Hair and Make-Up Artist for Film and TV

For this task, I have been asked to research in to progression options for after University. Working as part of the Hair and Make-Up team on a Film or TV Production entails many roles, including Script breakdowns and Make-Up design. 

Working in this industry requires artists to work extremely long hours. On some sets, shooting days may last over 20 hours each day, or you may be required to shoot 7 days a week. Even on a 20 hour day, you don’t get much rest, as you must always be available for touch ups and adjustments where needed. Furthermore, you must stay behind after shooting to ensure all Hair and Make-Up is removed, for complex looks the removal process could take hours itself. For example, Jim Carey’s Make-Up for the Grinch took almost 8 hours to complete, and around 4 hours minimum to remove.

Furthermore, these demanding shooting schedules also often require Hair and make-Up Artists to travel and stay on location shoots, to different cities or counties… which may even include international travel – sometimes this may require you to be away from home for weeks, or even upwards of six months at a time.

The Hair and Make-Up team on a Film or TV Production is usually divided into five main roles, known as ;

The Key Make-up Artist – Responsible for the Hair and Make-Up department, the Key MUA works directly with a director to design looks suitable for all actors and actresses. They will then brief all MUA’s of the looks they need to create, and will be a messenger between the directors and the Hair and Make-Up department.

Make-Up Artist – The make-Up artist will be the person responsible for applying the key MUA’s designs on to actors and actresses. Occasionally, the Key MUA will Make-Up the main characters.

Make-Up Effects Artist – This person is responsible for designing, creating and applying specialist effects, using specialist techniques, tools and products such as; prosthetics, latex and animatronics, where needed. They may not be present on every film set, but are hired when a more Specialist Artists may be required to create the Directors desired effects. CGI may also sometimes be heavily used, meaning this role is not necessary.

Hair team – The people that make up this team are responsible for the care, setting and dressing of the hair. They may also have specialist workers in place to help with wigs, or cutting hair.

Assistants – Assistants are responsible for helping with minor tasks that require less experience, as well as keeping all areas clean and tidy at all times, finding products, laying out products and arranging and cleaning kits. Although this role does not include huge amounts of Hair or Make-Up application, this is a great starting point for those wanting to work their way up, as it provides valuable experience.

This role has an average starting salary of around £20,158 per year, however it is key to remember the bigger profile jobs are more likely to pay more than smaller scale projects. You could work in the industry as a freelance artist, meaning you could pick and choose your projects – also leaving you in charge of how much money you earn, or you could become employed by certain agencies or organizations, limiting your choices but potentially allowing you to work on larger scale projects, and guaranteeing an income – therefore potentially earning more money.