NEW YEAR = CHANGES!

It has been a long time since I have posted on this blog and I decided that one of my New Year’s resolutions would be to reach out to my database and write a monthly post for those who are interested.

Epic Makeup has gone through some changes and updates in the past year. In order to continue to provide our producers, directors, photographers, actors, corporate business and production company clients with the most professional makeup and hair services, we are excited to announce that we have expanded the team and I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce our new member:

Cathi Singh – Makeup/Hair/Body Artist:

Many of you know Cathi already. She has filled in for me on some of your projects as department head and other times she has worked along side as my key artist or assistant. I first met Cathi 5 years ago and since that time, we have partnered on many amazing shoots. Besides being trained in beauty makeup for HD television and film, she has expanded her skills to include fashion, sports, news media, red carpet, live events, as well as becoming Epic’s certified Spray Tan Artist, which handles all tanning requests from our actors and clients.

While both Cathi and I are trained in all genres of makeup artistry, our combined efforts of close to 35 years experience have given us the skills to handle most on set challenges.  

Recently, Cathi and I switched roles and she was my Department Head on the Ron Howard short film, When You Find Me, where I worked as the Key Artist.

This film is the first collaboration of Ron Howard and Canon after forming the company Project Imagin8ion. It began with a photography contest that started in May of 2011. Over 96,000 entries were submitted and Mr. Howard chose 8 winners. From there, a screenplay was written using the photos as inspiration and Mr. Howard’s daughter, actress Bryce Dallas-Howard was hired as our Director.

Cathi and I were brought on and began our pre-production process in September 2011. This is where the challenge began because Canon had secretly developed a new film camera to compete with the RED and we were using the prototype to shoot the film. We were the first makeup team in the nation to shoot on this camera and the script had called for a “dream sequence” which was going to be shot using an infrared sensor.

We discovered that shooting in this mode the camera picked up all the blue veins in the actor’s face, but because Bryce asked us to make the actors appear “ghost” like, the blue veins needed to disappear. We tried several different techniques and finally figured out what supported our director's vision.

Below is a link to Project Imagin8tion's YouTube Channel featuring the film's trailer, which is currently being prepped for the festival circuit and a link to a very informative, behind-the-scenes video where both director and DP speak in detail about the camera's film capabilities.

2011 also brought our team many interesting new clients both in the corporate and celebrity world. We continue to work on projects needing special effects, green screen shoots, HD television shows, webseries, breaking news spots and new product media tours.

We are proud to be providing makeup and hair services to the reporters at NBC San Diego for their on-air Super Bowl promos, as well as for their new anchor marketing needs.

We gratefully continue to work with many production companies in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County and surrounding areas. We have traveled to Europe several times in the past few years for our corporate client, LifeWave and hope to continue that service for other clients in the future!

The Epic Makeup website is getting a much needed face lift and will feature bios, resumes, portfolio pictures and links for Cathi and myself. The current version of the Epic site is still up and running, with the new site slotted to take its place soon.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this post. If you would like to subscribe to this blog you can do so via Feedburner on our sidebar. If you would like us to remove you from our database so that you no longer receive updates from Epic, please send us an email to: thepro@epicmakeup.com.

We hope that 2012 continues to bring prosperity and success your way and the Epic Makeup Team is looking forward to working with all of you this year!

See you on the set!

posted by: Melissa Street

It's showtime...a day in the life of an MUA

The Makeup Show - Los Angeles is a gathering of Who's Who in the professional cosmetic and makeup artist industry! The Show is presented by The Powder Group and sponsored by Make Up For Ever, Temptu, Alcone and Crown Brush. There were dozens of cosmetic brands, educators, professional artists, and other businesses related to the cosmetic industry in attendance, not to forget the hundreds of students and consumers that walked the floor as well!

I networked and attended workshops and lectures by iconic beauty industry professionals: Ronnie Spector, Ve Neill, Eve Pearl, Billy B., Elke Von Freudenberg and Sharon Gault and tested dozens of new cosmetic lines mostly used for HD. Also in attendance were legendary industry names like, Marvin Westmore, Joe Blasco, Maurice Stein and Dean and Davis Factor, as well as many professional makeup artistry schools such as MUD, Blasco Makeup School, All About Face Academy and the Westmore Academy.

MUA-TV launched their website, which is the exclusive, most elite live streaming webcast for professional makeup artists, hair stylists, skin care specialists, special makeup effects artists, makeup students, cosmetology students and cosmetic retailers. Also in conjunction with MUA-TV is themakeupspace.com, which is offering online professional makeup seminars! I hope to be a part of both of those organizations in the near future.

Please enjoy the photos below from the show:

A New Year in the life of an MUA!

Happy 2009 everyone!

It has been a little slow in the world of production for the past month, but I wanted to write a quick post mostly to let you all know that I am still alive and well and waiting for the phone to ring (ha, ha, but really I am waiting...)! Typically, January tends to be a tad slow for my business and I always seem to pick up in February and by the month of March I am booked and juggling a full calendar.

I have had the honor of being part of a few noteworthy shoots in the past few months. Most importantly, I worked with Tonya Mantooth, President and Executive Producer of Mantooth Productions on a 2009 commercial campaign for Anderson Plumbing, Heating and Air, which will run locally in San Diego.

Shot at the San Diego Production Center with an outstanding crew, these spots were all shot with white background in HD and utilizes many of Anderson's staff of professional plumbers (not actors)! Needless to say there were a ton of laughs because most of the big, burly men that are out in the field all day repairing and replacing pipes, were not used to wearing makeup! Some didn't even want me to touch them - flat out refused! Some sat quietly in my chair and were pleasantly surprised when I told them they would not feel a thing...makeup is painless and washable!

I like to use Nars Powder Foundation in these types of circumstances and with these types of clients. Especially when professional actors are not being used and when my clients are men or women who have never been on camera before or in a professional studio for that matter. Nars' products are easy to apply and provide high pigmentation which means I get results and coverage immediately. Also, Nars is a great product to use for HD because of the blendability and the application goes on smooth. When non-professional actors are in front of the camera, they tend to sweat much more than professionals and Nars' powder foundation cuts shine and holds up under the studio lights.

Overall, the shoot was great and we had a ton of fun! If you are looking for a quality sound-stage in the San Diego area, check out SDPC (click here to be directed to their website). They are a fully integrated media production company capable of producing a wide range of projects.



If you are in need of a seriously talented Executive Producer, Tonya Mantooth is the person you need to contact (via Lindiken). She is one of the most professional people I have had the privilege to work with in San Diego. What I truly appreciate most about Tonya is that she is able to direct and coach each crew member in such a way that we are all on the same page and working cohesively to produce her vision for the client. It is an honor to work with her and to be part of her crew!

Here are a few fun photos from the set! Enjoy!