From Millie Bobby Brown's buzz cut in "Stranger Things" to Ana de Armas' Marilyn Monroe curls in "Blonde" (2022), movies and TV shows have had to transform character via wigs for decades. To find out how a master wigmaker designs full heads of hair for movies and TV shows, we visited the New York and Beverly Hills studios of Wigmaker Associates with founder Rob Pickens.
In the era of 4K and HD cameras, the standard for film and TV wigs has never been higher. Digital cameras are significantly less forgiving than film, meaning that hairlines must appear seamless and lace fronts must be finer. Rob's team shows us how they trace the intricacies of actors' hairlines and growth patterns to create wigs that mimic nature. He explains how he worked with "Stranger Things" hair department head Sarah Hindsgaul to make make the short-haired Eleven wig sit invisibly on Millie Bobby Brown's scalp, using techniques such as point knotting and an ingenious application process. And having worked on period pieces like "Pose," "The Gilded Age," and "American Crime Story," Rob discusses how historical settings shape the color and texture of his wigs.
Rob also breaks down how factors like camera and lighting influence wigs' coloring, from Amanda Seyfried's blond in "Mank" (2020) to Eddie's ash brown in "Stranger Things." He worked with hair department head Jaime Leigh McIntosh to perfect the red of Olivia Wilde's wig in "Don't Worry Darling" (2022) and the multi-dimensional color of Michelle Pfeiffer's Betty Ford wigs for "The First Lady" (2022). Meanwhile, on "Pam & Tommy" (2022), lead hair designer Barry Lee Moe incorporated four shades of blonde into Rob's wigs to make Pam Anderson's signature platinum pop on camera.
Wigmaker Associates' other creations include Tom Hardy's Scarface wigs for "Capone" (2020) and Tom Hanks' Mr. Rogers wigs for "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" (2019). The studio has also built wigs for Will Ferrell in "Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga" (2020), Jamie Lee Curtis in "Halloween" (2018), and Billie Eilish in her "Xanny" video (2019).
For more from Rob Pickens and Wigmaker Associates:
www.wigmakerassociates.com/
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For more from Jaime Leigh McIntosh:
/ jaimeleigh.hair
For more from Barry Lee Moe:
/ barryleemoe
For more from Sarah Hindsgaul:
/ sarahhindsgaul
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