Chapter 1

MAKE-UP ARTISTRY IN CINEMA

(Translated from french into english by myself)

     Talk about make-up in cinema is a wide topic, so much that it will take several chapters  only to have a general idea.

     There are so many things to discuss that if one starts no matter where, no matter how, one would risk to get lost soon.

     So I’ll do my best to sort out things chronologically in order to maintain some coherence, and begin by a quick (hence necessarily approximate and incomplete, please, pardon me) synopsis of the make-up history since its origins till nowadays. 

     Make-up is one of Mankind eldest habits. 

     Since Man understood he could draw and paint, distinctives signs relatively well designed on the skin with ash and natural colouring agents served to recognise clans then tribes members. 

     Later, a spiritual value added itself to this function to link together men of a same people, of a same belief. This very old custom continued at least until the beginning of the XXth century in certain areas of the world, that tells it was of an utmost importance.

     Beyond this value as an identification sign, it was discovered that it was good-looking, decorative, and little by little, « make-up » evolved that way. 

     Ancient Egyptians found a medicine, made from almonds and willow ashes and powdered malachite that protected them from infections caused by mosquitos, and would put it in their eyes. That was the origin of Kohl, the willow bark being rich in salicylic acid, the base of synthetic Aspirin that was discovered only in the second half of the XIXth century. Was also found the beauty of a sound hemmed with Kohl eye.

Timeless ethnic make-ups

     At sun, people would get much tanned, but redness from sunburns was hidden with opaque white ointments. This technique will be used again by ancient Greeks and Romans who further found out the charms of a cheek rouge on a white background, as well as red, blue, yellow hair for kind of « hype » characters. 

     In the Middle Age, then in Renaissance times, this same technique was used more discreetly, but the white ointment, ceruse (or white lead), was a killer. Based on lead oxide, it caused lead poisoning, a disease that led to death. It is now strongly banned from modern cosmetology and replaced by Titanium or Zinc oxydes, the latter having also healing virtues. 

The place of Make-up in the Entertainment History

     When theatre shows begun, In antique greek theatres, women were not allowed to perform and men had to plays feminine characters. They then had to wear a stone mask that not only represented the character’s personality but also served as megaphone. Those heavy masks were replaced by wooden masks, then by leather mask in the XVth century with the famous Commœdia dell’Arte.

     Ladies began to perform in France and masks were abandoned little by little. But at the end of the XVth century that was not admitted yet everywhere and Shakespeare had the idea of using make-up to replace masks and allow ladies to perform young men’s parts, what will later be named « Travestis », a person playing a role of the opposite sex. Way easier than old masks, this idea spread quickly over France and Europe and later over the world.

     The processes were very much exaggerated, but did not hurt anyone in a period where many among the wealthiest, gentlemen as well as ladies, used make-up daily. 

     Since Shakespeare, processes refined as well as products. 

     The first cosmetic brand aiming specifically theatre make-up was founded in 1873 in Berlin by a german barytone, Johan Ludwig Leichner. Those products and colours became base for numerous other brands who developed them, refining them as evolution went along, from theater to cinema, then from B&W to colour and now to H.D. (High Definition). 

Common Leichner Products

The small sticks (Liners) were used for shading and accents, alike pencils, but not only ; 

The bigger sticks (Form C Stick) are the basic foundations sticks for stage. This quality also existed in US brands like Stein's and Bob Kelly (this latter called them « crayons »). There was another softer paste quality in toothpaste tubes for cinema.

Those products were mainly used on stage by artists until the 60s, but cinema used them also a lot at its débuts with Méliès, Lon Chaney Sr. and others

     Stage make up had to represent the whole human society – Ladies, men, young and old characters – and, of course, colours were created to depict those characters on the faces of artists who were then far enough from the first row. Heavy make-ups on 40 not to say 50 years old ladies playing the « Jeune première » did not show in the audience, nor the ageings on young men playing old comic characters with white wigs and beards and wax noses. In French, that last kind of make-up was called « Grimage », a « grime » being a young one playing an old one. The word is nowadays very little used, if ever again. 

