CHAPTER 4 Lighting and Makeup

Since a makeup seen on a stage under colored lights never looks the same as it did in the dressing room mirror, it is to the actor’s advantage to know what effect various colors of stage light are likely to have on his or her makeup so that he or she can make appropriate adjustments. The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is to consider what happens when colored light falls on colored pigment.

Color in Light

It was mentioned briefly in Chapter 3 that pigment depends for its color on the light that illuminates it. In other words, trees do not appear green at night— unless, of course, they are artificially illuminated. Nothing has color until light is reflected from it. If all the light is absorbed, the object looks black; if all the light is reflected, it looks white. If certain rays are absorbed and certain others are reflected, the reflected rays determine the color.

The various colors of rays that make up what we call white light can be observed when they are refracted by globules of moisture in the air, forming a rainbow. The same effect can be obtained with a prism. The colored rays are refracted at different angles because of their different wavelengths, red being the longest and violet the shortest. All matter has the ability to reflect certain wavelengths of light waves but not others, resulting in color sensations in the eye.

Just as white light can be broken up into its component hues, those hues can be synthesized to produce white light, as well as various other colors. As with pigments, three of the colors can be used as primaries and combined to produce any other color of light, as well as the neutral white. However, the three primaries are not the same in light as in pigment. In light they are red, green, and ultramarine (a deep violet-blue). In mixing lights, red and green produce yellow or orange; green and ultramarine produce turquoise or blue-green, and ultramarine and red produce purple. A mixture of all three primaries produces white light. On the stage these various colored rays are produced by placing a color medium in front of some source of nearly white light, such as a spot or a flood.

Light on Pigment

If the colored rays fall on pigment that is able to reflect them, then we see the color of the light. But if they fall on a pigment that absorbs some of them, the color is distorted. Suppose, for example, that red rays fall on a “red” hat. The rays are reflected, and the hat looks red. But suppose green rays are thrown on the “red” hat. Since the hat is able to reflect only red rays, the green rays are absorbed, nothing is reflected, and the hat looks black.

Imagine a “green” background behind the “red” hat. Add green light and you have a black hat against a green background. Change the light to red, and you have a red hat against a black background. Only white light (or both red and green lights at the same time) will give you a red hat against a green background.

The principle of light absorption and reflection can be used to advantage in certain trick effects as mentioned in the previous paragraph. But ordinarily your problem will be to avoid such effects rather than to create them. Usually—unless the makeup is to be seen in simulated moonlight or spotlighted with strong blues or greens—major adjustments will not be necessary.

The problem of becoming familiar with the specific effects of the vast number of possible combinations of light and makeup is a far from simple one. It is impossible to offer a practical panacea for all of the problems you may encounter. A chart could be made, but it would be inaccurate, for not only do exact shades of makeup vary among manufacturers and from stick to stick or cake to cake, but with today’s new technologies, light sources can also vary and vary greatly. Thus, the only practical solution seems to be to generalize and to leave details to the artist himself. Here are a few practical suggestions:

In the first place, try to do your makeup under lighting similar to that under which it will be viewed by the audience. Ideally, dressing-room or makeup-room lights should be arranged to take color media that can be matched with those used on stage, but this arrangement will still lack the appropriate distance to simulate the real color saturation. Since dressing rooms are almost never so equipped, some special arrangement should be made if possible. A pair of small spots in a large dressing room, for example, can be very helpful.

Secondly, whenever possible, look at the makeup from the house. This can usually be done during a full dress rehearsal. If you are doing your own makeup, have someone whose judgment you can trust look at you from the house and offer criticisms or use a digital camera to take photos for you to use as a reference. Since final approval of the makeup lies with the director, he is the logical one to offer criticism, but he may not be the person best qualified to give the actor constructive suggestions. If a makeup artist is in charge of all the makeup, he will check the makeup under lights and get final approval from the director.

In the third place, you ought to have some familiarity with the general effects of certain colors of light upon certain colors of makeup. Generally speaking, the following principles will hold:

1. Colors of low value will have a maximum effect upon makeup; colors of high value, a minimum.

2. A given color of light will cause a similar color of pigment to become higher in intensity, whereas a complementary color of pigment will be lower in both value and intensity.

3. Any color of pigment will appear gray or black if it does not contain any of the colors composing a given ray of light that falls upon it.

If a spotlight and appropriate color media are not accessible, the following list of colors of light, with their effects upon various colors of makeup, can be used as a guide. You should remember, however, that the effects listed are only approximations, and that the actual effects may upon occasion vary from those indicated here. The relatively recent development of higher color temperature lamps used in lighting equipment (higher temperature lamps often used in automated fixtures provide more blue light than conventional lamps) may also add some variation to the effects listed below. The names of the colors, rather than their numbers, have been used in this listing since they are more generally understood. (See Appendix G, FIGURE G-12.)

Pink tends to gray the cool colors and intensify the warm ones. Yellow becomes more orange.

Flesh pink affects makeup less strongly than the deeper shades and has a flattering effect on most makeups.

Fire red will ruin nearly any makeup. All but the darker flesh tones will virtually disappear. Light and medium rouge become a pale orange and fade imperceptibly into the foundation, whereas the dark reds turn a reddish brown. Yellow becomes orange, and the cool shading colors become shades of gray and black.

Bastard amber is one of the most flattering colors to makeup. It may gray the cool shading colors somewhat but adds life to a warm makeup color palette used on any skin tone.

Amber and orange have an effect similar to that of red, though less severe. Most flesh colors, except the dark browns, become more intense and more yellow. Rouges tend to turn more orange. Cool colors are grayed. Dark amber has, of course, a stronger effect than light amber.

