speaking Makeup With Michele Burke
generated in Dublin in 1959, Michele Burke emigrated to Canada through the late 1970 where she began carving her career as a makeup artist. Working her way up from fashion assistant to key makeup artist on high profile Hollywood productions, Michele has become one of the most versatile and innovative talents working in the industry today. The people receiving numerous accolades, Michele has won two BAFTA awards and has been nominated to find Makeup Oscar six times, successful twice for Bram Stoker 'Dracula' (1992) And 'Quest suitable for Fire' (1981).
You began your job working within the fashion industry, Can you tell us about how you started out?
I was inspired by enjoying a makeup artist work. I had emigrated to Montreal from Dublin because appears to fall apart in the early 70s Ireland was in a terrible recession and there was no work, So I thought I should an issue more and see what life can bring me. I was working with a friend helping her put on a fashion show and i really didn't know that makeup was a career. you should, In comes this cosmetic makeup products artist and it was kindof like a lightbulb going off in my head I was like my God, This is actually a job you're able to do? I was always artistic and loved the idea of being an artist but my father always said do something practical because in order to make any money out of it.
interestingly, I was always interested in the cover girls in magazines and wondered how did they transform because I didn see those girls on moldova ladies the street. I met a guy called Joqulie Peltier and he told me about a course that you could take which was real short a six week course, Three evenings a week. during that time I had found my mission, My passion, I ate moldova women it up and I dear it.
So that began your career in the makeup industry, How did you progress from those conception into becoming a makeup artist for film?
I found a job working for Revlon as a demonstrator in department stores. In that time I did tonnes of faces and learned quickly how to do good beauty makeup. Then I applied to a tiny makeup boutique called Electa and Corrado, then it was the key place to go to for makeup, And I worked with them for three years in their boutique. Not only did we sell makeup but we took prearranged consultations and did makeovers and gave them their face charts. It was the start of what is normal nowadays but back then it was very avant garde.
They sent me out on photo shoots and I did a number of fashion spreads, Covers for magazines and a lot of the fashion shows in New York and Toronto. With Electa and Corrado I really learned the ropes and a lot about makeup but it was in that procedure that I realised I still didn know everything; special effects makeup, method to do fake noses, dynamics work and ageing. They were strictly fashion so I found out about another Makeup artist in Montreal named Mickey Hamilton who did special effects makeup; She was an old timer and one of the few that did this. I called her and showed her my work and she said I could go with her for no pay, the conventional routine, So I agreed and literally slept and incapacitated of her house on a foam mattress and sleeping bag. She took me in and I worked with her on three movies, I learned a lot about the movie business and how it worked and I learned a lot of special effects makeup with her.
So was it a conscious decision to move into film?
it genuinely wasn no. You moved between film and panache, every aspect was one and there was no division. It was a just conscious decision have a look at, which.
At the time Montreal was one of the places where movies from Hollywood could get excellent tax breaks to make their films. A lot of horror films would come up but the issue was they really didn have the crew to do well known films along comes Michele.
I had enough experience as a way to apply but I was doing work that was way above what was normal to do at that point in your career, But there was really who else to do it. So by the seat of my pants I was learning on the job and I literally began acquiring work on lots of movies and that began my movie career.
And what would you say was initial big break?
One of the first films I did on my own was 'Terror Train', The horror film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and featuring Jamie Lee Curtis, however did 'Bad Dreams' and 'Visiting Hours'. Basically they were all slasher films but I learned a lot about having to think outside the box because at that point nobody really knew how to make blood. We had varied recipes and makeup artists like Stephan Dupuis, Gordon Smith and I would share ideas and learn from each other.
Was it a very exciting time to be getting work done in makeup?
It was completely beneficial but we were in a bubble. I thought in Hollywood individuals were doing this and more, But once I was actually one of the only women working at this. I was in a field of one and had no idea what all of those other world was doing and then along came 'Quest for Fire' where I became Head of Department with Sarah Monzani and I won my first Oscar.
The funny thing about an Oscar is they claim it the kiss of death. It changes your health in two ways; one, Everyone thinks now you too big for your boots and you wouldn want to work on their little films so former mate back',folks don call you anymore; And the bigger films think you booked up. resultantly it was a strange silence after it.
Then I began to get lots of calls and eventually I thought I should go down and face the beast in Hollywood. In canada, I was a big fish in a little pond but how would I fare in Hollywood? I came down and I kind of had to start up again. I started working on non union films and finally I got into the union and over time I began to get some really good movies. managed to get Dracula, Which won me another Oscar which I felt was good because reduce costs you think maybe it was a fluke? Then I started to get other nominations for 'The Cell', 'Cyrano de Bergerac' and 'Austin Powers' within addition to.
Does that kind of award level of popularity mean a lot to makeup artists?
Oh it does, Absolutely. It always a double edged sword when you win something like that. First of simple to acknowledge that you never win anything on your own, specially in film because it such a team effort and you rely on your team as much as yourself. There is a lot of work you come up with that even though you designed or supervised it, And did the main images, The other countries in the makeup and hair team also had a lot to do with it. You can ever think that it just you because then your ego is completely uncontrollable. It great and it a good feeling but you have to keep it in proportion with everything else else.
for sure, And then there always the next job there after?
That also that raises the bar because you are being watched and everything you do has to be amazing there is more pressure than normal.
going back to your early days, aside from the 6 week training did you do any other formal training?
No it was literally all learning mitts. There weren any makeup schools but it has a few of us, Kindof being a Rat Pack; Gordon holmes, Stephan Depuis, diane Caglione, Kevin Haney; but again it was just me and the guys kind of thing. We would just share ideas so there was company between us.
Did your background in fashion provide you with the edge for doing beauty makeup in films?
Oh it did affirmative. I always say to makeup artists that so that you can be good, First perfect the beauty makeup. It the muse for everything. You methods to blend and about the subtleties of colour and what works on a face. when you do you do character work you not heavy handed. I find when artists come from special effects and work back to beauty, Sometimes too heavy handed and they put far too much paint on. It too heavy a makeup. even though the they sculpture and prosthetics are good, When thinking about painting they don have the finesse.
I have taken up oil painting and I primarily do faces just to perfecting the art of application. It a life time study and a lifelong passion really.
think you would have pursued the same career if you stayed in Ireland?
No because at the time I was not even close to film or makeup or fashion. It was not in my field of vision the idea just didn really exist. Film was way outside some thing I knew about. I studied languages, French and the spanish language, And hoped to promote those skills. Moving to Montreal opened up doors.
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Post time 2020-9-13 02:40:37