Make-up, Film and Having Fun

Make-up artist Esme Smart has seen plenty of colour in the film and TV industry in her time. From drinking Saki with stars to making blood creatively to missing early morning shoots, fun was the name of the game.

I was in the TV and film industry as a make-up artist for nearly 35 years. I’ve been retired from the film world for nine years now. Aside from being behind the camera, I was occasionally in front of it too and I would like to think I was moderately successful. It was not only a career for me but a lifestyle – a legend in my own lunchtime. I have many funny stories to relate but I will try to keep my word count down.

I was in the industry when film was king. Video was introduced much later and it was a harsh medium for a make-up artist. I had to learn on the job. It wasn’t like it is now, hardly discernible from film. It showed things that the naked eye couldn’t detect and it was really hard for a make-up artist to work on talent with less-than-perfect skin and features. But over time I mastered the art, I and video both improved. It was a cheaper medium and we got to see our work instantly but I still loved film best.

Way back then we didn’t have access to the products that we have today and we had to be a little inventive. Our tans and skin colours didn’t come out of a bottle. We mixed coffee, cocoa, oils, water colours etc in a bowl and applied them directly to the skin. No bottled blood for us, we made blood from red colouring or tomato sauce and we applied cornflakes and rice bubbles to the skin. We had to think on our feet when asked for elusive products that were perhaps easily obtained from overseas but not for us. We’ve come a long way in the industry since, things were never easy or instant.

I was lucky to work with many big names, stars in the real sense of the word. Some I even brought back to my home and many I kept in touch with.

Now for a couple of fun memories. I remember when we were filming a Schweppes job for Japan with a huge crew, mostly Japanese. Ringo Starr was the talent (name dropping). He had just married Barbara Bach and she put herself in the director’s place and directed him mercilessly. They were both good fun and he was very down to earth. We discussed our kids, life, love, and lies. When the job was finished after five days we had the most amazing wrap party in a Japanese restaurant on Karangahape Road. Being a Japanese job, the traditional toast was warm Saki. I was sitting on a cushion on the floor and by the time we had completed the drinks I fell off my cushion and fell through a shoji screen. I’ve no idea how I got home, many wrap parties finished like that (I am speaking only for myself of course!).

Another really funny occasion was when I was working on a Nescafé commercial with PWA in Rotorua. Kelvin Peach was our director and we had a full Maori cast. The scene was a family group doing a hangi followed by a cup of coffee (Nescafé of course). We were to be picked up early in the morning to get to an island on Lake Rotorua and catch early morning light and mist. But we arrived too late and missed all of that. We knew we would have to go again the next morning so we stashed our props on the island under bushes for the next day – duck eggs, meat, large pots, woven mats etc. Our main star was an older Maori man with no teeth, grey hair and tattoos – a wonderful face full of character and perfect for the job. When we returned the next morning to attempt to film again we found one of the cast had taken a tourist group out the previous night to the island and had cooked all our duck eggs and meat in our large pot over our prepared wood fire and had eaten the lot. My wonderful star had dyed his hair black (along with his ears), borrowed some false teeth with gold in the front and was wearing a Herringbone sports jacket. While frustrating for the agency and director, it was a source of amusement for me.

I could write a book – no names – but just wonderful days – ask Tony Everson! We had outrageous days and I must say I miss the work and the people. Our lives were privileged and fun back in the day. I’ve moved on but I still miss all the crews, casts, locations and countries. They were halcyon days and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.