Be the Best Trainee Ever

Advice

Being a Hair and Make up Trainee in Film & TV is no joke.

If you ask a trainee how they feel they are either loving their experience or struggling with it. One thing is for certain the job is never what they thought it would be.

I was asked to give a talk to 30 trainees new to Film & TV and offer further insight into their the roles and responsibilities and share any advice that could help and support them in their new Film & TV journey. Giving this talk required honesty and being factual so - I was going not sugar-coat even the murky bits of being a trainee, but I did not want to scare them off either. I just needed to provide information that could help them and move them forwards in their career. I wanted them to enjoy their job and become great at it.

But before I started my talk, I had a few requests. The talk was online and I required some general online etiquette.

Your full attention.
The ability to see they were listening and were grasping what was being said.
Cameras on at all times.
No straying back and forth off camera.
No eating their dinner on camera - it's rude and distracting.

Too strict? I don't think so - not when someone has been asked to talk and offer advice. Besides, stating any type of basic instruction shows you who is who and what is what.

WHY ME

I was someone who had once been where they had been - I had been a trainee, a new entrant, a past alum of the ScreenSkills Trainee Finder Program, But now I was speaking to them as an artist and a designer and;

As someone who has worked on shows for major broadcasters like the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and for major networks like Amazon Prime, Netflix, Sky Cinema and Apple TV.
As someone who has designed independent short films and most recently a feature film that opened the Dublin Film Festival. As someone who has worked on productions at home and abroad.

Not only that I had worked at all the HMUA grades from trainee to designer (excepting main team Supervisor).

And more recently my BLCKSTR training program was set up to not only help professional hair and makeup artists work with textured hair and makeup for people of colour but also to help new HMUA artists fill in gaps in their on-set knowledge.

PERSON - OLD BUT NEW

I started in the Film & TV industry later in life, and joined the ScreenSkills Trainee Finder Program as a mature person. My on the job learning curve was steep and sometimes rocky, but it was enjoyable too. A lot was expected of me because the people I met assumed I had been working in the industry a long time and that I knew what I was doing. When I was new people directed issues towards me and instructions with the expectation I would knew what they were talking about, but I didn't.

On a daily basis I worked as hard as I could, I don't remember ever sitting down in the day. I took my time as a trainee very seriously. But it was fun too now I look back. To not romanticise my time as a trainee which I think many people tend to do. I spoke with two Junior hair and makeup artists who I worked with when they were trainees, and who long after we parted company, were still memorable to me - which is the point. They grew during their time as hair and makeup trainees on a film and TV set, and became great at their jobs, as they helped me to do mine.

The Juniors confirmed that I wasn't being romantic about the role and nor was I being over critical.

TRUTH VS REALITY

The thing is, as a hair and makeup trainee working in the Film & TV Makeup Department, when you step onto your first few jobs it feels like no one is telling you much of anything - but that you are expected to know everything or, it can feel like everyone is telling you to do something - but you don’t know where to start.

The fact is;

You are the person with the least experience, required to look after the people with the most experience. You are asked to do jobs and tasks you have never done before and yet don’t understand, for people you have never met and whose needs you don’t yet know.

It is confusing.

My first question to the group was 'Tell me how you are feeling about being a trainee?'

It was important to stress how important the trainee role is to a team and that while it may not always feel like it - their presence is needed to make a team run smoothly. If they could find ways to enjoy their experiences it would be a good thing, because no matter how they felt at the start - long after they have left the grade they will realise that this was actually a good time.

YOU BECOME AN EXPERT DESK ARRANGER AND PACKER

The second thing I said was 'You are doing a good job, and no matter where you are in this process as a new entrant, You are doing all the right things and you are handling yourself well.'

Sometimes you need to hear that.

'But,' I added 'Don’t rest here - don’t think Screenskills will just give you jobs - they might and they might not - you also need to put in some effort to make sure you get work for yourself - and I know that is easier said than done - especially with the industry being rather slow at the moment. But remember,' I reminded them. 'Trainees tend to get picked for teams first. So the work is out there for you.'

I asked them as they started on their film and tv journey, if they had imagined what they wanted to be beyond the trainee role. Where do you want to be in the future? It doesn’t have to be something grand like be a designer. You just might want to be working and be really good at what you do.

Personally I could have started a few grades up as an artist, because I had the education and training to do so, and in many ways it would have made my life easier, but I wanted to know the film and TV industry from the bottom up because I didn't know it. I wanted to understand how I could run a department if it came to it.

PARK YOUR EXPECTATIONS

We all know that for a trainee there is an element of running errands and tea making, but I'm sure you believe that soon you'll get to go on set. That there is a space on the trailer for you to lay out your kit and do some hair and makeup.

You're thinking you'll get partnered with a senior makeup artist who will help and show you the ropes.
You are thinking you will get hands on training and learn a lot. I mean why wouldn’t you - the job is called 'Trainee Hair and Makeup Artist'.

One thing is for sure this is not the work you thought you would be doing as a trainee makeup ang - but before you give up I would ask you to park your expectations and accept that this is a temporary phase, and that if you can find a way to change your view of things you can alter your experience.

INSTEAD OF THIS.... YOU ARE DOING THIS ...

Chrissie Hannah

But what we know (and you don't yet know), is that instead of doing hair and make up or wigs or prosthetics - you will be humping boxes in and out of storage… packing and unpacking, labelling everything and doing lots and lots of paperwork...

BUILD YOURSELF A DAILY ROUTINE. OBSERVE. ASK QUESTIONS.

The truth is in your first few jobs as a trainee you may not do anything other than running up and down. But, things will settle down, and you will get to understand your job, your days, your tasks, your team; and once you become familiar with it all you can start to build yourself a routine, which will save you from standing around wondering what to do next.

You don't want people asking you - What are you doing? Do you have anything to do? Where were you?' If you are stuck you can always ask your supervisor to make up a To-Do list for you to get you started.

Being a Trainee is hard work and some days are tough and overwhelming. But you will also have a good time - you get to travel all over the country and you are in close proximity to some very talented people. Watch, learn, ask questions, try things, make mistakes, practice and don't be shy about it as everyone is learning. Things happen in front of you every day that you have to figure out.

In the best ways this role if you are good at it, teaches you to work fast, think fast, solve problems quickly and push through your fears. It teaches you to be organised, and you get to observe HODs up close and see how a department is run, as you determine the kind of HMUA you want to be.

FINAL WORD

TRAINEES: You are doing ok – if you can keep perspective about where you are and what you are doing, park some of your expectations. Build yourself a daily routine, watch and observe others and ask questions. Make goals for yourself to learn something new every job if you can, and absolutely ask your seniors for feedback. Be proactive and figure out the little things that make you stand out. But most importantly, ask others for help if you need it and you will need it. This is a great time to be learning the fundamentals of being a senior artist so remember you won’t be a trainee forever.

You will look back at this period of time and laugh about the things you were asked to do - trust me.

To find out more about working in film and tv as a trainee - Screenskills Trainee Finder