

by Todd McIntosh

as published in the Winter 1999 issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine

What time do the actors get to work?

Do you go home when all the make-up is done?

What do you do all day, anyway?



These and many other similar questions are the kinds asked by fans most often. When I have time to log onto the Buffy posting board at buffy.com, I love to answer these and other queries, and it seems that people are most interested in day-to-day running of the show — how we piece it all together. So I thought I would send along some photos and a little description, an inside look into a typical day for the make-up department on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.



First, a little bit of background. Buffy is a union show, which means that we are all members of the local make-up union. My department on the show consists of myself as department head (my credit reads “Make up Supervisor”), Robin Beauchesne as assistant department head (we’ve known each other for fifteen years, ever since we did the Masters of the Universe film together) and Douglas Noe, the newest member of our crew, as key make-up artist. “Key” is a term similar to “best boy” and roughly means “first assistant.”



Also on the show is Brigette Myre-Ellis, who acts as Sarah Michelle Gellar’s make-up artist. During the first two seasons I did Sarah’s make-up, but as the demands of the department grew, it seemed most effective to have one artist assigned to the star. Brigette looks after all of Sarah’s make-up requirements from beauty to bruises, scars to prosthetics.



The hair department consists of Michael Moore as department head and Gloria Casny as assistant department head. Sarah’s hairdresser is Lisa-Marie Rosenberg. The completes our happy little crew.



Beyond the permanent crew we call in make-up and hair day checkers, a casual term for daily employed help. I may call in as few as one or two day checkers or as many as thirty per episode, depending on the size of the workload.



The common thought is that once we put make-up on, we just go home and relax. This is far from the truth. Our day is spent constantly maintaining the make-ups we have done, preparing the next group of actors for the next scene and cleaning up the actors as they finish for the day. What follows is a typical day on the set for the make-up crew, just to give you an idea of how our time flies by.



5:12 A.M. My call time. The Hollywood system works on the military clock, where the hour is divided into ten six-minute intervals. Hence; a call time of 5:12. By union rule, we are given 18 minutes to set up our station and be ready for work. However, for prosthetics I sometimes give my crew a half-hour setup. On my way out the door, I pick up the creature appliances for the day which Optic Nerve has delivered in the wee small hours. This morning we are readying the cro-magnons for the episode "Beer Bad." The four actors show up at 5:30 a.m. and report to us. We begin by applying an astringent to the actors; then the hairdressers apply the wig caps to get the hair out of the way. Now we begin the appliance makeup. This is a four-and-a-half hour procedure and we are all badly in need of coffee, and tea for me.



5:45 A.M. The appliances are glued down and the fine blending edge is meticulously smoothed into the skin so that the spot where tlle skin meets the appliance (the "join") is imperceptible. This is the reason we can't reuse the appliances, as that fine lacy edge is destroyed in the removal.



6:15 A.M. Time to begin coloring. We use all manner of professional makeup products, from traditional grease paints to cutting-edge alcohol soluble dried pigments. The key thing is to create the illusion of realistic coloring, or as "realistic" as a fantasy creature can be. In prosthetic work we are usuallv blending an opaque piece of white rubber into skin and the effect must be as "human" as possible. However, the script has called for the creatures to be tanned so we are adjusting the overall color of the actor's skin as well.



6:45 A.M. Time to begin the beard. We did not have time to custom-make the beards for these charaeters; those take at least a week to make and can cost between $500 and $1500 depending on the project. The alternative we are using is to "hand lay" the beards, which means that loose hair–human or yak–is glued directly to the skin in small handfuls, then is cut, styled and "dressed" with hot irons. This is a painstaking procedure that is becollling a lost art nowadays.



We add lace eyebrows to each cromagnon's face. We also need to begin the body make-up on our two shirtless actors. The actors were told when they were hired that they would need to shave their chests completely as we wanted to depict the change from hairless college kids to cromagnon "fur."



First, two pre-made lace hairpieces are applied. Like the beards, this is an expensive product and was custom-lllade for us by Erwin Kupitz, make-up artist and master wigmaker. These pieces can cost up to $1500 per chest. Once the two pieces are glued down, we halld lay hair over the lace edges to disguise the join and fill out the fine hair over the top and sides of the torso.



