Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1512433
30 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2024 freckles, because Oppenheimer himself didn't have them. is had to be done with a very light hand and then treated almost as a prosthetic in adding the blood tones back on top to ensure a natural look. His brows were darkened as well. For 1930s and 1940s look, the plumpers were removed to allow us to use Cillian's natural bone structure. e Los Alamos look transitioned him into his healthiest look. I added color and natural flush to see Oppenheimer at his happiest moments. For the older looks in 1950s and 1960, I decided that my aging stipple mix with a mattifying agent purposely made for the IMAX format would work well for these aging stages. en, carefully adding depth and highlight with light washes of color and an encapsulated use of an aging material would enhance the aging lines. We had used a similar method for the aging work on Interstellar, so I adapted that for Oppenheimer. I also added minute details like nicotine stains on his fingertips from his smoking habit. ese are the details that the 70mm IMAX format will undoubtedly pick up. As Kitty Oppenheimer, Emily Blunt had an equally expansive and detailed transition from youth, the progression through adulthood and lastly, the gradual impact of alcoholism. Because Emily's face is very expressive, it was important to test which pieces would help or hinder us in her aging looks. e intention in design is to allow complete expression, comfort for the performer and a seamless natural look. e aging mix works differently on each face and in areas where the face moves a lot. So, aer testing various options for the middle aging look for Kitty, including transfer pieces, I chose to use double specific pulls to get her outer eye wrinkles. At other points in her later aging, we used Pros Aide transfer pieces, silicone pieces and sealing them with the aging mix. e make-ups were completed with light foundation, very subtle character work and a period- appropriate palette. For Robert Downey Jr. as Lewis Strauss, I realized at our first MAKE-UP Continued from page 28 Kerrin Jackson (center) and Luisa Abel aging Cillian Murphy meeting that Robert looks a lot younger and would need aging considerably to play Strauss using the subtle aging technique to transform him. He would need to appear seamlessly in the midst of actors who were actually of that age. As this technique moves well and molds with the actor's face, Robert's expressions and neck movement appear natural. My general approach to all the principal cast who require aging is to look for any detail I can enhance, shi, or minimize to show that progression. An example of this was the facial hair for Matt Damon's portrayal of Leslie Groves and Tom Conti as Albert Einstein. e black-and-white portions of the film shied my design approach, allowing the contrasts to come through for those sequences. We also made sure that all the aging techniques and looks worked for this format and maintained their continuity. For Gary Oldman as Harry Truman and the aging looks for the film's final ceremony scene, both Jason Hamer and Hiro Yada were able to come and practically do make-ups with the team of artists. We had 11 principal cast aging make-ups that day. I was lucky enough to get some of our best make-up artists together, working as a team. Preparing for this meant getting together for a design and concept meeting, then a sculpt/prosthetic design and aging meeting, a color and character meeting, and then the final day where we all worked in pods to achieve these looks. In the final stage for aging, I felt it was crucial that aer all the actors were aged, they should appear as a cohesive group; their color tones working together. It's challenging when actors in aging make-up must blend seamlessly into a room full of people not wearing aging make-up or prosthetics; who were of that actual age. As there was so much to the story for Oppenheimer, my department was able to do the full spectrum for work: beauty, period make-ups, character, facial hair, bald caps, prosthetic and aging. It was a huge undertaking and I was thrilled with the results, due to our team's talent and dedication. •