Film Makeup Artist - Vimala Clark
The good, the bad and the ugly…When I tell people that I work as a film makeup artist, many say, “That’s great, you must enjoy making people look good”. Well, yes, I do enjoy that. But just as much if not more, I enjoy making people look bad – and I mean really bad, like seriously ill, diseased or even dead!
It’s a situation I’ve found myself in on a number of occasions and, believe me, it’s hard work and there’s lots of pressure, but the experience is invaluable. Filmmakers and producers want to know that you are versatile, that you can cope with the pressure and that you can be relied upon to do a good job. 
There are many technical skills you require as a film makeup artist, including the proper application of make-up and appreciation of tone and texture; understanding the impact of different lighting; and creating incredibly realistic special effects. And you never stop learning – nor should you as it’s vitally important for make-up artists to keep up to date with new trends and techniques. I’ve been a make-up artist for over 10 years, but continue to attend additional training courses on subjects such as special effects, airbrushing, and TV and film make-up, including the make-up requirements for High Definition TV – and they’ve all been really helpful.There is, of course, no substitute for experience. However, while many skills can be taught and honed with more and more practice, some are far more difficult to teach and depend very much on the individual and how they develop over time, such as a sense of mood and ambience and an eye for detail. These can make the difference between a good make-up artist and a great make-up artist.
The role of a make-up artist is incredibly diverse – everything from retail, to photo shoots, to catwalk shows, to TV, to music videos, to film and theatre. It’s helpful to get a good grounding and develop experience across a number of different areas. While some make-up artists are happy to be generalists and continue to work across a variety of media, others may wish to specialise in a particular field and further develop their expertise in that area.
As a freelance make-up artist, it’s important to network and build up your contacts – from stylists to photographers to filmmakers and producers; and to develop your portfolio and keep it fresh and updated. When starting out, it’s good to collaborate with people who are at a similar stage in their careers as you all have something to gain from the project and it is mutually beneficial as you’re all able to build up your contacts books, CVs and portfolios. 
That’s why I think guerilla-filmmaker.com is a great idea. I’m sure it will provide a valuable service to new filmmakers and others who are involved or would like to be involved in film-making, including make-up artists like myself. It will be helpful to have such a useful source of information and a forum for an exchange of ideas, experiences and contacts.For make-up artists, developing your network of contacts can help you find people who are in a position to give you new opportunities – perhaps even a once in a lifetime opportunity to really establish yourself as a make-up artist on a major film or TV series. Return from Film Makeup Artist Vimala Clark to Film Production
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