9:00 A.M. Brigette arrives to begin Sarah's make-up, and I must stop work on my cro-magnon to do Alyson Hannigan's make-up. Douglas, Robin and day checker Alan Friedman continue with their actors.



9:15 A.M. The script called for the cromagnons to develop exaggerated muscles and for their arms to lengthen. Unfortunately, these effects had to be cut for budgetary reasons, so l devised an alternate plan. It was taking a chance on the believability of the effect, but using the air brush, I attempt to give the illusion of a more muscular torso. This requires painting the back, chest and arms of the two shirtless guys and the legs of the other. At this point, we are all in different stages of work and we start trading jobs. For example, since I have the airbrush loaded and ready, I continue to do the body painting. That leaves Alan to finish hair work on anyone else, and Robin and Douglas pitch in as needed.



10:00 A.M. The four cro-magnons are ready to work. The actors are pulled for rehearsal on set with the crew and director. Time to start up the real work day! My crew and I use this little break to grab breakfast and clean up our work area a little.



10:20 A.M. We divide into groups and prepare for the day on set. That means having all the elements ready to maintain the make-ups on set, like glue and extra hair and so on. Today I also ask the assistant directors to set up the large rolling make-up tables we use on set for complicated touch-ups. Headlng over to stage 2 where we are to spend the first part of the day, we find we're working in some very tough condltions. There are propane fires on set and several different types of special effects smoke, so l hand out gas masks to my crew to be wom at all times in the smoke. The masks are provided by the company as per OSHA requirements.



11:00 A.M. The first shot of the day is done. Now that the set is taken care of and Robin, Douglas and Alan are on set to maintain the actors' make-up, I retum to the trailer. This is my time to prep the next day's chart and call sheet.



For me, each episode begins wlth a script and a shooting schedule. The schedule tells me the work expected to be done each day of the eight days it takes to film an episode. We work an average of twelve to fifteen-hour days, with the occasional twenty-hour day thrown in for good measure. Make-up is often the first department to report for work and the last to leave.



Each filming day actually begins the day before as I review the "call sheet," a daily guide to filming. The call sheet tells me what scenes will be shot, the order in which they'll be done and the actors needed for each one. In addition, it lists all the actors for each day, what time they will begin make-up and what time they will be needed on the set ready to film.



I get a preliminary call sheet for the next day's work around mid-morning. I use it to double-check my manpower, having already submitted a budget to the production manager. Tllen I chart out a grid with the times on one side and the artists on the top, with each artist's tasks filled in for the day in half-hour increments. This helps us to keep very tightly on schedule. I then call my extra help and tell them when to arrive and what they'll be doing.



12 NOON On some days we have a second unit filming. This means a smaller crew is filming on another stage or location while the main unit does the regularly scheduled work. Usually these units shoot "pick-ups," parts of scenes or angles that are needed by the editors of the episodes, or "insert" shots, shots of close-up action. We also shoot "green screen" on these days, which is part of the camera effects process of morphing.



Back in the trailer, I need to juggle the first unit, which is up and running, and get the second unit actors ready. Coordinating two or sometimes three different units can be a challenge. Today we need both Seth Green in the "stage one wolf make-up” and Lee Whittaker, Seth's stunt double and man-animal extraordinaire, in the full wolf suits for shots that are part of the morph sequence.



Working with Lee first, he is prepped for the make-up, then the face appliance goes on. This one is a full face and they can be tricky, so I have Erwin Kupitz to assist me.



12:30 P.M. Next are the ears, the blending, and the coloring. I use an under-painting technique with the wolf, starting with a very dark brown and the gently dry-brushing the wolf's skin color over the top so that the dark color shows through in the textured areas. Then the entire face is gently airbrushed with burnt umber to create the soft modeling and to help the make-up blend under the hairpieces.



2 P.M. Seth Green arrives to begin his stage one transformation for the green screen morph. He watches Erwin prepare the full wolf hairpieces and confers with Lee about certain animal movements he would like Lee to try in his performance. Lee and Seth have worked closely from the beginning to get the wolf's movements right. I begin Seth's make-up with a small forehead appliance that just covers his eyebrows and begins the bump out the forehead.



2:45 P.M. Lee goes to the second trailer where Optic Nerve has set up shop. Roxanne, the wolf suit wrangler, helps him into the suit. I color Seth Using a very natural blend into the skin, then a soft cool grey-brown airbrush which is the beginning of the wolf color.



