SHOOT RECAP - make up and wardrobe

In order to get proper looking aliens, crack heads, slackers, strippers, death metal lead singers, high maintenance mistresses, stoners, and thugs at least some form of make up is required. And we had exactly one, count ‘em ONE make up gal... the ever mighty Suzan Jones, also doubling as set photographer, boom operator, sound mixer, sometimes actress, and mom.

How’d Suzan pull this one off. Well, no one really knows for sure, but somehow SHE DID. Usually one of the first to arrive(after a one and a half hour drive... that’s right ONE AND A HALF HOURS) Suzan would immeaditaly tear into the actor in need of the most ‘camera ready’ make up, usually being one of the girls, who could all actually do their own make up if need be with Suzan doing touch ups.

There were some specialty ‘looks’, like the dark circles under Lucky’s crack head eyes and sores around his crack head mouth. The ‘alien’ required quite a bit of preparing as well.

Most fun was watching Suzan continually hopping down from the boom ladder to touch up an actor, before taking another behind the scenes pic... THAT was some multi-tasking.

Wardrobe was a whole nother matter. In the beginning we ‘thought’ the actors would be able to keep track of all their garb. Then there was DAY 4(see earlier post), making the Real Deals set up a ‘wardrobe central’ to keep track of stuff. 

There wasn’t really a ‘costume designer’, so before we started shooting all the main actors brought several wardrobe choices to the Real Deal for review. The Deal being THEE production designer(and not being color blind) would then pick what worked best in context of the ‘look’ of the movie. All the other actors brought several wardrobe choices their first day on set and Deal would do his thing. 

Everyone’s favorite Thug Julian got his whole get up at the 99 cent store.

Any wardrobe question became a Real Deal question(just another one his eighteen or so jobs).

All and all everything worked out pretty well, considering all the running and gunning. Suzan and RD have like 35 years production experience between them, so it really helped that they knew what the hell they were doing. The actors did a great job creating all of their ‘looks’ too. 

So ya don’t always need rows and rows of Star Wagons to get results.

photos by Suzan Jones