Feature Film Make-Up with Pascale Recher

Moving behind the scenes I had the chance to talk with accomplished Make-up Artist Pascale Recher and discuss her film and TV work on such titles as Guardians of The Galaxy, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Judy with Renee Zellwegger, Brian Helgeland’s Legend, Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phantom Thread, Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, Downton Abbey, Wolf Hall and many, many more. 

”I have always loved the characters and the clues that you can see in a film…”

NSR

Hi Pascale. Can you introduce yourself and explain what you do and some of the projects you’ve been involved in?

Pascale

Yes, I started 20 years ago in France, the first school there, I did lots of TV and photoshoot and in 2008 moved to London. And as I was starting fresh, I decided to really focus on the film, which was the thing I’ve always wanted to do, but for some reason couldn’t get into in France. So I started working on projects like Sherlock Holmes and London Boulevard and by the magic of life, managed to get on projects like FuryGuardians of the GalaxyFantastic Beasts, these kinds of big projects as well as some independent ones like Come Away or The Man in the Hat which is just coming online at the moment. So, a really wide range of projects and predictions.

NSR

And what motivated you to become a makeup artist? And more importantly, what motivated you to move into films?

Pascale

I have always loved the characters and the clues that you can see in a film. It’s all that storytelling, character-building that really intrigues me. I’ve been a student of French literature. That’s how everything started. So for me, the stories, the things you read and you understand without the obvious, it’s what I love it’s making sure that you forget it’s a film and you just sucked in by all those clues. And when I was in my French literature studies had a massive breakup, massive depression and the only thing that would pull me out was actually to do makeup on friends and started talking about it to my friends who were all directors or editors and they were like “oh, yeah, great. We haven’t got to make a make-up artist yet in the team. So, go that, big joke. And yeah, that’s how I started with them doing my first short film, did my training, two years training in Paris. And as they say, the rest is history. But it’s always been about the characters and the clues and the storyline. I just love that creating a new world that you understand just by watching.

NSR

So, how often do you find that when you look at the script, the script tells you what is needed in terms of makeup, or is it something that you have to bring to the party yourself?

Pascale

A bit of both because basically you read it and you have to translate it into makeup. So, if I read, “she runs and falls on the floor and tears roll down”. I know that I may have some sweat on her because maybe she’s not hot yet. When she starts running the first day, I’m going to make maybe some colours on the cheek from the first scene because I know that after ten times we try to film that scene, she’s going to be red, but maybe she’s not going to be right at the beginning. I need to have fake tears to make sure that if for any reason, the tears can’t come, which happens sometimes to actors, some do cry more easily than others. Sometimes, you’ve got an eye that for a reason you don’t understand won’t cry. Only one is going to cry. It happened. So you had to top up on the other eyes to make sure that it looks normal because it’s really hard. I’ve done scenes when someone needs to cry during a really long split-up scene for example. And you have that scene where the actress is supposed to cry for seven days because it takes seven days to film that scene. She may not be able to bring that out every day, 8 hours a day, so, I need to be really conscious of that. And I have the material to help support her so that she can cry more easily.

”It’s like a fibre in them that’s there…”

NSR

I got to ask this question. On balance, how does it go? Do you find the British actors can cry easier than the Americans?

Pascale

It’s really not there. It’s really personal. Some people can laugh really easily on demand. Some people can cry on demand. It’s really individual, and it’s really incredible to see and watch because I can’t do that. I’m a really bad actor. Terrible actor. They can do it. It’s like a fibre in them that’s there. I never know when I start working with someone, I never know.

NSR

So, you don’t know until the day?

Pascale

Yeah. It’s always at ready. We’ve got all the things in our bag just in case because you can have been with someone who’s been amazing at crying for five days. And then on the last day, it’s not coming out. They’re not machines. You have to be ready for everything. That’s why we’ve got those huge bags on set because we’ve got all the things in tiny amounts so that we can do anything.

NSR

Got you. Ok, how do you make somebody cry?

Pascale

We’ve got a few different tricks up our sleeves. You’ve got the low key, really easy, low budget onions. That’s for short films and all of that. Otherwise, we’ve got what we call tear stick. So, basically, it’s a little apparel with some mint in it. And you really gently blow some air through that and that kind of irritates the eyes just enough to make it more watery, a bit red. And I’m not sure if that’s used nowadays because of everything. You also have fake tears. You can actually draw on people.

