Hair and Make-up throughout history
In this essay I will be discussing how hair and make-up for both theatre and film has changed over time. I will be looking at the basic characteristics of each and how they have progressed and improved from their beginnings to the present day. I will also be looking at the major developments in hair and make-up for theatre and film, and how events of the past have affected modern hair and make-up techniques, application and products.
Make-up has been used to aid actors or performers while they entertain their audiences since the 5th Century BC when it was introduced into theatre as a way to draw attention, hide imperfections, age actors and create characters.
When it is used in theatre, make-up acts as a tool to help enhance an actors' features, portray emotion or to bring the character to life. Before make-up, actors would wear masks with hair attached to convey their characters' personality, occupation, age and emotion. These masks would be changed many times during the performance according to the storyline and the characters' emotions. This quickly became impractical and make-up was used as an alternative.
As it will be only seen from a distance, theatre make-up is usually very heavily applied and dramatic. All the definition and shape must be bigger and bolder so that it is still visible from the audience. Fine details need to be exaggerated or else they will be lost and may make the face look dirty or confusing. Theatre make-up must also be very simple because of the time limits and budgetary restrictions that come with each performance. A great benefit to working with theatre make-up is that it does not need to be perfect or identical night after night as, most of the time, the audience is completely different each time.
Film make-up, however, needs to be precise and flawless as it will be recorded and any mistakes will be seen by the audience. Continuity is very important within film make-up because sometimes scenes of a film are shot in a different order or on different days and the actor must look eactly the same each time, so 'continuity shots' are taken to document exactly how the make-up looked so that it can be recreated perfectly each time.
Prosthetics are used in both film and theatre make-up but they are designed and applied very differently. In theatre, a prothetic needs to stand out and alter the actor's appearance in an obvious and instantly noticable way. Whereas, in film, a prosthetic must look as organic as possible and alter the actor's appearance in a clear but natural-looking way. The application process must be very fast in theatre due to the time limits and possible costume changes, so they need to use an adhesive like prosaide which can be applied and removed quickly, safely and painlessly. It must also be very strong so that it will keep the prosthetic in place throughout the entire performance despite the actor sweating due to hot stage lights and energetic choreography. In film, however, the application process can be very extensive and time-consuming as long as the end result is perfect and consistant. Adhesives such as spirit gum are favoured as they are extremely strong and can be removed and cleaned using surgical spirit ready for use the next day.
Theatre make-up was first used in theatre in Ancient Greece, when Thespis painted his face with white lead and wine, before then masks were used to portray characters. It progressed as time went on and actors found other things to use such as flour or chalk, coloured pastes, soot and false beards made of lamb's wool.
Originally, candles and oil lamps were used in theatres and this meant that the make-up didn't have to be perfect as the lights weren't very bright and the shadows they cast would help make the actors' faces look more dramatic. When electric lights were introduced, the make-up had to change dramatically because the lights would wash out light colours and make the actors look pale, so heavier, darker products became necessary
Along with the changes to the lighting, another major development for theatre make-up is that sometimes the more popular productions, such as Wicked or Les Miserables, are being filmed to show at cinemas, so the make-up must work for both theatre and film. Finding a balance between these two styles of make-up can be very challenging and cause some looks to be redesigned so that they are less exaggerated but can still translate well to a theatre audience.
When make-up was captured on film for the first time in the 1900s, it looked very different to how it does nowadays due to the fact that it had to be appropriate for black and white film. This meant that the make-up was often very strong and dark, because otherwise it would not translate well onto the screen. In the 1920s, Max Factor released a foundation 'pancake' exclusively for use in film and television, as it was not as thick and mask-like as the greasepaints used in theatre.
With evermore realistic HD cameras, the make-up used on film has had to adapt to very close-up filming which catches every detail and leaves very little space for mistakes. Another change that film make-up has had to adapt to is the rapid growth of the cinema or television screens that show more detail than ever and require perfectly flawless make-up application as every pore and wrinkle on the face is clearly visible and larger than life.
As modern technology is becoming more and more advanced, things like HD and 3D televisions are very common and the film make-up industry has had to strive for absolute perfection within their make-up, prosthetic application and products. Lighter, more easily blended 'HD foundations' have been in high demand, as any caking or streaking will be instantly visible on screen. As well as 3D, modern film uses green screens and CGI to create visual effects, and anamatronics or digital animation make films even more visually stunning than ever. This means that a lot of the work that the make-up artists have to do is limited or involves mechanics and digital construction which needs additional training and practice.
