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Make up artist pay scale

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  • JamBam
    replied
    Thanks to make up artists

    I paid for a degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I have no ability myself as my stick people look bad, but my son earned that degree well. (ok I only paid for the part his talen didn't earn) He could draw before he could walk or talk. Moved to Chicago for school and still there. He is now drawing for a slot machine company. Can you believe they pay him a good salary, benefits, 401K, and force him to go to Reno every month. And they underwrite gambling in his expense account. Research is what they call it. lol

    Anyway, my make up artist and his helpers are awesome. He is a self employed artist and is involved in the local play theatre as well. Did I mention he also is my director!! Has made several awesome character costumes and is now making masks. He is not paid what he is worth, but each year as we have gotten more successful, his compensation has gone up. He is starting to explore the haunt market for business now.

    So far, he is underpaid. His loyalty and talent is much appreciated. My intention is to make it up to him in the future.

    Leave a comment:


  • bodybagging
    replied
    Personally I think Jason is one of the best makeup Artists in the Haunt Industry,
    He deserves to write his own Paycheck.

    Leave a comment:


  • geoffgbeck
    replied
    Makeup Artist Pay Scale

    Just a clarification to DrZombie a few posts ago. I want to preface this post by saying that I understand that you were playing devil's advocate, so please understand that I am doing the same. Having said this, I can't speak for others, but as far as your interpretation of some comments made earlier in this thread as us implying "that there are not great makeup artists out there that are new to this" is not necessarily fair. At least from my point of view I can tell you that I never said or implied that. That was then..... now, I will honestly ask you to please define what a "great makeup artist" means to you and would also like to see five photos of that new makeup artist's work. I can tell you that if I show you five photos of a makeup artist with 7 or more years of experience, I guarantee that all of a sudden your definition of a "great makeup arstist" would change. I don't mean to sound arrogant here, but in my opinion from my experience doing makeup over 15 years now, your barometer of what qualifies as a "great" makeup changes drastically over time. The makeups I did my first year were challenging and made me grow, but if I showed you photos of them now I would honestly be embarrassed, and none of them fall into the "great" category. I personally have not met anyone with only a year or two of experience that I would consider to be a "great" makeup artist. Most of the makeup I see from people at that stage is barely even what I call "good" to be completely honest. Most people take a long time to be able to blend highlights and shadows correctly, and that is understandable. But, good blending is also what classifies a makeup as being "good" not to mention "great." I know there are extremely talented new people out there that have only a year or two under their belt and I wish them all the best of luck. But, I don't think that makes them either ready or qualified to run a makeup room for a haunt as a makeup coordinator. I just wanted to clarify that is what I was addressing in my original post for this thread. I was giving general information on pay scales based on the amount of experience a makeup artist has. More specifically, people like Jason Blaszczak, Killer Katie and myself have all worked for someone who didn't really appreciate the fact that we each could run the makeup room very proficiently, but didn't want to pay us what we were worth based on our skill level. And, now many years later with more experience, I think its safe to say that we all feel like we deserve to be paid more fairly in comparison with our talent. You have to balance your passion for what you do with what your skill level is and what it is worth.

    Geoff Beck
    Last edited by geoffgbeck; 04-25-2008, 02:03 AM. Reason: grammer

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  • Jim Warfield
    replied
    Tom, the subject is make -up not make -out artist.

    As I was carrying my one bag and my video camera to my motel room late one night in Nashville suddenly a man appeared inside "my" room and began screaming through the window at me!?
    I could have been shot holding that video camera right outside "someone else's" room, the desk clerk had screwed up, they gave me a different room, the lights were on in the second room, nobody there but wet towels on the floor and bed !
    Double booking in a motel room late at night can become very interesting and possibly fatal, watch out!

    Leave a comment:


  • Transfusion Tom
    replied
    I'm not a make-up artist but I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.....