Light straw has very little effect upon makeup, except to make the colors somewhat warmer. Cool colors may be grayed a little.

Lemon and yellow make warm colors more yellow, blues more green, and violets somewhat gray. The darker the color medium, of course, the stronger the effect upon the makeup.

Green grays dark and light skin tones and most cheek colors in proportion to its intensity. Violet is also grayed. Yellow and blue will become more green, and green will be intensified.

Light blue-green tends to lower the intensity of the foundation colors. Light red becomes darker, and dark red becomes brown. Use very little rouge under blue-green light.

Green-blue will gray medium and deep flesh tones, as well as all reds, and will wash out pale flesh tones.

Blues will gray most flesh tones and cause them to appear more red or purple. Dark skin tones may appear even darker. Blues and greens become higher in value, violets become more blue, and purples become more violet. The darker the blue, the stronger the effect.

Violet (light and surprise) will cause orange, flame, and scarlet to become more red. Rouge may seem more intense. Greens are likely to be a little lower in value and intensity. Be careful not to use too intense a red in either foundation or rouge. May be used as a substitute for blues when lighting darker skin tones.

Purple will have an effect similar to that of violet, except that the reds and oranges will be intensified to a much greater degree, and most blues will tend to look violet.

Color correction filters tend to raise the color temperature of transmitted light towards that of daylight. While they appear to be blue in color, they are in fact transmitting pink/red wavelengths of light and have proven to be very useful for all types of makeup.

Direction of Light and Its Effect on Facial Features

The key light is one predominant source of light that supplies the greatest amount of illumination on a performer. Performers who wish to appear smoother and younger should always be lit with a key light positioned high and in front of them. The key light position should illuminate the full face (especially the eyes) from a high enough position to create good cheekbone shadows, but not so high as to cast a large nose shadow over the upper lip, or shadows beneath the puffy under-eye pouches. When lighting older performers, the position of the key light is extremely critical. A person who has well developed nasolabial folds (smile lines extending from the nostrils to the outer corners of the mouth) should never be lit by a key light from a side angle (cross-light). A cross-light or side-light, even three-quarters front, will create unflattering shadows under the eyes, along nasolabial folds and around and under other undesirable facial sags and skin texture. A high, front key light will also help hide a double chin by camouflaging it with a well placed shadow.

Some lighting people, inexperienced in corrective lighting for the mature face, sometimes argue that illumination from a key light positioned straight on the face will be too flattening. Remember, lighting can be arranged either to be flat or to create dimension by causing cast shadows on the face from the nose, cheekbones and other fleshy areas. Lighting that creates dimension through the use of cast shadows (from cross-light or side-light) may be wonderful to create mood and dramatic impact, but it is almost always devastating to corrective makeup. On the other hand, the lower jaw and cheekbone shadows created by a high, front key light can be complimentary to corrective makeup when properly controlled. (Cheekbone shadows are technically considered a blend of both natural and cast shadows, depending on the amount of protrusion.)

A skillful lighting person or Director of Photography (DP) will know how to increase or decrease the amount of shadow under cheekbones and under the jaw by raising or lowering the key light. This lighting procedure is the only one that should be used to give dimension to the mature face. And, even so, the light must not be positioned so high above the subject that it creates hard cast shadows under the nose, under the lower lip and/or under puffy eye pouches.

The lower the key light (still directed straight onto the subject’s face) the flatter the face will become. This flattening effect is usually necessary to decrease the effects of aging. If this is the case the makeup artist must be sure to shade under the cheekbones, the sides of the nose, and sometimes the side planes of the face, to restore enough dimension to keep the face from appearing too flat or too round.

The makeup artist’s application of highlighting and shading plays a very important role in the success or failure of this high, front key-light technique. Good lighting will fill in unwanted shadows only so far. The rest depends on the makeup artist’s skill in applying corrective makeup highlights to reflect the light and makeup shadows to absorb the light. The highlights will lift the recessed areas while the shading will define and diminish areas to create flattering dimensions.

Fill light is produced by one or more instruments strategically placed to lighten shadows on the face, to lessen harshness, and to reduce contrast (light to dark ratio). In the theater, every light that is not the key light is considered fill light. In the film or television studio it is frequently a diffused light placed on the opposite side of the camera from the key light. If the key light is placed high, in front of the subject and slightly to the left of the camera to directly illuminate the face, the fill light should be placed to the right side of the camera illuminating the side of the face less structurally prominent. A fill light may not be necessary when the key light is broad enough to illuminate the subject’s entire face.

Backlight is supplied by one or more instruments illuminating from behind, giving the subject dimensional separation from the background. While light from this direction assists in defining the edges and shape of the subject, it does not directly influence the makeup. It can, however, depending on its position, cause an unflattering appearance to subjects with thinning hair. Backlight from a high position may illuminate the scalp and accentuate the problem. Lowering the backlight or removing it will solve this problem.

If, as may occasionally happen, the primary source of light is to be from below rather than from above, the makeup should be done—or, at least, looked at—with light coming from below so that any necessary adjustments can be made. Previously unnoticed areas of the face, such as the neck, ear lobes, and the hairline behind the ear must now be considered.

One problem remains. Since stage lights are likely to change from time to time during a performance, be aware of any radical changes, especially in color, and have your makeup checked under the various lighting conditions. If such changes do affect your makeup adversely and there is no opportunity for you to adjust the makeup to the lights, try to modify your basic makeup to minimize the problem under all lighting conditions. If this is not successful, consult the director about the possibility of some adjustment to the lighting.