Starting in the screen industry

Costume plays a vital role in shaping the narrative of any film or TV show. It conveys essential details about a character’s persona, societal status, and the era portrayed in the story. Within a production, the costume department takes charge of designing, crafting, sourcing, and providing all attire for actors and extras. Every element, from shoes to jewellery, headpieces to undergarments, is meticulously considered and either purchased, hired or tailor-made, especially in the context of historical pieces.

Understanding the operations of the Costume Department:

The costume designer leads the costume department and is responsible for designing the look of all characters, including extras. The costume designer and costume supervisor start before other members of the department so they can research the production requirements, generate script breakdowns and begin the budget process.

The costume designer crafts a comprehensive visual reference with costume sketches, references, mood boards and breakdowns derived from their script analysis. These visual aids play a crucial role in attaining a unified aesthetic vision. They are pivotal in involving directors, production designers, hair and makeup artists, and actors in character development.

Meanwhile, the costume supervisor oversees the department’s financial aspects and operational logistics, including staff management, material procurement, and workflow coordination. Supporting the supervisor, the costume coordinator handles administrative tasks like paperwork and data entry, which are essential for budget control.

In large-scale projects, an Assistant Costume Designer (ACD) works closely with the Costume Designer, assisting in research, fittings, and conveying the consistent visual theme to team members. Custom-made costumes may be required based on project requirements. A costume workroom is set up to produce the costumes and duplicates needed for stunts and body doubles and to replicate costumes for action scenes or other special effects.

A skilled team of buyers, cutters, and sewers is engaged to produce the costumes, with additional artisans brought in for specialised costume work. For sizable productions, a workroom supervisor ensures timely costume production in a well-organised work environment.

Adhering to the shooting schedule, the costume supervisor coordinates the timely delivery of costumes on set, with the offset key costumer acting as a bridge between the design and supervisory teams. The offset key ensures that costumes are ready for fittings, alterations, and final touches before filming commences.

During filming, the onset key costumer oversees the on-set crew and the maintenance of main cast costumes. The standby team ensures each costume’s appearance and functionality on screen, managing continuity and facilitating special effects and stunts. They troubleshoot in real time, caring for the costumes and the actors’ comfort throughout the production.

Typical roles in the Costume Department:

A comprehensive list of positions in the department provides an insight into the entire department with detailed descriptions of each position and their responsibilities, which can be found on the Costume Department Role Descriptions for Screen resource.

Design Team: Costume designer, assistant costume designer (ACD), buyer, illustrator, textile artist, graphic designer, 3D artist.

Costume Office Management and Logistics: Costume supervisor, assistant costume supervisor, coordinator, office assistant, key offset costumer, costume runner.

Costume Workroom: Workroom supervisor, cutter, sewer, tailor, milliner, jeweller, shoemaker.

Speciality Costume: Lead speciality costume supervisor, sculptor, metal fabricator, mould maker, leather craftsperson, and costume props.

Art Finish: Key art finisher, art finisher, assistant art finisher.

On Set: Key on-set costumer, cast truck coordinator, principal cast standby, costume standby, assistant costume standby, on-set runner.

Background Extras: Crowd supervisor, crowd truck coordinator, crowd standby, standby dailies.

Stunt Costume: Stunt costume coordinator, stunt costume standby, assistant stunt costume standby.

Second Unit: Second unit truck coordinator, second unit standby.

Entry-level roles in the Costume Department:

Costume Design Team

•       Design assist/PA – (not to be mistaken for assistant costume designer – ACD), no experience required.
•       Graphic designer (not a beginner pathway but a change of industry choice).
•       3D artist (not a beginner pathway but a change of industry choice).
•       Crowd costume assistant – no experience required, but some costume experience is helpful.

Costume Office Management & Logistics

•   Runner – pickups, drop-offs, must have full licence and over 25 for insurance – no experience required.
•     Costume assistant – generally has some sewing or costume background, but not essential (mainly assists supervisor and coordinator). 
•     Costume accounts assistant (assists coordinator with timesheets, data input, etc.)
•     Office PA – no experience required.

Workroom

•     Costume assistant (workroom) – no experience required, but handy if you can sew.
•     Seamstress – maker/sewer – a prerequisite of training or competent sewer.
•     Junior art finisher – no experience required.
•     Speciality costume maker assistant – leather, costume props, mould fabrication,     metal fabrication – (some experience necessary).

On Set

•     Costume standby dailies – (some experience necessary).
•     Main cast truck assistant – (some experience necessary.
•       Crowd costume assistant – (some experience necessary).
•     Onset runner – no experience required.