    Leave a comment:


  • screamline studios
    replied
    hey DR0zombie,

    You are ten thousand and twenty billions percent right about some great rookie make up artists however, the new guys and gals do it out of passion and lust of the craft and at that point it is not a buisness because they are willing to give away ther talent . if a haunt owner or a manager does not do make up its because they cant, or are to busy with everything else, so at that point every brush stroke and every drop of blood, or tootheffects you apply on someone should be worth something right!!!! and i am not talking about a couple bucks either(i speak from my own past, allowing people to just walk all over me because i let the love i wanted stand before a decent pay) So the newbees in my eyes need to work there way up the food chain and at that point , they should recieve the money they deserve . I can honestly say there is nothing better than haunted houses but it really grinds my ass when i see haunt owners walk all over there talent like they dont mean a damn thing.

    Just some random dude

    Jason Blaszczak
    SCREAMLINE STUDIOS

    Leave a comment:


  • dr0zombie
    replied
    Time to play a little devils advocate.....

    Lets not get carried away and imply that there are not great makeup artists out there that are new to this. Guys, where do you think YOU came from!! We all train new artists every year and find gems in the crews we work with. Hell, my 12 year old daughter had a slumber party and I did their makeup Wolfe Brothers style to go. One of her friends could copy that damn Wolfe Brothers book perfectly in like 10 minutes a face for each face she tried. First time.... my daughter just replied... oh, she is just like that when it comes to art... LOL....... Anywho, my point is there is new talent all over the place. Lets give experience its credit but accept that you can find gems too.

    Haunt owners need to decide if they want to take the risk of finding new talent or paying for a seasoned pro. I guess that is my way of saying the same thing as the last post....

    Just wanting to play another side to this soundtrack.....



    Had to edit this.... speaking of experience... that video BodybaG did was great. Geoff, the quality of build up with the wash that was done on you was VERY cool. My favorite thing I think I have ever seen done in a haunt makeup video. That entire DVD is a GEM!!!!
    Last edited by dr0zombie; 04-12-2008, 11:26 PM.

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  • Killer Katie
    replied
    In a nutshell...help, help.. I'm in a nutshell!!

    After reading all of the posts, I come to a few basic conclusions.
    1. You get what you pay for, unless you luck out and get talent for peanuts.
    2. Check out the artist, make them do makeup in front of you (as the BS in a biz like ours in neck deep)
    3. In this day and age - multi task, make yourself worth more by doing more.
    4. Haunt owners - teach yourself how to be an artist and you'll get it for free. And realize that the consumers of today have high standards (thanks to CGI in movies in my opinion) and bad makeup can really crap out an event.

    And a side note - actually talk to the people that your artist/actor has worked for. As we all know in any profession, a resume can be enhanced to make someone out to be more than they are. I have been BS'd inthe past and wow did that cause me twice as much work and three times as much headache!
    And tell the makeup artist up front what you can and can't pay them, then it's their decision if they want the job or not!
    The thing that sucks is that it is a buisness, and in these times budgets can suck.
    That's my summation, and I'm sticking to it!

    Leave a comment:


  • bodybagging
    replied
    Well said Geoff, now stop hacking jasons account , and get your own!

    Leave a comment:


