Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/831804
26 Zoe: Michael and I start every workday with a phone call on our drive to work. It's become such a part of my morning routine that I half expect a call even during hiatus. Of course, we start with the LA thing—how's the traffi c, where are you and who will stop to pick up the coffees? Once we have addressed our caffeine habit, we move on to discussing the plan for the morning and beyond. This helps us focus on the hectic day to come and how we can help each other. Our collaboration on This Is Us extends out to every department. We know this is such a blessing that truly makes the work experi- ence not only more fun, but so much easier. The very fi rst episode of This Is Us had a big plot twist. What was your approach to design for this episode and how did that affect your approach moving forward in the rest of the season? Michael: The key to the fi rst episode was to stay true to the period while challenging ourselves to present the hair in decade- appropriate, yet SUBTLE styles that wouldn't give away the plot twist. It helped that young Jack and Rebecca were strug- gling, working-class newlyweds from Pennsylvania who were A N I N T E R V I E W W I T H Z O E H A Y A N D M I C H A E L R E I T Z D E P A R T M E N T H E A D S M A K E - U P & H A I R WITH COLLABORATION AND KLEENEX THIS IS US expecting triplets. Their economic situation wouldn't have lent itself to frequent salon visits where Rebecca could get the lat- est, greatest cut. Her character could not afford the upkeep of a Farrah fl ip or even the extreme feathering that was so popular in the late '70s and early '80s—and that worked in our favor. But once the twist was revealed at the end of the fi rst episode, we wanted viewers to be able to look back at characters like Jack and Rebecca and think, "Hey, their hair was reminiscent of 1979!" Zoe: I looked at lots of research from the late '70s making sure that both Rebecca and Jack were right for the period but could also pass for present day until the reveal. Fortunately, beards are so in fashion right now, I hoped that Jack might just pass for a hipster. I wanted a beautiful glow to Rebecca's skin. Thankfully, Mandy has stunning skin, which works per- fectly for this look. I love the way it translates on HD camera. It was also important once we revealed Jack and Rebecca's story was taking place in 1979, the characters should feel very authentic and real. We kept the make-up on the hospi- tal staff very neutral and natural so none of the background would stand out. As we moved forward to the series, we had many discussions with our producers about how we wanted the characters to look very authentic in each time period, not some heightened version of that look. Photos courtesy of NBC-TV