Leichner's Little School of Make-up

This very interesting booklet taught artists what, with what and with which colours to do their make-ups according to their characters.

     Since the origin of cinema, Méliès used stage make-up to compose his characters. If brothers Lumière invented the camera and reporting, the spreading of fiction films is owed to Méliès who told wonderful stories. It may be said that his make-ups greatly contributed to the developing and success of this new invention we love so much. 

     Since then, cinema and make-up evolved together. B&W films refined, colour arrived, then Technicolour, 70 mm, and the last one – temporarily – the Hidh Definition « H.D. ».

     Thick 1873 greasepaints, waxy and pasty, refined and Max Factor in Hollywood invented from 1918 a more supple texture, the « Flexible greasepaint », in a touthpaste tube, then in 1935 «the « Pan-Cake » (pressed powder in a round container to spread with a damp sponge) and in 1948 the cream-make-up (named « Pan-Stick » which still is the most widely used texture for film make-up in all professional brands in spite of the the relatively recent uprising of fluid make-up (water, silicone or alcohol based) and of airbrushes. 

Max Factor's two main cosmetics

Pan-Cake, pressed powder applied with a damp sponge, was used mainly on stage and for body make-up in films ;

Pan-Stick, cream make-up, smoother, became quickly the preferred choice of texture for faces.

     To day H.D. demands finer and more pigmented products (they are called High Pigmentation) and all professional brands developed their HD line; in cream and fluid forms for beauty and some alcohol based for special effects that must hold longer. We’ll have opportunities to speak more about such products. 

     Cream make-up is now very often presented in container rather than in swivel sticks and in spite of fluids remain the favorite texture of most make-up artists. 

     When foam latex appliances became more and more frequent, special products were developed with colouring agents and a castor oil base since the 40s in Hollywood under the name R.M.G.P. (Rubber Mask Grease Paint) but very long remained « trade secret »  and have not been available in France before the early 70s. 

     A new variety of alcohol based cosmetics was created and soon developed just before the year 2000 mainly for special make-ups effects. They come individually in inks (liquid) and in palettes (solid form) of assorted shades… 

The « role » of make-up on a film

     Since Méliès, make-up served to put together all the elements that established the various characters performed by artists. which gave birth to the expression character make-up, in comparison to traditional beauty make-up only supposed to groom the performer up aesthetically. For that, more or less elaborated artefacts will be needed, but always carefully studied and done. 

     Alike on stage, in the B&W period, some actresses – elder than the rôle they were playing – demanded an heavier make-up to have a smooth looking skin and a faux youth look, and cinematographers had to do miracles with lighting (or shading) techniques so that their lines or double chins did not show up too much on the screen. No longer the case to day, do you think so ? Theoretically no, of course, techniques and make-up products improved very mush since this time, but the principles remain and who knows if we won’t meet some day such a kind of issue ? 

     Méliès often did false noses with a hard waxy putty : in spite of a move to more softness, those tough enough additions are nowadays replaced by much softer and more supple appliances in different materials that enable to remodel entirely a face : foam latex, gelatin or silicone… 

     It was always needed to have recourse to wigs and facial hair on stage and screen since their débuts. 

     Méliès bald caps were one piece canvas with a crown of hair ventilated all around, as it was done for stage. This technique long remained the only known one, and it still is the cliché that ignoring ones have in mind. In effect, latex first then plastic cap material long replaced canvas to simulated a bald head, but hair is no longer attached to it and comes as a ventilated wig to add because bald caps are single use only –alike any other appliance – because edges are ruined when removing them. Those edges must be very fine so as not to be seen in the final make-up. 

     If principles are still in use nowadays, artefacts techniques and products had a good evolution to finer results, and we’ll soon talk more about that. 

Some examples

Some wonderful films would never have been made without make-up, so much it is of a crucial importance to tell the story. 

