The Importance of Hair and Makeup

I'm a big believer in details. The more details you can add to your film will greatly enhance the experience on screen. This can include the right prop, a subtle performance choice, or a motivated lighting decision. The more details you add together will add flesh to the bones of your story and make for a more gratifying experience.

For me, this also includes hair and makeup. If you are a more experienced filmmaker or one who has a good producer lining things up, this may seem like an obvious statement. If you are making a no-budget project and have to wear many hats yourself, hair and makeup may seem like an unnecessary luxury. I'm here to tell you it's not.

Your actor's face is the the most important tool they have to convey what their character is feeling (their body is a close second). How this face and the hair attached to it looks only aids in communicating these feelings. Done right, the performance is enhanced or at least not interfered with. Done wrong or not done at all, will cause the viewer to disconnect themselves from your story.

My next short film is a neo-noir entitled A Bullet for Roger. Though not a period piece, I wanted it feel like one and I knew I wanted the two main actresses to resemble those from the 1940s. In this case, a hair and makeup team was mandatory. How could I even allude to this era if the actors didn't remind the viewer with their looks?

This was also a good opportunity to take some PR shots. Filmmaker and photographer Blake Eiermann was their to help our actors into some classic poses that I could use to create interest for the project, due to be shot next week. I have included a couple of those shots here. The rest can be found on the film's Facebook group.