During the 1940s, rationing due to the war meant that make-up was very hard to come by and not typically worn by women because it was seen as unpatriotc to spend time on your own appearance instead of working to maintain the farms and factories while the men were away fighting. This impacted film and theatre make-up because products were less accessable and any standard 1940s female characters, especially "land army girls" would have to have neutral make-up to be historically accurate.
Hair plays a big role in theatre and film, especially in stories such as Hairspray or priscilla queen of the desert where the wigs are very large and outrageous. For film and television, the actors' own hair is often styled accordingly and can be touched up or restyled between takes, which means it can be constantly checked and monitored for continuity. Also, the advantage to using the actors' own hair is that it looks as natural and believable as possible. Wigs are sometimes used in film to create a character or if the actors' hair cannot be used. These wigs are different to the wigs used in theatre, however, because they will be shown in great detail and must therefore look realistic and believable, so they are much finer and lighter, and are most commonly made using human hair. In theatre, however, wigs are often made using synthetic hair and do not need to look as realistic. They are often thicker, larger and more dramatic than wigs used in film because they will be see from a distance and need to stand out.
Wigs have come a long way from their beginnings in early theatre, where they were often made with horsehair or wool and felt coarse and unnatural. Nowadays, theatres use "hard-fronted" wigs, which means that they don't have any lace at the front of the head to make the hairline look natural. Hard-fronted wigs are often machine made and do not look very realistic up close because the hair falls in a different way and makes it look solid and dense, rather than light and healthy like human hair. These wigs are perfect for theatre, however, because they only need to be seen from a distance and they are often dressed with added hairpieces, padding or frames to create large over-the-top shapes and styles.
Nowadays, wigs used in theatre are dressed before the performance and maintained until they need to be worn by the actors. This ensures that they are pristine and consistant show after show, and that the hair does not get damaged between productions. Wigs in theatre are also often made so that they can be worn by different people in case the understudies need to perform instead of the usual actors and the wigs will still fit well and be secure. They are also made to be as quick easy to apply and remove as possible due to the very tight time limits and various costume changes between scenes. There are usually multiple wigs for each actor, as back ups in case one is damaged, and even more if the actors' character requires costume changes throughout the production, so most of the work that the hair and make-up team in theatres have to do is based around prepping, dressing and maintaining the wigs. Background characters or members of the chorus usually don't wear wigs because they are not as visible and don't need to look perfect because they won't be seen from the audience.
In film, hair needs to look completed and appropriately styled while staying true to the time period or genre.
Viewers nowadays are more likely to complain about continuity or realism issues so the hairstyling team needs to make sure that all the hairstyles are accurate and perfect from scene to scene, to avoid complaints; as opposed to in the past, when small errors could be overlooked and wouldn't distract the audience as much. One solution to the continuity issue is to use extremely life-like wigs for the actors to wear. These wigs can be dressed and styled before shooting and can be adjusted more quickly and easily than the actors' natural hair because they can be removed and styled on blocks.
A major development in film hair has been the introduction of lace-fronted wigs, which look realistic and feature natural-looking hairlines. They are also often made from human hair and can therefore be styled with heat with minimal damage to the hairs. These wigs are often created specifically for certain actors and are made to measure, using a wig template. This ensures that the wig will fit correctly and none of the actors' natural hair will show through, so it looks as believable as possible and will look good close up and in HD or 3D film.
Fashion and hairstyles of the past greatly affects hair for theatre and film, as research into specific time periods and their trends is of paramount importance if a film or production is to be historically accurate. This affects the products and tools that hairstylists can use as well as the techniques they need to learn to achieve believable and accurate styles, because certain effects would not have been able to be created in certain eras, for example crimpers would not have been available in the 1950s and straighteners would not have been used in the Georgian era.
Hair and make-up has changed a lot over time, due to cosmetic and technological advances and I believe it will continue to change and improve in the future with the ever expanding products that are available now. I think that in the next 10 years, the tools, products and techniques that we use to create hair and make-up styles for film and theatre will have improved greatly and it will be possible to create even more visibily striking and inspiring characters and stories.
Bibliography:
Unknown. (Unknown). The Answer by High Definition Hair. Available: http://www.theanswer4you.org/theproducts.htm. Last accessed 8th Feb 2014.
Kittrell, L. (2009). History of Stage Make-up. Available: http://laurenkcreativity.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/history-of-stage-makeup.html. Last accessed 8th Feb 2014.
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