So, you actually just draw with a brush and you delicately start the tear, because sometimes it’s a really wide shot. You just need to have something. Sometimes they just put something a bit minty on their fingers and kind of rub their eyes, near to their eyes, and sometimes it’s really close up. Often you need to have that one drop falling, so usually, there’s a makeup artist that’s next to the person if they can’t cry like this and we just make it. So that one line of fake tears that goes down exactly for that really big close up.

NSR

When you’re sitting at home and you’re watching films just for fun, are you sitting there looking at the screen and you’re watching it and kind of going, “that’s a fake tear. Or no, that’s real.” -Can you tell the difference yourself?

Pascale

No. First, because some makeup artists are amazing. Also, because with special effects, sometimes reality is weirder than makeup. Something looks really wrong but actually, they’re real, so you can never tell. Sometimes I see mistakes or I see things I wouldn’t have done the same way but I can’t judge because I wasn’t there on the day, so I wouldn’t judge ever the make-up artist, because the conditions could have been really different and difficult. There’s always that one scene y’know, we’re supposed to wrap at six. It’s five to six. We’ve done a big crowd day and oh, they’ve got the idea that they can do that scene with the prostitution, the floor with the skulls crushed. And in five minutes, they ask us to make it look like a skull has been crushed. We just have to, in one minute, throw all our artistry at it to make it look like a brain is scattered with everything we’ve got in our bag. They film for three minutes, and it’s done.

So, we try not to do that, but it happens. It’s always the last shot anytime. Many times, you can tell if there’s something a bit difficult and tricky that has to be done, they’re going to want to make it on the last shot. I don’t know how that happens. It’s the curse. I can’t judge because I know how it is. Sometimes you are not allowed to do the last cheque. Sometimes you didn’t have the time you wanted to do your change. So yeah, I see things that are sometimes weird but I can’t judge.

”Try to do the most simple things like good bruise…”

NSR

What advice would you give anybody thinking about embarking on a career as a makeup artist in feature films?

Pascale

First, watch films and watch people. If you go to places, look at how beards sit on someone’s face. Look how people look tired. Why someone feels like he’s tired when you look at them. Why someone looks ill when you look at them. Really, soak in all those clues, because when you have to recreate that, you need to have your point of reference. So, building yourself a massive library of references, proper pictures of real injuries, casualties to look at and not what you think you would look like. Don’t do that Halloween can make up. Please. It’s dangerous, and it’s really bad. It doesn’t prove your artistry. If you want to get into film and show that you can do effects, try to do the most simple things like a good bruise. That will show people your talent, your eye, how much you want things to look the right way because you’ve done your research and you’ve done a good bruise instead of making something that may look really exciting and all your friends are like, wow, it’s so cool. But for a professional, they can’t judge, because when do you have to put a can on someone in the film? Not often.

NSR

When do you need to make a bruise?

Really often. So, behind the bruise, there’s a story. You can explain why the bruises like this like that. You can show your research, you can show your process, your thinking, and that’s going to get you more work because you’ve got the basics in place. So, really think basic. Don’t try to show off. Research. Build your library of references. Practise, practise, practise. Look for feedback. There are plenty of groups where people can give you feedback and really come with the idea that you want the feedback because that’s something I’ve seen a lot. People show their stuff, they want to be motivated and I understand that because it’s hard to practise, but they pushed off all the feedback they get. And it’s a massive opportunity missed of learning and connecting with people who have been in the industry for ten years, fifteen years, twenty years, so it’s really about learning and getting things.

When I started in London, I’ve been a hair and makeup artist for ten years, but I was learning the period part of the hair. I had to learn. I had to look and I had to put my ego aside because even makeup-wise, I was learning the English way, all the little tricks. I wasn’t that good with facials when I arrived because that’s not something I had experienced in France from the projects I had to work on. You need to keep learning. It’s not a trade where you can think I’m good now I don’t need to learn anymore.

You will always learn. There’s always going to be a new technique, a new character that pushes you or a new product. So, you need to be aware that you will never stop learning and the more you embrace the learning and the failing, the further you’re going to be able to go in your career.

NSR

I imagine, on top of all of the technical aspects, there’s also a philosophical approach that is required, because if you’re now working on a big-budget feature film, I imagine that part of the role involves a veil of secrecy.

Pascale

Yes.

NSR

About what you can say, what you can’t say. Whether you can talk to the talent or how much you are able or allowed to talk to the talent, and more importantly, what you’re prepared to discuss or what you can discuss offset.

