Local 706 - The Artisan

Winter 2018

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38 • THE ARTISAN WINTER 2018 ground bleeding from a wound, then I place the blood only once he is already down. If there should be a little dirt on his face because he wiped sweat off his brow, I'll put dirt on his hands and have him wipe his own brow. I find that actors tend to appreciate this involvement. They can rule how their own continuity unfolds—that's fine! And here's the other thing—I read the script about five times and each time I read it, I get another visual in my head about how I want something to look, where it's gonna be and how I'm gonna do it. I ask for make-up tests and I take as many as I can get! I need to make sure my vision is the same as the director's and actor's. On the day, when the moment comes to add the wound, dirt, blood, whatever it is, I'm not confused—I know what I'm doing and where I'm doing it. You went through great lengths and countless make-up tests to ensure the authenticity of the Comanche war paint. You did loads of research but that only got you so far when you came face to face with Bill, the Comanche tribe advisor for the film. JG: Yes, I was all over the internet and at the library checking out every book that contained images of Comanche war paint. We tested looks and products on each other, and thought we had our sh*t together pretty good! When we got to New Mexico and met Bill, I realized we had to start from scratch. The Comanches used three colors which they applied boldly and with intention—black, white and a rusty red. They weren't crusty, but rather smooth like actual make-up. I learned that they would paint their foreheads black or red, which would help them hide in the landscape, behind rocks and trees to avoid being seen by their enemies. I combined looks from different reference photos and had Bill painstakingly approve each line on every look. I had us all ditch the brushes and Q-tips we were using and just use our hands and fingers to apply the make-up to their faces, ears and exposed part-lines on their heads. The red color was hard to get right. Everyone kept offering me dif- ferent powder and cream reds but they weren't the red that Bill was describing and I kept saying, "No, no, no!" We ended up sourcing a finely crushed pigment derived solely from red rocks. It was the closest thing, if not the real deal. Anyway, we mixed the pigment with water and we were right as rain! There is a lot of work that we do as make-up artists that goes unseen. We prepare for the close-up that's in our head but sometimes there's just a big wide shot or nothing at all. I remember we did a make-up test for some scalped-head looks, and we got a little carried away… JG: Yes, this was for the scene where the group comes across a burned campsite with several dead settlers who have been killed by Comanches—scalped and shot with bows and arrows. When we tested the make-up, we sculpted these beau- tiful scalped heads right on the actors, using Third Degree Silicone. They were rejected right away because they were too graphic! They were also way too big, LOL! We learned that the size of the ripped scalp should be three fingers wide. Well, ours were about eight fingers wide! If you have the opportu- nity to test ANYTHING at any time, always do it. You gotta make sure what you're doing is what the director wants, and this wasn't. We adjusted the look based on the notes we got, ended up going with several silicone prosthetics with separate custom colored lace hairpieces that helped disguise them, all made by Jason Collins (Autonomous FX), and guess what— you never even saw them in the movie! Kind of a bummer…? JG: You know, I really don't think it is, and here's why: It's all about the process, and that is the nature of filmmaking. Whether something works or gets cut out, it has nothing to do with your job. It's not your job to get every make-up look into the film. Every department makes their contributions and you do everything you physically and mentally can to deliver everything the script asks for and everything the director seems remotely interested in seeing. THAT'S your job. Sometimes we haul a wagon full of blood across an uphill acre of rocky landscape when all we really need is a little CC cup's worth. JG: You have to climb that rocky mountain with your wagon full of blood! We had blood bags and scalped heads and prosthetic slit throats, milky "dead" contact lenses—even a prosthetic scalp with punched hair that could actually be scalped live AND bleed in one up-close shot! We didn't need most of it, and three weeks of research, tests and designing prosthetics could be not even two seconds on screen. So what? We were prepared. You were adamant about getting a replica dummy of David Midthunder made, so he could be filmed hanging dead from a tree. Why not just use a stunt double? JG: Well, they wanted to hang a stunt guy from a tree, and my thinking was, "NO WAY, he would be hanging up there, way up high, in a tree all damn day covered in sticky blood and

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