52 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2021
An important make-up factor for this fi lm was skin tone.
Coming from Korea to California in the 1970s the charac-
ters begin as somewhat pale-looking, but then because their
unusual work as "Chicken Sexers" (people who have the rare
ability to identify the gender of chickens when they are quite
young) keeps them inside, they actually grow paler. It is only
when they move to Arkansas, that their skin tones gradually
deepen and they begin over time to look healthier.
During production, as much as possible, actors had to be
protected with sunblock so that their skin tones were under
my control, and I could create a consistency when the skin
tone needed to be changed slightly—brightened or darkened
—depending on the part of the fi lming.
Steven's character had never done any farming before moving
to Arkansas. I show the changes to his look not only through
skin tone, but through texture. His hands for example, were
made up to look more worn and hardened. In contrast, Yeri's
character is against farming, so she mostly continues her work
indoors as a Chicken Sexer. Therefore, her skin tone does not
go through the same transformation as her husband's. As her
life becomes more diffi cult, I focused on giving her a skin tone
that appeared to be losing its shine.•
Photo:
David
Bornfriend/A24