Pascale

Yes, because the first rule, whenever you work on a film, is “don’t disturb”. That’s the first thing. Don’t get in shot. Don’t make shadows on set. Don’t be noisy on set. That’s the first thing. Don’t disturb the work of other people. Don’t get in the way. The second thing is going to be it’s a huge machine. So, obviously that’s what you see on set but it’s also all the production, all the marketing of the project. It’s a huge machine with lots of cogs. So, if you take a picture and you release it, they get really angry because that kind of puts sand in the machine.

You are not respecting the timeline of what they want to share. It can put things at risk as well. I know some people have been fired from jobs because they took pictures and they shared them on social media and everything is kind of checked. I know we had problems with the paparazzi on some project because they wanted to steal a shot on Fury. We had a guy trying to get in, nearly getting in because he came in costume as a soldier but because he was not a costume person, he made some mistakes in his costume and he was spotted early enough.

But the more you share on social media, even where you film, then there’s a risk of someone picking up on it and finding where you should. All the structure, all the feeling of safety for the actors as well. That can be damaged if you share anything. So, you quite often have to sign a contract when you start and you’re not supposed to share the important stuff. And when you release any pictures, quite often it’s kind of organised with the production or at least you have their green signal because it’s too important nowadays and things can go wrong in plenty of ways. If in doubt, don’t post.

”I don’t have an ego. I’m part of the team. That’s what matters….”

NSR

Fair enough, I think that’s solid advice. I imagine the work is quite haphazard by nature. It’s not like a week in, week out. How do you find your gigs?

Pascale

That is the one million dollar question, isn’t it? For me, I went to make-up school back in London and that’s where I met my first teachers were actual hairdressers who were working in the industry. So, the lady who managed the school is also a makeup designer, so, she got everybody a few days for work experience and then for your first training days. And from there you start to grow your network. You start talking to people, you help around. You make teas. People think that it’s useless to begin a career this way because you can’t show your makeup skills, but you show your attitude. You show how you can be around other people and how you can be part of the team and what kind of asset you can be. That’s where you start. I had people liking me introducing me to other people because I would remember how they like the coffee. I was making the coffee exactly the way they wanted without them having to tell me every day and they would feel so taken care of that, they would introduce me to everybody and say, “oh, do you know Pascale? She’s so lovely. She’s made my coffee exactly how I like it.”

That’s how things start. You create a connection and then you spend hours some days on set. It’s 12 hours, 14 hours, some 15 hours. So, you reconnect with people and then they get to see you at work. They get to see what you are good at. People knew quickly that I’m always up to run somewhere, grab something, help in general, hold pins even as an artist or as a supervisor. I would do that for someone else because I’m in a team. I don’t have an ego. I’m part of the team. That’s what matters. I’m also really motivated to do checks on set. I’m not the most amazing period hairdresser, I will do checks even at 04:00 a.m. if it’s a night shoot. Other people, they’re going to be much stronger hairdressers, but they may need to be reminded to do checks, for example, because they don’t have the same damage now or they kind of relax a bit more during the night. I’m stubborn. So, I want the checks to stay.

When people create their team, they look at the full picture. They look at “who do I need to make the whole project go?” They’re going to have some people who are going to be exceptional hairdressers because they’re going to be sure they can lean on them for the really difficult looks. They’re going to have some all-rounders who are going to be able to go a bit everywhere and deal with most of the tasks. They going to have people who are really good at doing the checks and making sure that the looks are maintained. They’re going to have people who are just lovely trainees who are going to be really helpful even though they don’t have the knowledge yet. But they will be welcome and taken on board because the attitude is of someone who wants to help or wants to learn and it just makes the day easier.

NSR

Is this attitude something that you have to be born with, or is it something you can actually learn?

Pascale

I would say both. I know, I’ve got that thing where I like my people to be comfy and that’s something that got me jobs because people could see I would help grab drinks or clean for them. That helps kind of break the ice because I take care of them. But you can be taught that. If you know you want to be more of a team person. If you are clever enough, you can observe and see what’s going on. You can realise, okay, I need to be a bit less shy. I can get out of myself. I can learn how to not talk on set. I can learn how to observe what people do, how fast they get in on set. All the little rules of the set, you can learn. It’s easier if you have a base in you, but you can learn it if you observe, you can learn.

NSR

Excellent. So, if you go back in time and you could meet your former self at the beginning of your career, what words of advice would you give yourself?

