I REeeeeeally need some advice ~ doing a commercial!

I just received SUCH an exciting email and I have NO clue how to proceed from here.

I think some of you have done work for TV and videos before and I could really use your advice!

This is the email:
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Hello Helena,

I received your information from ***** who I work with. We are producing a commercial for World Financial Group on October 29. It is filming in Toronto just for that one day. The entire commercial is animated except for the end scene and that has to be filmed in their Toronto offices.

There will be a total of 3 cast per scene and I am looking for a make-up artist that could do both hair and make-up if possible.

If you could send me some photos of your work that would be great
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OMG! I am so excited and nervous and uncertain as to my abilities, but I'd SO love to do this... do you have any suggestions as to what to do next? I obviously need to get together a portfolio and mail him some pic's as he requested... but what sort of pic's?

Ages ago I did a theatrical course and then was in a theater company and did makeup for those but I'm guessing that pan makeup and exaggerated lines are not what's called for with the clarity of today's video/tv equipment...but what *IS* called for? Just regular makeup?

I've not even done any full body painting that I could send him pic's of... but I guess I could try...if that's what is needed... what do you think?

lol, as you can tell, I'm "all of a tizzy"

I would SO love this gig - the production company is a local up-and-coming one and it could mean some 'real work' for me, if I get in...

Please help advise me if you can... any suggestions are reeeeeally appreciated!!!

Thank you!!!

It reads to me like they are looking for a mua and hairstylist- not a face and body painter. If you are set up to do regular makeup and hair then send them examples- if you can't, then don't pretend that you can to get the gig. You will look like a complete doof going in there with a kit of wet-n-wild!

I don't do regular makeup- (and I especiallly don't do hair!) So I would have to thank them for the opportunity but explain that What I do may be different than what they are looking for - of course show examples- and ask that they keep me in mind for other projects.

I think you need to find out what they are looking for for sure here (what look, designs, and definitely what media).

As far as detail and execution, theater is different from "TV" (SD) and that is different again from HD or even more so 4k. And all of those are radically different from "normal" street wear makeup - or even photoshoot makeup.

If they are filming in one day (and you have 3 cast) how long will you have for makeup? would you have time for body painting? can you do what they want (with hair and makeup) in the time they have?

Any answer I could give here about "natural" look for HD would be similar and about as useful as what we tell newbies here - you have to find the tools and products that work for you, practice (in this case on camera viewing output on the end result media), and it would probably help to take seminars/classes from those with experience.

If it is HD (or 4k), the biggest tip I could tell you would be that whatever you put on them (if it needs to look natural) needs to do what you need it to do, without being visible with a magnifying glass looking at it from just inches away, without the product being one that "reads" badly on HD (which actually depends on which camera they are using).

What Noella said.

If they want the live actors to resemble the animated, that's one thing, but it they are looking for "normal" hair and make-up that's another.

For this type of work do not fake it... you won't have time to try to make it work if you don't have the experience/skills. Theatre make-up is not film make-up... I know. I do both and I really have to concentrate for the film and phototgraphic work to keep it "real".

Send them your best examples of what you do... they did contact you after all. But don't take on more that you know you can do and do well fast.

I hope you get a chance at it... it would be a great addition to your portfolio!

Thank you!

I talked with the chap who gave my information to the man who wrote to me (he's one of the staff doing the animation portion) and he says that two of the cast are a man and wife in street clothes (the woman will be pregnant, but he's unsure at this point if she'll be showing) and the other will be a professional business person (not known if man or woman.)

Do you think just regular make-up that I can purchase from a store would work for filming or would I need kryolan high def. or similar?

Now I know what they're looking for I can make up some people in similar street/professional styles and send photos of them to the production company. I'm so excited by the possibility and really hope I get the chance...

I really appreciate your advice!

I've not worked with Kryolan high def, however I can tell you that 3 of the 5 "high def" makeup's I have show up in a not so good at all way on 2 of the 6 HD cameras I work with routinely. I have not tried retail makeup on HD (it would need to be highly pigmented and finely milled to have a hope of working), however 3 of my 7 regular professional cream foundations work "ok" on HD - on 3 of the cameras I work with. Some of my airbrush foundations work, some don't, a few of the powder foundations I have are fine, some show up in awful visible ways. And that's just foundation, eyeshadow, blush, lipstick has even more potential gotcha's (enough shimmer without too much shine and where that line falls etc). Sounds odd, but it really is a lot of practice, testing with a camera, and find what works for you and what doesn't and why.