The Hair & Makeup departments bring characters to life visually, and through the use of makeup, hair styling, wigs, prosthetics and special effects, the department contributes to the immersive experience for the audience by transforming an actor into their character. Makeup and hair can be used to age characters, create wounds or scars, or even completely transform an actor’s appearance, as well as convey information about a character’s personality, social status, or cultural background.

Roles within the department include:

Makeup & Hair Designer: The designer is responsible for creating the overall look, liaising closely with directors, costume designers, and actors to develop the appearance of each character. They consider factors such as the character’s personality, background, and the time period in which the story is set to create a visually authentic portrayal.

Makeup & Hair Supervisor / Coordinator: Looks after budget, paper work, contracts, accounts, orders, giving out calls, liaising with Production in regards to transport, accommodation etc. They are also responsible for managing the team, assigning tasks, providing guidance and overseeing the work to ensure it aligns with the Designer’s vision.

Crowd Room Supervisor: Working closely with the brief from the Designer, the Crowd Room Supervisor is responsible for leading the team of crowd room artists in doing the hair, makeup, wigs and prosthetics required for all of the background actors, extras and stunt performers.

Key Makeup Artist: The key artist possesses advanced skills in makeup application and hairstyling, and stay up-to-date on industry trends, products, and technologies, and they may be responsible for training or mentoring junior members of the team.

Hair & Makeup Artist: In charge of particular characters looks, based on the Designers brief. Often these will also be hairdressers, and be in charge of maintaining continuity of haircuts and colour of the actors, or transformations when a characters look changes through the script.

Wig Mistress/Master: Looks after the cleaning dressing, refronting  and mending of wigs, buying and hiring of wigs, will often start later and work after wrap so crew can get their 10 hour turnaround, on a big show they could work overnight 

Standby Hair & Makeup Artist: The standbys role is to be on set looking after the maintenance and the continuity of the hair and makeup looks on the characters.

Additional Hair & Makeup Artist/Crowd Room Dailies: Reporting to the Crowd Room Supervisor, an additional assists with doing the hair and makeup on the extras, background extras and stunt performers.

Makeup & Hair Assistant: They assist with paperwork, manage petty cash and purchase orders, handle makeup stock and supplies, and organise continuity for the department. Additionally, they help prepare cast and extras and may go to the set for on-set checks. Their role is to gain more experience and make administrative and on-set tasks run smoothly in the Hair and Makeup department.

Prosthetic Designer: Working closely with the Hair & Makeup Designer, the Prosthetics Designer is responsible for designing the looks for characters needing prosthetics, creature makeup/suits, special effects, gore and animatronics

Prosthetic Workshop roles: Prosthetics Supervisor, Prosthetics Coordinator, Sculptor, Animatronics, Mouldmaker, Foam & Silicone Runner, Fabricator, Hair Technician, Workshop Junior

Prosthetic On Set roles: Prosthetic Makeup Artist/Technician, Puppeteer, SFX technician

What to carry in your basic kit:

If you are required to do any SFX then you should always carry these:

Note: On a large production you would create a small bag for each actor, in addition to your set bag (or they might fit inside). In this would have the actor’s specific foundation, concealer, powder, lipstick/s and the brushes that have been used on him/her.

On-set etiquette:

Here are some general guidelines for how you should behave when you’re on any makeup job, as impressions count a lot in this industry.

The makeup area, if it’s a trailer on a big budget film or just a table in the back of someone’s house, needs to be a safe haven for the actors or models (talent). It should be a calming area where they can mentally prepare for the scene ahead and you must always try to foster a relaxed and stress free environment. Some universal standards to go by are:

• Always show up early. There is a little saying in our industry:

If you’re 15 minutes early, you’re on time.

If you’re on time, you’re late.

If you’re late… you’re fired.

• Be polite to everyone at all times.
• Learn and use people’s names, even if everyone only calls you ‘makeup’.
• If you are not sure what you should be doing, always ask questions. Delays cost a lot of money, so better you know as soon as possible if there is something you can help with.
• Pay attention! Not just to what is happening within your Department, but what is happening on set. It takes some time to work out what every person on set does, and you should watch so that you’re not getting in anyone’s way.
• Always, always make your supervisor and everyone around you look good. You should never push someone else down in order to try and look better yourself, film and TV is always about team work.
• Makeup artists should be on set at all times once the morning makeup application on the actors is finished. Ideally you should be near the monitor so that you can see the action on screen, but not so close that you are a distraction, or block the view for people such as the Director or Script Supervisor. If you are not sure where you should stand, ask the 1^st If you need to leave set for any reason (e.g. for the bathroom or if your supervisor needs you), you must inform the 1^st AD.
• Remain calm, no matter what happens. Sometimes in the fast paced and stressful world of film, crew can be snappy or irritable. If someone yells at you, even if it’s your supervisor, don’t yell back – try to stay calm and composed and ask them what they need you to do, and don’t take it personally, they are probably under a great strain.
• Don’t ever brag or boast about your skills or your work. Being a competent and skilled makeup artist does not mean you should show off, you should always let your work speak for itself.
• Do not EVER ask for an autograph or a photo from the talent. This will always make you look unprofessional.
• Do not touch any equipment that does not belong to your department. Even if you think moving something would be helpful, you must always ask that particular department member first. More often than not, they would move it for you (if feasible), as they will know how to safely move, carry, store etc that equipment. You wouldn’t want the sound guy moving your kit to another room, would you?

