Sherri Berman Laurence on Bringing the Makeup of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes to Life

It's not something we think about often, but the makeup looks of a film can truly make or break our immersion, and in recent years, few films have fully swept us away quite like The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Emmy-winning makeup artist Sherri Berman Laurence was the makeup designer on the film, responsible for wrangling a team to bring all of its incredible makeup to life. From the extravagance of the Capitol to the grit and grime of District 12 and the dishevelment caused by the Hunger Games themselves, each and every scene required carefully thought-out looks, skilfully crafted by a massive team working together as one machine. We had the pleasure of chatting with Sherri herself to get the inside scoop on The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and the process of creating its unforgettable makeup. Read the full interview below.

Sweety High: What does the role of a makeup designer entail? What does that team look like, and how long does it take to prep for a project as
ambitious and enormous as a Hunger Games prequel?

Sherri Berman Laurence: The role of makeup designer on a project like this is a huge job. You are collaborating with and overseeing everything with every team that has to do with makeup for the film, from designing the looks on every main cast member as well as the overall looks of the background actors to hiring your core team, budgets, the number of makeup artists hired daily, supplies needed and created and then some. Meetings with the director, costume designer, hair designer, prosthetic designer and myself are one of the first things that happen as a makeup designer. Trish Summerville would share the illustrations of the costumes for us to draw inspiration from and create our own designs to complement the costumes and overall looks. I then incorporate those elements into character-specific inspiration boards and refine and map out each of the characters' looks to be coherent with each of the departments. Trish's attention to detail and collaboration was an incredible part of working on this film. Since we began shooting the movie with the games, our prosthetic designer, Jörn Seifert (Twilight Creations), was also one of the first people that I met with, in order for him to have just enough time to get all of the prosthetics made. I had an amazing core team, which included my U.S. key artist Blair Aycock, German key Heike Merker, crowd supervisor Irina Tübbecke, makeup artists Marie Maggio and Ina Sauer, amongst so many others. On certain days, we would have three different teams of makeup artists that would include 50-plus artists in one day. We were very limited on the time that we had to prep this movie and that made it a challenge, but I think having a strong team and being extremely organized and prepared helped us to pull it off.

(Photo credit: Murray Close)

 

SH: How is working on makeup for an established franchise different from starting from scratch? How were the other Hunger Games films used as a template for makeup, and in what ways did you deviate from what was already established?

SBL: Because this movie was 64 years prior to the first Hunger Games movie, we had a lot more freedom to create something new. The director, Francis Lawrence, wanted it to have a period look with a nod to the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s while having a modern edge. This was very different than the other movies. Having said that, it was really interesting to subtly foreshadow the future looks of Tigris's tiger-like appearance in the prior films. To achieve this, we bleached and shaped her eyebrows into severe catlike points and sometimes used graphic and avant-garde makeup accents to show her fashion-forward style. For Lucky Flickerman, his look evolves progressively, showcasing his transition from drab weatherman to the celebrity host of the games, reflecting the makeup origin of his descendant, Caesar Flickerman from the other Hunger Games movies. We had two stages of eyebrow shapes and two mustaches that were groomed, cut and applied in three different styles. Different levels of pancake makeup, contouring, eye makeup and stained lips were also used to show his progression and how it could have inspired the futuristic look of Caesar Flickerman.

 

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SH: How was The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes different from other productions you've worked on in the past?

SBL: One of the things that was so different about this project was all of the different styles of makeup that we had to create, from the affluent period Capitol looks to the tribute's progression of distress and dirtiness, District 12 and the HOB's Appalachian coal miner's style, Lucy Gray's performance looks, Tigris's and Lucky's looks, to Snow's look as a mentor and near death-like appearance in the hospital, Casca Highbottom's drug-addicted progression and Dr. Gaul's mad scientist aging look. There were so many different makeup styles that we had to accomplish in one movie, and they weren't just different decades like other jobs that I have worked on, but completely different in who these characters were, where they lived and what they were going through.

 

SH: What was the toughest thing about bringing this project to life? The most rewarding thing?

SBL: As I mentioned before, this movie ran the gamut with makeup looks, hairstyles and costumes. Living in so many worlds and switching back and forth between them was incredibly rewarding and challenging. Some days, we would have over 45 main cast members and sometimes 500-plus background actors, which required a huge makeup department. Working in different countries also had its challenges, but again, was also rewarding. It was such an honor to work with Francis Lawrence, Nina Jacobson and Trish Summerville and to be a part of these talented designers, cast and crew members. The entire cast was so lovely to work with and they made it a joy to come to work every day.

 

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SH: Is there one makeup look you're proudest of in the film? What can you tell us about it?

SBL: On a movie this big, it's hard to narrow it down. But some of my favorite looks in the film were:

• Lucy Grey's reaping day look and her HOB performance looks. We got to be really playful with those. One of her HOB looks was reminiscent of an old Hollywood movie star with the crimson red lip, holographic green and blue winged liner, and beautiful highlights on her skin. Since Lucy Gray comes from the poverty-stricken District 12, I had to get creative as to where her performance makeup would have come from since she did not have money to buy it. Her makeup backstories became a fun game for Rachel Zegler and I to come up with! For example, some of the blushes and lipsticks would come from wild berries and flowers. Eyeshadows came from crushed beetles and other bugs, to dirt and coal.
• Tigris's character was fresh-faced but also fashion-forward, so we got to have a lot of fun doing ombre lips, pointed bleached eyebrows and the ethereal, pink-toned, Academy reaping day look.
• Lucky Flickerman's elevated final look of the games.
• The crowd scenes with the extras at the coal mines when Coryo's train pulls into District 12. The background actors looked so amazing in period looks with coal covering them and it really sold the look of the district. I was so blown away that I walked around photographing them as art. Between the set, costumes, hair and makeup, this was a moment when I couldn't stop smiling at how it came together. Our teams did an incredible job.

(Photo credit: Murray Close)

 

SH: Were there any specific products that were lifesavers while developing the makeup looks for the film?

SBL: Well, again, there are so many! I will start with saying Tatcha and Herbivore skincare were critical. These actors were covered in dirt, sweat, FX makeup and regular makeup every day for a long time. We had to keep their skin in good condition and free of breakouts, so each actor had their own regimen. As far as foundations and concealers, Tom Ford Shade And Illuminate Soft Radiance was a favorite to help with the youthful glow. I definitely used a lot of Dior for highlighting, Charlotte Tilbury for blush, Chantecaille and Fenty for lips, to name just a few. MAC lips, eyeliners and shadows were key for the period looks.

 

SH: Is there anything else you'd like to add?

SBL: It was a huge undertaking to do this movie, with it having such a dedicated fanbase who truly cares about every character in this franchise. I hope that I was able to live up to what the fans envisioned these characters to look like. It was truly an honor, and I hope I did it justice. Dream of a lifetime!

(Photo credit: Murray Close)

 

And for even further insights into developing the looks of the film, click HERE to read our interview with hair designer Nikki Gooley.