down with mints and perfume before returning to set.
- Don't leave anything lying around. I've met stylists who've had entire bags of clothing dissappear on set. People have complained of sneakers, curling irons, lunchboxes, sweaters and such dissappearing on closed and open sets. Your belongings are not exempt. You're also responsible for the makeup of the makeup artist so keep an eagle-eye on it.
- Do a full sweep before calling it a day. Hairspray cans, expensive squirrel-fur imported brushes, makeup wheels and blush palettes can be lying around the place so double check before going home.
- NEVER go home before the makeup artist themself (unless it's a legit emergency). Use your head and ask politely if there's anything else that needs to be done. Otherwise it just looks like you wanna get the hell outta there, so why should they bother calling you back?
Q. If i'm going to be an SPFX assistant, do I need to buy my own makeup? And what kind should I get?
A. It helps to be prepared already. Few professionals are willing to let you dip into their kits just to lend a hand. It's typically unheard of.
It's the same as an artist letting you draw into their personal sketchbook, or a hardcore computer geek letting you fiddle with their computer unsupervised. It's just not done.
The makeup is pricey so unless you definitely want a career in this direction, don't bother. But if you do, then yes, buy your own and be prepared. Nothing peeves off a makeup artist like a needy, unfocused assistant who never has the proper tools. If they have to lend you their tools to get the job done for the client, well that's a no-no and it's frowned upon.
I can't tell you what kind of makeup to get because I don't know what kind of work you'll be doing.
Special Effects makeup work is sporadic and employs a broad spectrum of techniques.Maybe you'll be doing a lot of blood work. Maybe you'll be doing a lot more bruises.
Buy a starter kit and practice with it; Ben Nye makes a great one. With the frequency of jobs, you'll realize what to buy more of. Buying in bulk is not a bad idea if you already know how much you'll need.
Sometimes you can get a discount on makeup if you're a makeup artist. To prove this,you need to have a portfolio, a comp card, and business cards ready to go. Discounts vary from place to place.
Q. Can you recommend some stores to purchase SPFX makeup?
I’m afraid to say that due to low demand, most stores don’t carry big selections. It may seem that one store carries plaster bandages exclusively while another may carry the Alginate that’s used in combination. And sometimes, those very stores stop selling it for a few months and later begin reselling it again. You have to pluck from every end of the universe to replenish your kit. It’s annoying. Sorry guys, you’ll have to dig around on the web.
Miscellaneous
Q. Can I advertise on your website?
I’m open for taking ads. Send me an email and let’s discuss.
Q. Can I backlink to your website?
Lemme throw it out there now: If anyone wants to backlink to this site, feel free to do so. This is considered a good-will gesture, but not as payment of services.
You can also reference anything written here. But you can’t copy word-for-word. At this time, I’m not allowing anybody to copy images from my site.
Q. What's the best way to piss you off?
Hmm, let's see, oh yea, not being prepared, having screaming matches with crew and thinking that you can get away with directing your anger at me. Listen, I'm a pretty big guy, been around the block, don't care about petty drama, and I don't take snot FROM ANYONE. And if I have to put you in your place I will. So if you mistreat me, even I will refuse the job and go home.
Please, behave like a professional. And not an asshat.
I don't care about a client’s personal tastes, beliefs, whatever. These things generally dissaffect me. I'm only here to do my job, that's it.
Don’t bother trying to involve me in a discussion on religion or politics; I am too focused on my work and have no time for that. And no, I don't care who you are, if you're rich, or if you're a girl.
What else...not supplying me with _____ when we expressly discussed it's necessity in order to achieve the effect, changing the dates or scripts without notifying me, etc. I could go on...
Q. I have more questions that aren't on this FAQ's list.
A. Email me anything I haven't already covered so that I can answer it as I add it on.
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