Scotia Boyd’s makeup talents run the gamut from glam to gore, but despite the genre, her work always transforms.
“I couldn’t believe it when I found out,” Boyd said, “I was just in shock, and so happy.”
Such was her response when she found out she was nominated for Best Makeup in a Commercial or Music Video by the Makeup-Artists and Hair Stylists Guild. The nomination acknowledged her makeup skills displayed in a Secret/Beetlejuice commercial. The ad was produced by Framework Studio on behalf of Warner Brothers and Secret Deodorant.
Boyd detailed, “My team and I created a 'magician's assistant' character reminiscent of the original movie, as well as a 'Dead Hiker' character featuring bee stings and bees all over her body. I worked on this commercial in Hollywood with a team of artists including Julie Hassett and Bianca Appice.”
Watch the commercial here.
“It’s definitely an iconic franchise,” Boyd said of her Beetlejuice project. “The original movie was designed by Ve Neill, one of the most famous makeup artists out there, she’s a legend. She designed the original Beetlejuice, and it was really fun because I was able to take inspiration from those characters.”
Boyd, who hails from Sudbury and is a graduate of Sheridan College, has been in demand as a makeup artist in film and television for over a decade. She started working on northern Ontario productions, CTV’s hit series Cardinal, and Bell Media’s Letterkenny.
Last summer, she worked on a Paramount film, the “Getaway” starring Jason Biggs and Meaghan Rath, which was also shot around Sudbury.
Come fall she was on set in North Bay, working on When Hope Calls, a television series co-produced by David Anselmo. Boyd also has credits on Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Titans, and Jupiter’s Legacy. The list goes on, and more titles can be found on her IMDB page. There’s also much more to come.
The makeup artist has many responsibilities on a film set, Boyd noted, and the hours are long. Makeup artists develop ideas for the look of the characters and maintain the continuity of those looks throughout the shoot.
“There’s a lot of prep work that is done before we actually go to camera,” Boyd said. “Then as we shoot the movie or the series, we’re tracking it, and making notes for every scene we do. We take pictures and document all of it, and that’s part of what we submit to production at the end of the show.”
With those files, another makeup artist or production team can begin a second season of a series, or film another scene for a movie in another location, because the makeup work for each character is so meticulously detailed.
Also, Boyd noted that the makeup department is usually the first on set and the last to leave, as filming cannot begin until their work is complete. Some characters require hours in the makeup chair, and those looks must be maintained through long days, often 12 hours or more.
Although she has worked on many sets and productions, Boyd noted that one constant remains, “It’s always something different, always something new, and there are always new creative challenges. That’s what I really love about this industry.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
