Friday, November 21, 2008

An Insider's Look: Twilight Head Makeup Artist Jeanne Van Phue

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Well, the day is finally here. Twilight comes out today and you know this beauty chick will be there with bells on! I'm seeing the movie this evening and I just can't contain my excitement. In the meantime, check out this fabulous interview with the Head Makeup Artist for Twilight, Jeanne Van Phue of M.A.C!

What was the process for creating the various characters' looks?
Catherine Hardwicke, the director, and I have previously worked together on a movie called Lords of Dogtown, so we know each other very well. I began by preparing sketches of my vision, keeping in mind the descriptions Stephenie Meyers set forth in the books.

Bella's description in the novel is very pale and extremely beautiful with large chocolate brown eyes, so she wore colored lenses every day. I also pictured her as a natural beauty, which is exactly what Kristen Stewart is. I used a light hand while applying all neutral colors to make her look as though she had no makeup on.

Were there any changes to the looks of the characters that weren't planned?
At the beginning, Catherine visualized Edward with long hair, yet after studying his face and jaw line in the makeup test, the decision was made to go with short hair to accentuate his amazing jaw line.

Twilight, Twilight makeup artist, Jeanne Van Phue makeup artist Twilight, MAC Cosmetics, Robert Pattinson makeup artist, Kristen Stewart makeup artist

What was the overall look of the makeup in this movie?
All the vampires had to be pale, but I didn't want them to look too ghoulish, somewhere between Sweeney Todd and Interview with a Vampire. The choice was made for a denser, more opaque look for the supporting vampires and a lighter look for the leading man.

The challenge was that they still had to look beautiful and handsome. The key was striking the delicate shading balance. We had two weeks of makeup test. This is the time for a makeup artist to unleash her imagination. During the testing, Catherine let me know when I was on the mark. She has a fabulous eye for detail and everything I did had to be approved by her.

Were there any other challenges you encountered while working on location in Portland?
The rain was a huge challenge. We were outside, and it rained the entire time we were there. Most of the shots were exterior; trying to fix makeup in the rain with wet faces and wet brushes was difficult. In the end, I must say I loved working on this movie, it challenged my creativity as never before.

What were your non makeup-related responsibilities in terms of creating this look?
Another one of my jobs was to find a contact lens specialist. So I called upon the expertise of Cristina Patterson Ceret, FX lens/painter from Professional VisionCare.

What M.A.C products did you use on the film?
Eyeshadows and powders for our principles. Blot Powder/Pressed in Light and Eye Shadow in Blanc Type, Flute and Wedge on Kristen Stewart. Blot Powder/Pressed in Light on Robert Pattinson. We had several other characters and day players on whom I used M.A.C foundations, lipsticks and blushes.

3 comments:

  1. wat lipstick did you have on bella in the mivie twilight?

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  2. i was just wondering how one would get to work on the set after becoming a cosmetologist?

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  3. In a interview Kristen said that in Breaking Dawn 1 she didn't have to lose weight and that they all did this with the computer. I wonder how en who did this and I would like to know more about it.

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