Pascale

First, I would say, “stop comparing yourself to people who’ve been in this industry 20 years more than you”, because I’ve always thought I was doing rubbish work because I was comparing myself to people who’ve been doing this for 20-30 years, which is stupid because you can’t. There’s no point. Everybody’s got their place on a project depending on their skill level and their attitude. And I would also say, be more yourself because in film you work really closely and sometimes physically closely. You are in tiny spaces waiting to go do your checks.

You need to come as a natural and, genuine human. And I think I was so shy and trying to do well. That was kind of blurring my personality and my relationship with people. And in film, people want people they can relate to because of the conditions. So being yourself, being still polite, but being yourself, being a bit more lively, a bit less shy and not hesitating to introduce yourself and talk to people. That makes a massive difference. And that would be the main thing.

NSR

So, on all the films and shoots that you’ve done, who have been your favourite cast and crew to work with?

Pascale

This is so difficult to say because every project and every person is different and I’m really grateful to Kerry Daniels. She took me on as a crowd supervisor a few years back on Come Away, which was an amazing film and she’s been so supportive. She really believed in me and the fact that I could do this. So I’ve got a special place for her and all the team that we had on Fantastic Beasts and Tarzan. It’s a crew that I’ve been working with a lot and we had lots of giggles to face the difficult days. I just love those people. Just knowing I was having breakfast with them before during the day and having all the giggles made the work much easier. So that was something.

After that, it’s difficult to think. I know I’ve got two massive memories when I was a trainee, a junior actually, on Hugo from Scorsese. I was helping both the head designer, the hair designer and the crowd. So, I was going back and forth and I came to the Green Room one day and Christopher Lee was there and he heard my name. He heard my French accent and started talking to me about France and all his memories. He used to be really educated about all sorts of things about France, and he asked me to kiss his cheek and every time he would see me in the green room, he would tell me “Where’s my kiss then?” And he would just show me his cheeks and it felt so surreal. I felt like I was five years old again and being asked by Father Christmas to come and sit on his lap. I didn’t sit on his lap, but it was just surreal. And he was so knowledgeable and gentle and that’s a massive memory.

I’ve been really lucky. I had amazing people. On London Boulevard first day. As a really shy Pascale, I came back with my coffees in the green room and Keira Knightly came to the chair and it was my first day on the job on this job. And I didn’t ask Kristin Glendale how close I was allowed to be for the cast. I was really green and she spotted me in the mirror, makes the biggest smile and say “Oh hello”. And it was like a hug and I felt so welcome. And I just walked in and Kristin realised what happened and she was laughing and she was like, “yeah, it’s fine. Just come in, put the coffee on the table”. But that was, y’know a gift. That “hello” because I was so shy and visibly stuck. There have been some amazing memories like this.

”People say “it’s just powder on the nose”… this is a red flag.”

NSR

I imagine when you’re looking for work, you’re going to be looking at lots of scripts and lots of projects that are put in front of you. How do you know which are the right projects to choose and which are the best ones to pass on?

Pascale

There’s going to be a couple of things first is how the person talks about the project. I had a project where people say it’s just powder on the nose. This is a red flag because that tells me they don’t understand makeup or hair. That tells me they don’t really value it and there’s a good sense they are not going to respect my work on set, so I tend to move away from that. Also, people who don’t put things in the contract. I had a job I said “no” to because we were supposed to go away for four weeks and the number of days off were not clear. We were supposed to travel between locations. And that was on a day off. Six-day week, one day off and the day off was actually a “travel day”. I was like, “no, this is not right”, and I’m really happy I didn’t do this job because I heard horrible stories. The crew and cast were not treated properly. So if you will have proper rest. If people understand what they’re doing, that they are really clear about what they say. It’s always something I look into now and make sure they don’t undervalue what to do. That’s something.

If it’s a big job, usually the bigger the job, the easier it is in a way, because things are really put into place. Where you need to be really careful is with all the independent jobs and places where people may either have done things in a bit of an “independent way”. So, not really in a classic way, or they are learning and they may not be aware of what you need. So, you need to really be clear on your side about what you need and be really tough about it because otherwise, it can really bite you back. You don’t want that.

NSR

I mean, you’ve worked on all of these big assignments. The Guardians of the Galaxy, Downton Abbey, all this other stuff, are there any particular dream jobs or dream filmmakers or directors who you think “I really want to work with this person?”