One thing to keep in mind - when doing temporary (non filmed) makeup (face paint) on someone, if there is something "odd", it isn't seen by many, and as long as the child is happy the parent is likely thrilled. When doing commercial work with a production company, your results are going to be seen repeatedly, blown up larger than life probably, and it is the people who hired you who you hope to hire you in the future who are going to be watching it hundreds of times over (while they work on a cut). If there is *ANYTHING* they find odd (a teeny clump of mascara, a line edge of visible foundation, slightly off colour oddities (foundation, blush etc), a smudge of lipstick (or lips pale on men because you didn't colour them for instance) they will have looked at it repeatedly.

For HD, your job isn't to "do their makeup" - your job as the makeup artist is to have it look like you didn't do anything at all - but to make sure that everything about the person renders their character correctly onto HD media. I can show a dozen video's/commercials I've done to someone and have them say "but it doesn't look like you did anything at all" - till I show them a before shot - of talent who was up all night with a newborn and had dark eye circles, or pigmentation that needed covering, or a pimple in just the wrong place. Or the fact that someone looks "just the same" through a 30 second commercial that took a whole day in 38 degree heat when all the crew was melting apart.... I've fixed french pedicures when the shot called for a close up of their big toe but they'd broken the nail right out, covered scabs and wounds that were in the wrong spot for the close up on their hands - even fixed a bruised nail (black) that had to look like it wasn't. It's the odd hairs that have to be bleached suddenly because they don't want them pulled or cut - or the eyebrows that are looking messy. It's the tan lines from their watch that they aren't wearing in the commercial.... or their wedding ring.

I've worked with assistants who comment "oh this is such an easy job" - till we get into it and they start to realize what all is actually involved - and I only do light hair - I have a full hair kit and I've taken several classes and I've practiced, but I don't feel up to taking on a full hair/makeup gig - I'll do the makeup, but if they want more than light hair from me, they are going to need a hair stylist too.

Wow Noella... that is a lot to think about...

thank you for all that information and for sharing your experiences with it...

my goodness, I wouldn't know where to start with some of that... What on earth did you do for fixing the french pedicure? That sounds painful :S

I guess all I can do is send some photos of people I make up and some hair-do's I can do and let them decide from there... maybe I should tell them that I haven't had experience doing commercials before... (I know the guy who recommended me in the first place knows that... but he might not have told the other guy...)

Or should I just decline until I've taken courses and had experience... but I hate to turn down the opportunity... it may not come again...

eeesh :S

Fixing the french pedicure was a matter of using gel (artificial nail) to build up the missing free edge, curing with UV, smoothing it down to match the nail then painting it to match all the other nails. My kit for HD is as large as my face painting/glitter kit - but for opposite reasons - next to no pigments and no glitter, but "everything else".

As long as they know your past experience and are willing to accept that, you will probably be fine - we all have to start somewhere and you will learn from the experience. If they know what you know (and don't) they can show you what the video looks like on an HD production monitor and tell you if they see something that they want altered. If you don't have a product you need, perhaps they would have a PA to run out for it (I didn't carry hair bleach but when they insisted on that outcome, PA visited the drugstore to get).

As much as I know from taking classes, courses and seminars, it's practice that has taught me the most. If they know where you are at and you are willing and confident, things will work out. If they want someone with experience "like they've worked with before" - they'd ask them....

It's not what you know, it's who you know (but learn fast).

Thank you for all the support and encouragement and sage words!

I do appreciate it.

I finally got a link to one of the commercials we shot that day (we actually did two sets of customers and advisers - the other one will be shown next year some time.)

I was key make-up and hair that day (even though the other person doing the styling had more 'real' training and experience in commercials/film work - talk about nerve-wracking! Eeek )

But they liked it and are going to be making a movie up this way in April that they'll want me to work on! Yay!

Again, thanks for all your advice and help. This place is the best!!!

http://vimeo.com/33154187

Good on you for going for it. Sounds like everything went really well and look what doors it has opened for you. Congrats.

Thank you