New Technology and Make-up

Whether you're working with Daylight or Tungsten Stock, Digital Video or HDTV - You can't afford to wait for the make-up department to change make-up for every medium and lighting scenario.  Across the board, new film stocks and digital technologies have a lot in common.  Every detail; every flaw, every edge from an appliance or lace hair piece, every imperfection can be seen. Now more than ever - bad make-up can ruin your production.

To be compatible with the new mediums, make-up artists need to use less make-up with more realistic coloring and greater attention to detail. As a general rule: if it looks like make-up to the eye, it will look like make-up on your print. 

Good make-up is more important now than ever before.

There are many gimmicks out there designed to convince artists that they have to do make-up differently for film, stills and EPK. As a filmmaker, you know that all of these mediums are shot on your set at the same time. Is there a risk that the make-up which looks good for film won't work for stills or video... ABSOLUTELY NOT.

One of the biggest new gimmicks is airbrush make-up for digital and HDTV. Clever marketing is successfully convincing television executives and inexperienced make-up artists that airbrush make-up is needed for HDTV. The only people benefiting from this practice are the companies who profit from airbrush tools, make-up, and training classes.

The notion that because you see more skin texture, you should spray paint the face is absurd. One website claims, "The tiny pixels of foundation give the same effect as what the digital camera sees." Huh? "... shadows and puffiness disappear." Don't fire your Gaffer. The best airbrush make-up companies have changed their formulas to be blendable so beauty and men's make-up will look more natural. They recommend blending with a sponge, brush or the fingers. What this means is that the airbrush is only a vehicle for getting the product on the face.

Airbrush beauty and men's make-up tends to look artificial. Because of that, we recommend airbrushing only for fantasy and appliance make-ups or covering large tattoos. Airbrushing is an important tool for special effects make-up artists and its proper use will continue to grow.

It is impossible to avoid breathing the particulates created by an airbrush without protection. Airbrushing should be done in a booth with a good exhaust fan. Eye and respiratory protection should be used when possible. No amount of ventilation can prevent particulates from settling in the nose and lungs of talent who are having their faces airbrushed. If an artist plans to use an airbrush everyday, ask them to obtain an insurance certificate from the product manufacturer. The properties in airbrush make-ups are FDA approved for application to the skin, not the nasal cavity and lungs.  Since this is a relatively new practice, the repercussions of breathing these particulates will not be fully known for some time. 

Remember all of the new technologies require less product, more detail and perfect color match. Don't be fooled by gimmicks.