I was given an amazing opportunity to do a week’s paid word on a Disney film called Artemis Fowl. I received an email from Veronica saying that she had passed on my CV to the crowd supervisor on the film, and that she would be in contact. The filming was being done in Longcross Studios in Surrey. I was doing my week’s work with another recent graduate from MAKUP Academy.
On our first day, our call time was 4.30 am. When we arrived at the studios, we thought we were going to be lost all day and not know what to do, but we were working alongside another trainee who had been there before. After a few hours, we found that we didn’t need to be told what to do. We were kept busy all day long and because of that, the time went so quickly and before we knew it, it was wrap time!
In the mornings, we were given a list of all the extras, so our job was to make sure that each actor’s continuity sheet was hung up on the wall in alphabetical order, so that when they came to hair and makeup, their sheet was easy to find and they could be sent straight to the artist. On the first day, the crowd supervisor told us that every actor needed an up-to-date continuity picture, so we spent our whole day with a couple of junior makeup artists, going around set taking 360 shots of each actor. Once this was done, we had to upload all the files to a laptop, then we had to make up a mood board for each actor to staple to their continuity sheet.
We had to do the breakfast run every morning, and then deliver the breakfast to each artist so they could have it as soon as they had finished all the hair and makeup. During the day, we did a lot of tea/coffee runs for all the artists. As it was the last week of filming, a lot of artists were packing up and leaving, so when they left, we had to clean their station, and set it up ready for a new artist to take their place. It was also our job to ensure that each artist had a time sheet and that they were filled in correctly and handed back at the end of the week.
In the afternoon, we had to take each mood board and reorganise them into alphabetical order and place them back on the wall ready for the next morning. After lunch, we kept ourselves busy packing up boxes of stock that were no longer needed, sorting wigs to go into storage and just general cleaning and tidying.
Everyday, we wrapped at 6.00 pm. As soon as the extras came back from filming, we had to help take down their hair and take their accessories from their hair and put them along with their picture so that it was ready for the following day.
I really enjoyed the week on Artemis Fowl. I was shocked to be getting paid work after graduating only 4 months ago, but Veronica works tirelessly to ensure we succeed and get as many opportunities as we possibly can. I couldn’t be any more grateful to Veronica for everything she does. If I had done a course at a University, I would be left to my own devices to try and find experience and contacts, but Veronica makes contacts for me and helps so much by giving jobs directly to me. The course ends after 16 weeks, but the care and contact from Veronica doesn’t stop.
#traineemakeupartist #makeuptraining #paidwork #Disney #ArtemisFowl