Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/831804
27 This show moves through so many different time periods for our main characters Jack and Rebecca. How do you achieve distinct styles for each of those? Michael: Key hair stylist Katherine Rees and I worked very closely with the make-up and costume departments to design decade-appropriate looks for Jack and Rebecca. As far as hair, the show's creator, Dan Fogelman, had a very specific vision for his lead characters—and we did a lot of research and conducted many tests before their final looks were confirmed. Personally, my biggest challenge was getting the hair right for present-day Rebecca at age 66. I can tell you finding the perfect wig—cut, color and style—gave Katherine and me a few gray hairs! Zoe: I moved to the midwest in 1984 and remember very well how the mothers there looked during the late '80s and that really helped me define a look for Rebecca. I wanted a different look from the glowing new mother we see in 1980. It has to be played with a very light hand and not look like some '80s beauty ad. For her early '70s pre-Jack look, I try to keep her look playful and colorful which becomes more toned down as she ages. Light contouring and selective placement of beauty make-up help change her look very subtly. For the mid-'90s, we move into our brown matte phase. This takes a little of the luster out of her skin helping to age her a little. At this point, we start to add Bluebird FX Old Age around the eyes. My favorite thing about her look is her profile, the way the bottom hairline plays against the gentle slope of her neck piece. With Jack, we decided to make very distinct changes in his facial hair. He has a gorgeous beard in the pilot but we realized as we went to series that we would be jumping around in time so it wouldn't work to keep it. We settled on Milo keeping a mustache, which we would see in the late '80s. I made a custom beard for him for the '70s and early '80s which we blended into his own mustache. I made a goatee for him for the '90s. My inspiration was all the baseball players in this period wearing this style, it screams "Dad." We extended his sideburns with a small grey piece to soften his look. Making facial hair work on HD can be challenging and I'm grateful I make my own pieces so I can decide how I like them to fit. What was the approach for the two old-age make-ups on your show? Zoe: After testing full-forehead-to-neck prosthetics, we settled on a more subtle approach for both Rebecca and Miguel. Hand-painted texture with washes of color, stretch and stipple and prosthetics. Elizabeth Hoel-Chang works with me to apply Rebecca's make-up and 12 small but effective prosthetics designed and made by Stevie Bettles. I wanted her to look graceful and attractive as a mature woman, someone who took very good care of herself. This felt achievable and less distracting and allows Mandy to have full facial mobility. Miguel's make-up was very challenging and we went through many iterations before settling on his final look. Heather Plott hand punches his neck piece and shaves it to match his beard. She and Tania McComas do a beautiful job applying his make-up. He once came back from vacation several shades darker! That made for a fun day! The show often jumps around in time periods during the same shooting day—tell us about those challenges? Michael: There are days that we'll shoot Rebecca in as many as three separate decades, all which involve different hair- pieces, extension lengths and lace front wigs. It was important to have good communication with the AD department during scheduling to keep the most complicated changes to a mini- mum. I also have to give a shout-out to the many industry hair stylists who were called in on the most challenging days and helped us with their expertise. We could not have done this show without them. Zoe: Assistant Department Head Heather Plott is invaluable at keeping us straight as we navigate those days. We often have background working in different periods on the same day too,