HEY you "THE" make-up artist

[actiondeath]

LOL @ "Captain Pecks". Hahahahahaha... "Come with me if you want to live!"

[geoffgbeck]

Makeup Artist Pay Scale Response

Personally, I feel that when you start doing makeup at a haunt (between 1 and 3 years) you are developing your skills, and you have to take what you can get as far as money goes. But, when you hit the 4 year mark (assuming you have been honing your skills that whole time), when you are getting pretty good with blending, speed, and a high ratio of quality vs. quantity makeup jobs, then you can and should expect between $30.00 and $50.00 per night, or something that equals that value (i.e., roaming perks, que-line preference, free food, etc.). Having said this, I know some people may think my figures seem high, and to be honest, I never got that when I had 4 years of makeup training. But, my point here is that "you have to sell your abilities to the interested party (haunt owner) and gage what their position in the industry is." If they are a bigger haunt (with say 60-80 actors), and, or are in a large market with lots of customers, then that should be taken into consideration. I think a lot seasoned makeup artists like myself and Jason Blaszczak are sick of trying to "sell" our makeup abilities to haunt operators (with deep pockets) who are only into this to make "big" money and don't fully appreciate or understand how much passion, skill, time, and diligence it takes to be really great and diverse at doing makeup. Being able to keep up the "standard" of makeup when it comes to quality vs. quantity is the key to what allows one to be confident in negotiating with haunt owners in getting what they are "worth." To be honest, I am getting to the point after acting and doing makeup for over 15 years, that if a newer haunt owner wants me to come out, then they have to pay me decent. I now have acted and done makeup for enough haunts who's owners know my abilities and respect what I do, that I don't have to "slum" just to do what I love. There are only 5 to 6 weekends in the season, and more than that amount of haunt owners that know and trust what I can do and deliver. But, you have to PAY YOUR DUES! In my opinion, anyone who does makeup for 3 years or under in the haunt industry is just a "baby" when it comes to experience. It is the maturity and experience of someone who has 7-15 of experience who truly understands that statement. "You can't expedite time in the trenches and the shear number of hours it takes to be refined as a makeup artist." A lot of people think that they are "great", but until someone can say that they have done over 300-500 makeup jobs, they are just beginners in my opinion. Having said this, though, if you have been doing makeup for at least 3 years and are devoted to "cranking out" as many as you can each night, then there is no reason why you shouldn't get paid "something", because when there is a "learned skill" involved in creating a "product", then there should be money in return to the person who spent the time in developing that "learned skill." Just my thoughts, thanks for listening.