3:30 P.M. Since the crew's call was at 9:30 a.m., it is now time for lunch. Our meal breaks are in six-hour blocks. For example, a six a.m. call puts lunch at noon and a second meal may be served at six p.m., though it rarely is–we just get paid a ''meal penalty." All of the first unit crew break now for a half-hour meal. That mealls the teeth for the cro-magnons are taken out and cleaned in Efferdent while we eat. The second unit started work later so their lunch is still two hours away. That means Erwin, Jamie Kelman and the rest of the Optic Nerve crew continue to work.



3:45 P.M. Lee is in the suit and ready for the finislling touches: teeth and lenses. Our expert lens tech, Sean Kinney, works his magic: "Look up, now look down–they’re in. He's a genius. The wolf gloves will go on at the set, so the troops move out to the sccond unit and set up their little camp. Meanwhile, we repeat the lens and teeth procedure with Seth. At the very end, we use a strong nail glue to apply the thick, curved claws to Seth's hands. Both of our actors are effectively incapacitated now! They can't pick anything up, have trouble seeing in any dimly lit area and can only drink through a straw! I'm still on lunch throughout this.



4 P.M. Lee and Seth are on-set and working, and first unit is back for another round. All the cro-magnons conle back for post-lunch touch-ups. They are divided amongst the make-up and hair crew. Hands are repainted, beard hair is checked, and body hair and paint are replaced as needed. Meanwhile, I do Alyson's touch-up and Brigette works with Sarah.



4:20 P.M. The first actors go to the set and I stay back to get Nick Brendon and Anthony Head ready for a scene we will be shooting after nightfall. Actually, I make-up Anthony and Nick shaves but will wait on make-up until after the rehearsal. Next I take a breather to clean the trailer and my airbrush, and to prep for tomorrow.



5:00 P.M. I go to the first unit to relieve Robin so she can come back to the trailer and prep the hair for all the cavemen for tomorrow. The work on the set is very slow, as we need to open the big bay doors after every scene in order to air out the stage. Once we work the scene down to individual shots of actors, I relieve Douglas also so he can get some air and rest. We rotate the workload, as it really helps us get through the long days. Glued to the set, it can be very difficult even to return a phone call, let alone take care of all the sundry things life throws your way.



6:30 P.M. We are finally done with the work on stage and we all fall back to the trailers as the lighting crew prepares the alley set for the night work. Now we have another chance to do a "trailer touch-up," a comprehensive, sit-down touch-up of all the make-ups. After the rehearsal, Nick comes in for make-up and Alyson for touch-ups.



7:42 P.M. We begin the night scene outside. By this time the Oz-wolf and Seth have finished on second unit, and I assign people to clean up Lee while I take care of Seth. The clean-up procedure can take quite a while, as the glues we use are very strong and if not removed gently can cause minute tears in the skin. Poor Lee has been working so hard in the hot suit that when Douglas presses on the chin of the appliance, a stream of sweat pours out from the foam prosthetic. I briefly consider getting into the suit myself to lose a few pounds, but the heat rash on Lee's side quickly deters me.



8:45 P.M. The second unit is now down to hand insert shots and no more actors are required for them, so I can release some of my extra help.



9:00 P.M. We are outside again with the first unit and are just about done with one of the cro-magnons. As soon as he is done, I send Robin and Douglas back to do the removal. This is a complicated removal too, as the body paint and glue for the hair are tough to get off.



10:00 P.M. The remaining cromagnons are corralled in a mini-vall in the scene and will not be shot close-up again tonight, so I release Douglas as he has an early call the next day. I must hang on to Erwin though, as we need one person per cro-magnon for the final removal at wrap.



11:15 P.M. We are wrapped, and the crew begms to break down and store the equipment. We go to the trailer to start the removal on the last three cavemen. Nick stops in for a hot towel.



MIDNIGHT. We go home at last. By union rule my crew gets a nine hour ''turnaround" (the time from "wrap" to your call time the next day), so I’ll be back at 9 a.m.



What I have just written is not an example of every day. We have monster-type make-ups about three days in every eight, and a second unit will film about one day in eight. But to tell you about the days when I sit on set and eat doughnuts would hardly be as much fun for you to read about as it is for me to do! Return to Top of Page