Makeup Trailers
Hair and makeup are crucial in film production, setting the look for the actors the film focuses on. It’s typically the first place talent goes in the morning. Nothing can happen until the actor is camera-ready.
If a production fails to allocate proper space for hair and makeup artists, it could spell disaster. Delays will almost certainly occur. If the artists can’t do their best work, the entire film will suffer. When shooting on location, it’s too risky to trust the site to provide a proper working space for hair and makeup. Particularly with outdoor shoots in remote areas, a hair and makeup trailer is a near necessity.
Hair and makeup trailers are equipped with mirrors, proper lighting, proper power, and often running water and bathrooms. From the outside, the trailer looks like a trailer for talent—it looks like a large recreational vehicle. On the inside, it looks like a self-contained salon or dressing room, with chairs lined up in front of mirrors lined with lights. This is where the magic happens.
Finding a proper makeup trailer is not something that should be taken lightly. Proper ventilation is essential inside the hair and makeup trailer due to the materials often used, like aerosols and hairsprays. Follow all safety regulations to protect the talent, especially the hair and makeup artists. Regularly check these regulations to ensure a safe working environment.
Ensure hair and makeup trailers have working air conditioning. Proper ventilation isn’t just for the comfort and safety of those working inside the trailer. The quality of the work depends on it.. Hair and makeup application involves sensitive materials, so the environment must be appropriate. This, too, is a reason why hair and makeup trailers are so important to a production. If a shoot is occurring in a hot Adirondack park in the middle of summer, for example, there may be vast open spaces where the hair and makeup artists may get to work. However when heat and humidity – not to mention mosquitoes – start to interfere, it causes delays to the hair and makeup process and ultimately to the entire production.
Time constraints typically regulate location shoots more strictly than those in a sound stage. Producers and crew members alike can attest that a delay due to hair and makeup can literally mean the difference between finishing a day as planned or needing to add an entire new shoot day. The hair and makeup trailer is, therefore, one of the most essential pieces of the film production puzzle.