WEEK 2: WHAM/HMUA

What does WHAM and HMUA mean?

WHAM stands for Wigs Hair and Makeup, and HMUA means Hair and Makeup artist. these are abbreviations that are used frequently in the makeup industry to reference artists that cover all areas. Within the tv and film industry, there is often two separate teams that work on the hair and makeup, one specifically for hair artists and another specifically for makeup artists. other areas of the industry such as theatre or photoshoots may not have separate teams, and therefore it is important to clarify exactly what is expected of you when booking work, as expectations may differ across the board.

when looking at WHAM and HMUA rolls, we gathered as a group and began to organise the makeup department hierarchy, including the different roles that we though this would include. it was very interesting to see what we came up with, as based off of previous years of theatre focused work, the department for tv and film was lied out quite differently to what we has gotten used too.

a main area that is different in tv and film compared to theatre, is that there is a main team and a crowd team.

Main team = smaller team of artists that look after numbered cast members one on one

Crowd = larger team of artists often supplemented with dailies

(extra artists) that look after SA’s (Supporting Actors)

the difference between these is that the main team is more detailed orientated, have more time on set as they are working on a main actor, they may show really in depth knowledge of a particular technique, and they carry out there makeup in a special trailer that is separate from the crowd team, and other main team artists. Main team artists are also sometimes dedicated to a specific actor, and they remain that way for the entirety of the filming season, to ensure continuity between shooting.

the crowd team on the other hand, have longer and earlier call times and are based in a larger crowd tent or marquee alongside there other artists. they are not dedicated to a specific actor, and will have to do multiple different actors makeups. these actors are then looked after by a crowd team when on set, instead of one specific artists the whole day.