Etiquette in the Makeup room:

• Dress comfortably and always wear closed in, flat shoes. Take note of what the other crew is wearing around you and make sure that you are dressed similarly. If you wear brightly coloured clothing, bear in mind this can bounce that colour onto your actor, e.g. if you’re in a red top you might colour match them wrong because their skin tone looks warmer than normal. Make sure that you always check the weather reports before leaving – you may need to bring jackets, gloves and beanies depending on how cold it may get, or wear layers that can be removed in warmer weather.
• You need to carry your phone on set so that you can easily communicate with the makeup team, or the AD departments. Your phone needs to always be on mute because a message or call making noise can ruin a take.
• Shower! Makeup artists need to get up close and personal with actors and models and it is unacceptable to not wear deodorant, have clean hair and fingernails/hands. Try not to wear really strong perfume as that can cause allergies to flare up in some people.
• Brush your teeth and carry mints. Particularly first thing in the morning and after lunch, you are breathing right in someone’s face and you don’t want that experience to be unpleasant. Pop in a mint at least once an hour to keep your breath fresh.
• Know your script, shooting schedule and daily call sheets inside out.
• Take photos, make notes, draw pictures and face charts – anything and everything that you need to do to ensure the continuity of the actors.
• Be intuitive. Sometimes the talent may want to talk to you as if you’re their best friend (or therapist!) and sometimes they want to focus and mentally prepare for the scene. Take your lead from them, and only talk to them if they are wanting to talk to you.

Each production has a number of entry level roles such as a runner and various assistant positions. These roles require little to no industry experience. Starting at the bottom won’t hamper your career, work hard and it will likely lead to work with the same or other teams. Building experience is important before stepping up. 

Previous experience in other industries or studies can be helpful when transferring to work in the screen industry. Roles such as graphic designer, construction, vehicle mechanic – are just a few roles roles that also exist in screen. Although there are different requirements in these roles to other industries, a lot of valuable experience can be brought to the job. It’s important to note that the screen industry is a different beast where hours, responsibilities and deadlines are likely to be greater than previously experienced.

For effective networking with designers, consider visiting the APDG website. Students can access a variety of resources at a discounted membership rate. If you appreciate a designer’s work, introduce yourself, and while an immediate response is not guaranteed due to their busy schedules, reaching out carries no risk. The designers can be contacted through the website’s member directory. The site also provides attachment and job opportunities for exploration.

Roles in the Hair & Makeup department are usually found through word of mouth, recommendations from other artists, but sometimes when a CV is sent to a designer or supervisor. You usually start 1-3 hours before Crew Call and finish around 30 minutes to 1 hour after crew wrap making it a 12-14 hour day or night sometimes longer sometimes shorter depending on schedule. The busiest part of the day is usually the beginning and end of the day.

Depending on your position you are onset for most of the day taking care of your artists continuity and or prepping for the next scene or next day back at base if your artist has any down time. If in an exterior location be prepared for all weather conditions as they may keep the actors warm and dry but you will usually be out in the elements for extended periods of time.

You will be employed as a weekly if on the main team or a daily if in the crowd room – it is based on a 10 hour shoot day with 45 for lunch or “French hours” where you work 10 straight hours and have lunch brought to you and you eat on the run – Breakfast, Lunch and afternoon tea are provided by production as per the award.

Overtime is per the award and usually kicks in after 10 3/4 hrs or after 10 if French hours. After set wrap you will be required to help the actors, extras, stunts, clean up, remove wigs, prosthetics etc – this has to be done as quickly as possible as affects all call times for the next day based on 10 hour turnarounds – they can ask you to break these and compensate you financially.

Do your research, find head of department emails and get in touch. Keep it brief – explain you’re after entry level work, a bit about yourself, your availability. Attach your CV (better to attach it to the email rather than sending people a link to your website if you have one). Keep in mind these people are busy and it may take some time for them to get back to you.

If you have previous relevant work you can show – it doesn’t hurt to include some. It’s always good to see how creative people are and what skills they bring to the job.