Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1058399
well awarded for developing characters on paper and then bringing them to life on film. Usually offbeat and slightly skewed from the norm, the brothers tend to have a magnificent ability to cast actors that are perfect for the roles they are playing and somehow already embody a persona that only sometimes needs to be enhanced by make-up and hair. As organized and relaxing as a Coen brothers' movie can be day-to-day, it is no exception to the normalcy of productions. They don't want actors in the chair too long. They don't want to fuss with make-up and hair on set too much and are commonly restricted with budgets. However, one of the great things about their films is that they tend to be very well planned in advance. Getting answers and time to test with the actors allows for the effi- ciency on set. The brothers are big fans of having all the characters created, critiqued and approved prior to shooting. It is rare that you would ever get an actor on the day they first work and in this case, you have usually scoured hundreds of reference photos and have been given approval for a very specific direction of hair style, facial hair, pros- thetics, etc. The brothers even go as far as having the entire show storyboarded prior to the first production meeting. Informing you as to angles and frame compositions so you know what you will be seeing and what will be expected of you. It is a shot list bible and is an essential tool. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs being six different stories was new for the brothers and similar to shooting that of an episodic television show. Being filmmakers each "episode" was more like a mini-film. THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS Our first story follows Buster Scruggs, played by Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?). A hair trigger shooter who sings his way from one town to the next being challenged as the notorious gunslinger Buster Scruggs. When speaking with the brothers, Cydney and I discussed bringing that early Hollywood cowboy look to the Buster Scruggs' character in order to juxtapose his surroundings. Referencing the silent film cowboy Hoot Gibson, I wanted to give Buster a smooth finish to his skin that looked more theatrically using a pancake make-up. The supporting cast were all grounded in a more dirty dusty reality of the West. I accented Buster's features with a Jean Paul Gautier Eyeliner, pen- ciled in eyebrows with Tricia Sawyer, dusted the face with Benefit Georgia Peach powder and the cheek blush was Ben Nye Pink Cake. The lips were given a healthy pink glossy coating of Make Up For Ever. Cydney gave Buster two hair looks. One was clean and neat as not to take any atten- tion away from his ears poking out of his ten gallon hat. The second was a baroque, angelic style while he gets spirited away. As funny as it may seem, this second hair look was based on an authentic photo found from the period. NEAR ALGODONES and THE GIRL WHO GOT RATTLED There are two stories that incorporate two very distinct Native American tribes. The brothers were very specific about the fact that these two tribes not look alike. We set out to creative distinctive coloration differences while follow- ing traditional warrior markings. We had some latitude in design seeing how the brothers were set on playing slightly more fictional but with a level of authenticity. Our stories take place in two very different geographical locations separating the type of markings and types of Native American tribes. We had the Northern Native Americans (Sioux) and Southern Native Americans (Comanche) as our point of refer- ence. Native Americans were known to use very