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96 Transactions of S.M.P.E., July 1927
their pictures, thereby reducing the retouchers' art to a minimum. Most retouchers overdo their work so that the picture is generally altered into a vapid insipid face that one scarcely recognizes. It would be impossible to retouch a number of figures on a picture about the size of a postage stamp — one inch by three quarters of an inch — so that for motion picture photography, proper make-up becomes of paramount importance. To repeat, this statement is apphcable to the film now mostly in use. Many directors are trying to do away with make-up by using tinted incandescent bulbs and panchromatic film, but as this millennium has not yet been reached we must approach things as they are, and must prepare the face to do away with the necessity of retouching. Well and good. How to set about it would have been easy if we had not to unlearn so much that the speaking stage actors have instilled into their silent brothers and sisters, and, unfortunately, we can see on the streets many examples of flappers so made up that their faces look much like the actresses of old when only poor lighting was being used, as in the good old days of "East Lynne."
Many books on make-up tell you that cold cream forms part of the make-up. Not so; cold cream is intended only for the purpose of cleansing the face so that the grease paint may be evenly apphed, but, in any event, every bit of this cream should be entirely removed before putting on the paint, otherwise the cream (which melts at body temperature) will affect the make-up. In the studio the greasy appearance of an actors' make-up is frequently very noticeable, but the director usually wants his people in a hurry and does not give them time to patch their make-up which may have been on for hours.
This brings me to a point which I want to drive home: WHY use GREASE paints for motion picture make-up?
There are several so-called "liquid" enamels, made of powdered chalk, oxide of zinc, rose water, a little glycerine, and some witch hazel, which have a covering power equal to, if not better than, grease paint, and which will not show as greasy an effect as one normally gets in a studio without any make-up.
When I was still doing this class of work I had occasion to make up some Marimba Players, who were to be perched up near the top of a high set. I made them up with grease paint, and, after an hour or so of rehearsing, it was decided to shoot. I happened to catch sight o\ these gentlemen, and they were as shiny as well-oiled African slaves, and we had to hold the scene until they were patched up.