For example, but there are thousands of others : 

Some make-up anthology masterpieces

A: 1923. Quasimodo, Lon Chaney Self make-up with nose putty

B: 1939. Quasimodo, Charles Laughton : One of the very first foam latex make-ups designed by Perc Westmore and George Bau and applied by Gordon Bau.

C:1946. La Bête, Jean Marais, maquillage Hagop Arakéian, mask is kind of a wig, hair ventilated in net in several pieces. 

D. Le Bossu, Jean Marais, Make-up byAlex Marcus, latex bald cap, foam latex nose.

E. Fantômas, Jean Marais, latex balaclava by Gérad Cogan, make-up by René Daudin. 

F. Elephant Man, John Hurt, foam-latex make-up designed by Christopher Tucker.

     — Méliès films, all the different versions of Notre Dame de Paris, Frankenstein, Dracula, the Phantom of the Opera, La Belle et la Bête, La Momie, Le loup-garou, Fu-Manchu, Le Bossu, Fantômas, Arsène Lupin ; or, moreover The List of Adrian Messenger, Victor-Victoria, Sleuth, Tootsie, Little Big Man, Amadeus, Elephant man, SSSSnake, and all the sagas and series Planet of the Apes, Star Trek, Mission Impossible, Pan’s Labyrinth, Lord of the Ring, Avatar and so many others… 

     All those great movies use spectacular character make-ups that make cinema glory in general and particularly make-up artistry. 

     Those important make-ups must be long before prepared in laboratory (or workshop) by highly qualified personnels and need an adequate budget that must have been seriously anticipated under penalty of invalidating the project. 

The make-up Artistry position on a motion picture

     Yet, one should not believe that such a make -up importance should be reserved to works of such a scale. Numerous films need such an essential to the tale make-up, but less likely to be seen and call for small effects such as tears, sweat, black eye, and other bruises, small wounds or burns, etc… Those effects, most of the time, can be made « out of the kit » in minutes, if they have been anticipated and preparer  – and even tested – enough ahead of time and buying appropriate supplies done before the shooting starts.  It demands nevertheless highly qualified and very trained personnels to do so. 

     Majority of characters being not supposed to be made-up, make-up will have to look natural. That does not mean there will be no make, that means the make-up will have a no-made-up look. The make-up should not read as make-up. Only careful make-up can guaranty a continuity look from one time to the next one, specially if in distant days, and will avoid a light complexion to become tanned or vice-versa, or a blood drip longer before than after… Hence, it is another preparation as useful as before, even if it is shorter. And about that, the wig and facial hair preparation (making and styling) will have to be added before beginning to shoot. Alike for scenery and costumes preparation times… 

     Beauty and artistic make-up (the famous Body-Painting) gleam in Fashion, Events and photo. This overdone æsthetique will look artificial in most case, but will do in such contexts, while it will hardly be used for fiction films. 

     As seen before, make-up is vital to the the story-telling. It is thus indispensable to attach as much importance to it that to camera, sound, costumes equipments, or to music and rehearsals. Make-up tests are essential part of a good preparation. 

     If you allow make-up and make-up artists the position each one deserves, you’ll have a nice image and your movie, believable on the screen,  will sell ok. 

     In a next chapter, I’ll develop to the attention of young directors, the different make-up types on a film and you’ll see how to team work with your make-up artist, that too much unknown crew member as much precious as discreet, and what he can be for your film if you don’t forget him. 

     To the intention of those, make-up curious, professional or amateur, I’ll develop about products and techniques, the more recent as well as those that will always help you in case of an emergency… 

Other topics to be evoked 

     In the next chapter, I’ll tell you who are the make-up artists in cinema, who is who and who does what in a makeup team among a film crew. (Those chapters are being translated and will be added as soon as possible ; however, you can read them in french…). 

     Another entire chapter will present you the Founders of Make-up artistry in Cinema since its débuts in Hollywood, and will continue this one. It is a good idea to know who started growing this trade you wish to enter and see the efforts they did so YOU find it how it is now. 

     Good read