Pascale

I would love to work with Jeunet. That’s always been a thing. I’ve been really lucky. I’ve managed to have days on the Blood and Ice Cream trilogy (also known as the Cornetto Trilogy aka Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz  and The World’s End). That was a dream of mine that’s done. Otherwise nowadays, not as much. I kind of trust the process. For The Man in the Hat I got to do makeup on my Maïwenn, who is an icon of mine. She’s been for years because she used to be a child actor and now she’s a director. I love her acting but I also love what she stands for as a woman.

She’s really strong-willed and she speaks a mind and stands for her truth. So, being able to do her makeup, I had a really special smile. I think that day, I may have hugged the producer who got me on the job who introduced me and asked me to come and talk about the project because, yeah, that was a really special thing for me. Really?

NSR

Excellent and so what was the funniest thing that happened for you on set?

Pascale

I don’t know. There was something really funny on Guardians. On Guardians of The Galaxy, we were doing lots of night shoots. We had lots of those things. And at the time I was in London, I was going dancing on Saturdays and I go to my dance. I’m thinking I’m going to stay at night shoot pace because otherwise, I can’t go back to daytime on the weekend. And I was really nonstop on night shoots. So, I go to my party. Started talking to a guy next to me, and we both complain that we’re really tired because we’re working lights. “Oh, really? What kind of work do you do?” “I can’t really talk because I work in film and I can’t say anything” and he’s like,” Well, funny. Me too.” And I was like, “Ah, you’re working nights at the moment?” “Yeah.” “Are you in West London?” “-Yeah”. And we shared just the name of the studio and we’re like, “oh, we’re on the same film”, and he was a background actor. So, from that day, he would look for me and we would be chatting all the time. And it was just a really funny moment, random being in that small Southside class in the suburb and finding that we are working on the same project and same thing.

Otherwise, I’ve got an epic memory being on that must have been on Maleficent. No, Snow White?

NSR

Snow White and the Huntsman?

”…And then realised I’m dripping blood and I don’t even realise it.”

Pascale

Yes. We had those scenes with all the horses on the beach riding amazing. I’ve never put as much dirt, I think on anything. And at the end of the day, we need to go back. And Pascale, being a bit too spontaneous and not really well balanced, trips on one big stone. I open my skull at the back of my head. I got stuck with my feet up. I couldn’t get back on my feet. I had two massive guys from security coming grabbing me like I’m Liza Minelli. Putting me back on my feet and me being like, “I’m fine. I’m fine.” Yet friends of mine looking at me, white-faced and saying “no, Pascale, you’re not.” And then seeing everybody’s faces being really stuck in awe. Then I felt something quite tickly on me and then realised I’m dripping blood and I don’t even realise it. So, I’ve been glued. My skull has been glued on the beach in Wales during the film.

NSR

Wow.

Pascale

Yeah. And they had to look at me because we were away for a week, so I was not allowed to do some things after that, just in case. In some scenes, I was prepping at the base and I wasn’t allowed to go on set because I was too fragile. I had to stay back at base and clean the things and yeah, that. Memories, ha. You got to visit places that are incredible on The Crown. We got to film in two places on Pall Mall, which are insane houses, gorgeous. You visit places, you get stuck in the mud, there are all sorts happening. And I think because you get tired, you get more giggly as well at some point. Yeah, I’ve got lots of really good memories.

NSR

So, has there been much corpsing on set?

Pascale

No, I think we’re quite good at doing our thing, but yeah, sometimes the cast, sometimes they play and they poke at you a tiny bit. Colin Farrell, when we were on London Boulevard, he was teasing me because I was too shy. I didn’t even dare look at him at some point. So, he was on purpose. “Hi, Pascale. Are you alright? And I was just blushing and just focusing on my thing. Every film is going to be different. Some actors really like to be on their own. They focus on their thing. Some you can’t tell them enough to stop because you just want to cry, laughing because they’re too funny. It’s always a challenge. On the Fury. I also had to go on a tank to do my checks and give the fake teeth because everybody had fake teeth. People were lovely, just trying to help going down a bit from the tank and things happen. You get connected to people, you get to talk, you get to know people. It feels a bit like family sometimes with exactly what happens with family. Sometimes you argue. Some people you feel more comfortable with. Some people you really don’t feel comfortable with. It’s just life.

NSR

Fantastic. Thank you for coming in Pascale. That was wonderful. That was really interesting and I wish you the very best for the next project, which obviously you can’t talk about…

Pascale

Exactly (laughs). You’re right. I can’t…