Make up artist pay scale

[dr0zombie]

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!!!!

[screamline studios]

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

[Transfusion Tom]

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

[Jim Warfield]

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!

[geoffgbeck]

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

[bodybagging]

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

[JamBam]

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.

[Jim Warfield]

How much to pay a make up person?
A few dollars more or a few dollars less? It's hard to judge when they are always "making faces!"
As far as not being paid for what you are worth? WE are all the final judge of what we will tolerate in any work situation.
I was a loyal son and employee for 15 years , then I read the local paper that the guy the city hired to mow the grass in the park was getting paid lot more than I was! It was the city's mower and the city's gas too!
I was on-call 24/7 to repair and install furnaces and Ac and plumbing, but the guy riding someone else's mower was worth more! (No he wasn't)
I didn't even have a phone for the first three years I moved into my haunted house, I wanted nothing to do with my previous work picking up "pennies" while my kids went without. 15 years is a long time to be in denial.
Don't put the responsibility on someone else, it really is not theirs for more than a paycheck or two.

[Killer Katie]

Here here!

Let the record show, I actually agree with Geoff Beck has said!! LOL (you know it's all in love...)

[bodybagging]

JAMBAM, classic case of a little APPRECIATION going along way.
Being appreciated means alot.....

[screamline studios]

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

10 to 15 million dollars is all it takes for me to do make-up. Rob thank you for all the kind words and i will pay you the ten bucks for the ego fill up !!! haha.... OK now lets really talk about talent.... lets see??? dvd, seminars,make-up, fill all the orders ,new designs,haunted houses,your own haunted house, and what do we get WOOOOOWWWW Mr. rob Johnson thank you for keeping this F@#$%@ up industry alive and i raise a big cup of coffee to you (inside joke folks, to me its beer) and i want to say thank you for all your efforts and i pray the new guys down the road step back and say wow this guy really made a difference to me ..... Good job rob keep it up!!! and thank you

Just some ramdom dude
Jason Blaszczak
SCREAMLINE STUDIOS

[Feargore]

just do waht we do get someone who will do ifor free, pizza,etc. if they do- they probably r thetype of people u want 2 work with!

-Taylor

[bodybagging]

feargore how about some pics from your haunt, would love to see them.....

[SpookywoodsFX.com]

just do waht we do get someone who will do ifor free, pizza,etc. if they do- they probably r thetype of people u want 2 work with!

-Taylor

That will bring the pro's crawling out of the wood work.....

That's how it's done in Hollywood....

really..

[dr0zombie]

Geoff, I wasn't trying to pick a fight. I did not intend to imply your skill, or anyones, was not worthy of compensation. I am sorry if that was how it sounded. It was honest praise when I said you guys did great job with your segment on the BodybaG DVD. Just trying to throw a bone to the new guys working hard to learn and those events that give them that opportunity.

Just to be open about all this, I have 10 years in, ran Creatures Crypt makeup room for most of that (not in 2007), and I am alright at what I do. Its not my full time job, and I am just as happy working for a not-for-profit as I am getting paid. My work isn't amazing but you can check it out if you want. http://www.myspace.com/dr0zombie anything that's not a prosthetic was done in 3 to a max of 10 minutes. With 30 - 50 actors in an hour with 3 - 4 makeup artists you never get much time to do more than one or two good ones a night.



Taylor, If the pizza includes Guinness that sounds like a work plan.... whats that bit from Mystery Men... "Throw in a barbecue and a couple kegs, they'll all show up. The mooch factor is pretty high with this crowd. "