Hi, this Summer in June of 2024 we will be Shooting a low budget, non-union Feature Film from June 10th to June 22nd here in the greater Los Angeles area. Pre-Production has begun and we are currently looking to hire on our Key Hair & Make-Up Artist for this Production.
The Film is a Horror Movie themed as a 1970’s Grindhouse Picture which follows a class of high school seniors who go on a group camping trip into the forest and inadvertently cross paths with a Coven of Witches who unleash a Horde of Zombies after them. Now a small group of teens must band together and stop the Zombie Apocalypse before they are set loose upon the World
Shooting will last 11 Days (2 Weeks) and will be from Monday – Friday the first week and Monday – Saturday the second week. Each day will last 12 Hours with a mix of Indoor/Outdoor Shooting and Day/Night Shoots however a heavy quantity of the Production ranging at about 90% will take place during the Daytime Outdoors. All Filming will take place in the greater Los Angeles area (Hollywood/Santa Monica/Burbank/Pasadena/Orange County/Santa Clarita/etc). Craft Service will be provided on set 24/7 along with a half-hour lunch break each day.
We are looking for a Make-Up Artist who can do both Basic & SFX Hair & Make-Up for this Production.
SFX wise this is a very heavy blood and gore Production with several Zombies appearing in many scenes where the number of Zombies needing to be made up could range anywhere from 5-35 people give or take at any one time throughout the Film. The Zombies themselves are very bloody, with decayed skin and different types/colors of ooze and puss covering their bodies just like in Films such as “Return of the Living Dead” or “Planet Terror”.
For Stylized Characters we have one female character who will have a very elaborate mask hand-painted onto her face and forehead including a few other characters that will also have some type of ceremonial design painted onto their faces. We also have a Spirit/Demon like character who will appear in the Film who will have her entire body painted up including demonic hand/fingernails, decayed/rotting pigmentation for her skin, and long/frizzy jet-black hair.
For wounds, we will have scenes at times where you will need to create, gunshot wounds, a slit throat, scrapes, bruises, cuts that are bleeding, bite marks, etc. No squibs will be needed as all gunshots happen off camera and we will only need to see the aftermath of the wound post gun-shot. But other than that we will definitely want to see blood gushing/pouring out of people for the slit throat, and Zombie bites/etc.
In terms of Blood, this Production in total could be needing up to 10-15 gallons of blood for the entire Film with several large quantities of it needed at many various times throughout the production. We are looking for a Make-Up Artist who can make/create their own blood in large gallons at anytime at home or on set. This is the kind of Production where we may randomly end up needing 2-3 gallons of blood on set with very little notice. And since we will mostly be Shooting in an isolated forest we need someone with this skillset who can work remotely and have the Production covered on this aspect.
For Prosthetics, contact lenses, fingernails/claws, and specialized wounds such as the slit throat or gunshot wounds mentioned above could and may be needed for this Production.
The use of Wigs may also be needed for this Production so experience with wigs along with knowing where to acquire the right ones for both men and women is needed.
Otherwise Basic Make-Up related we are mainly dealing Hair & Make-Up for about 20-25 Lead/Supporting/Featured characters total who are spread out through the entire 90-minute movie with various hairstyles, lipsticks, eye shadows, and mascara for the female characters and hair and make-up for most of the male characters.
This Film has a very heavy 1970’s throwback feel to it with Make-Up including a lot of the female (Farrah Fawcett) type of hair styles from that time which we plan on applying to our characters so knowing and understanding how to create that style professionally is required.
We are searching for a Make-Up Artist with a professional attitude who loves challenges, pushing the boundaries and trying new things no matter how crazy or impossible it may seem at the time, who never allows their emotions to get the better of them, and who never gets too tired/unmotivated to stop giving 100%.
Here at our Production Company we approach Make-Up from a very intense level where we expect to get exactly what we asked for and will settle for nothing less especially since exact reference photos are always provided showing every look, color, and effect we are going for involving every character and design for the Film.
Pre-Production has already begun for this Feature and will be very demanding schedule wise for all crew members especially our Key Make-Up Artist who will be expected to attend several Pre-Production meetings, Make-Up Tests, Location Scouts, etc between now and Filming. Please make sure this is something you have the appropriate amount of time to work on before applying.
In terms of the Make-Up Department, Production has budgeted for Assistant Make-Up Artists for the entire Shoot which we would discuss further in the interview.
Although Production has Budgeted for Wigs and Prosthetics we do NOT reimburse for Kit Fees or Materials of any other kind if this is a problem then do not apply.
Key Hair & Make-Up Artist – must have at least 5 years experience, be able to do both Hair & Make-Up for all actors, have your own make-up kit & accessories to bring to set, have a great eye for contrast and shadow when applying make-up of any kind, be familiar with the Horror genre and with SFX Make-Up of all kinds, be able to make/create your own blood along with experience in doing this on past Productions, be used to working with limited hands to assist you in the Make-Up Department, and most importantly . . . love making movies
All applicants for this position must be Los Angeles/Southern California area based due to Pre-Production.
Below is the following Day Rate for our Key Make-Up Artist:
Key Make-Up Artist $1,000 ($11,000 Total).
If interested, please reply with a copy of your resume, a Link to your Website/Make-Up Portfolio, and please include in your email submission a brief paragraph describing yourself as a Make-Up Artist and what inspires you and your work (movies/photos/make-up artists/etc).
Interviews will take place online over Zoom.
Thank you and have a great day.