  • screamline studios
    replied
    Makeup Artist Pay Scale Continued

    Well, there have been some very interesting posts here. I specifically appreciate the post by the person who was savvy enough to compare what "we" do with other very over-worked under-paid "professions" out there. I respect his understanding that "we" are not the only "ones" out there who work very hard, but feel "unappreciated" by our "employers." So, as you can see I pick my words carefully-the word employer in the haunted attraction industry can mean many different things. It can mean the guy who is out there to make a "quick" buck by having over-prized tickets to a show filled with kids in masks, or "blue" raccoon-eyed looking makeups worn by a bunch of kids screaming their lungs out. Or-hopefully- the word employer means a guy (or lady) who knows great makeup when they see it and understands (like my friend Jason Blaszczak mentioned earlier) the amount of time (many years) it takes to become a great makeup artist. A haunt owner can expect a local person who has shown loyalty towards their haunt (doing set building, design, makeup, etc.) and has been around for a year or two to do makeup for free, and that "artist" should feel happy with that-for they are building their skills, and ability. Then, there are makeup artists out there with say about 3-6 years of experience, that can charge anywhere from $7.00 to $9.00 an hour for about 2-3 hours each night helping out in the makeup room. Depending on the size and budget of the haunt, they could even charge a flat rate-like $50.00 per night given their responsibility. Yes, the main motivation is to "do what you love", and being a actor as much as a makeup artist myself, I truly understand the emotional frustration that exists in weighing our "talent" with our "worth" in the choice we make in where we decide to work. Having said this, I am now talking about the makeup artists who have at least 10 years of solid training/experience under their belt, and have worked in many different haunts(not just one). These makeup artists have (hopefully) several years of experience being a makeup coordinator at different haunts where they were in charge of running a makeup crew, and know how to schedule and handle time-management of many different artists and can keep the quality up to it's highest standard while collectively still turning out anywhere from 30-50 actors each night. These individuals usually charge a "blanket" fee for the whole season to the haunt owners and may even get travel expenses paid for as well. Again, based on the haunt, the budget, and the passion of the makeup artist, the fee can be several thousand dollars for a whole season. Also, doing seminars a month or so before haunt season is common place where (depending on how long), several hundred dollars per seminar can be paid by the haunt owner. Yes, this is not your normal nine-to-five "job", and it is seasonal, but if a makeup artist has proven himself and his reputation for many years to different owners familiar with their work, they can be in the position that they are booked a year or more in advance to the haunt of their choosing.

    Geoff Beck
    Makeup Artist/Actor

    Leave a comment:


  • dr0zombie
    replied
    First: Larry I'll email ya... I didn't get down to your place last year as there was that whole end of Creatures Crypt thing..... Your place would be FUN!!!!!!

    Second: I LOVE the FX makeup job. That said, I think makeup artists are a tough call for a haunted event. I looked at what it would take to be the local haunted house owner and you know what, it is a PAIN IN THE BUTT. LOL ....There is so much involved I can see where often makeup is just not in the budget in a way people really want it to be. I doubt most haunt owners don't want to have some great makeup artist giving them incredible work. They just don't have the time or budget for it after all the "must have" work is done.

    Are "FX artists are the most underpaid, overworked, unappreciated, members, of the Haunt community." HELL YES!!! But what can you do.... you already have a day job.
    Last edited by dr0zombie; 04-08-2008, 05:46 PM.

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  • SpFXChic
    replied
    Originally posted by bodybagging View Post
    Shredman, wasnt anything personal towards you, but I think that FX artists are the most underpaid, overworked, unappreciated, members, of the Haunt community.
    Amen to that, brother!

    Leave a comment:


  • Jim Warfield
    replied
    I had an unemployed brother-in-law living with me who proclaimed "I will never work for less than $45,000 a year!"
    Then he jumped at a job paying $8.00 an hr.!?
    Ever since the common practice of wearing shoes became popular alot of people are suddenly found "wanting" when it comes to basic math skills.

    Leave a comment:


  • Finnegan
    replied
    Let me break it down according to other industries, if it may help:

    $8/hour = $16,000 year (Fivebucks Coffee Barista)
    $10/hour = $20,000 year (Best Buy Sales Rep.)
    $20/hour = $40,000 year (Computer Networking Technician)
    $30/hour | $5,000/Season = $60,000 year (Entry Level Computer Programmer)

    It's all based on the who, what, where, when. I think that several people are overworked, underpaid and underglorified but you have an equal amount that are overhyped, over paid and underworked primadonnas (NO insinuations about anyone on here). That is just a basic pay scale to keep in mind of the big picture. The numbers are somewhat arbitrary since it is seasonal work, those are just to put you on par with what they'd be making if it were full time.

    Leave a comment:


  • drfrightner
    replied
    If there are ANY make up artist out there who are looking for a job call me...I'm looking to hire you!!!

    Larry

    Leave a comment:

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