This week we welcomed special guest makeup artist Corinna Woodcock who spoke to our current Character & Special FX program class on her career as a free-lance makeup artist in film and television.  During her visit, we got to look inside her on-set kit, learn about her favorite products and how she stays organized. She gave invaluable information on professionalism, local unions, and set expectations. She talked about what it means to key a production, how to break down a script, current methods of keeping continuity, and reading a call sheet. She also shared stories from over 24 years of experience which included working on many major union film productions and tv shows.

Corinna grew up in Southern California and received her certificate in professional makeup training at Learning Tree University’s Makeup Artistry program in 1993. During the following few years she worked as a Department Head on a wide array of non-union projects. In 1997 she taught the beauty and beard-work classes at Learning Tree University following in the footsteps of her mentors.

In 2000 Corinna was accepted into the Makeup Artist Union Local 706  joining the ranks of the world’s most respected makeup artists. Within two years she achieved Journeyman status and has been working consistently as Department Head, Key Makeup, 3rd, and Special Makeup units on high profile union projects such as Lionsgate Pictures “Hunger Games”, Columbia Pictures “The Amazing Spiderman”, WB’s “Hart of Dixie”, TNT’s “Major Crimes”, Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean II & III, ABC’s “Back in the Game” & “Dancing with the Stars”, AMC’s “Madmen”, CBS’s “C.S.I.”, and  WB’s hit series “The Mentalist”.

Some of the talent she has worked with are : James Caan, Dennis Leary, Sigourney Weaver, Martin Sheen, Steve Carell, Lily Collins, Josh Duhammel, Will Ferrell, Nick Offerman, Christopher Walken, Robert Wagner, Zoe Saldana, Carmen Electra, Kid Rock, Drew Carey, Scott Porter, David Guintolli, William H. Macy and many more famous faces . The show “Grimm” took her to Portland, OR 4 years ago. After the show ended in 2017 she decided to stay.  She now has active memberships in both Locals 488 & 706 and can work in Los Angeles or Portland as a local. Currently she is working on Hulu’s “Shrill” and just finished out season 2 of Hulu’s “Future Man” as Co-Department Head.

As movie goers and television fanatics we often forget the massive amounts of hard work and large scale teams involved in producing our favorite shows and films. Makeup artists are a crucial part in creating believable characters that make the stories come alive and their job often takes the backseat when it comes to fame and recognition. If you haven’t heard of Corinna, you should definitely keep an eye out for her continuous work. Corinna is a stand out artist with her long list of IMDB credits and proven leadership abilities.

To find out more about her incredible work visit her website and see her list of impressive credits at IMDB.