EnglishNetflix - Archive 81 : Let’s talk with Makeup Department Head Etzel Ecleston
By Mulder, Los Angeles, 01 february 2022
Archive 81 is an American supernatural, sci-fi mystery horror streaming television series developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine and executive produced by Sonnenshine, Paul Harris Boardman, and James Wan. The series is based on the podcast of the same name, about researchers cataloging the video archive of a missing filmmaker. It stars Mamoudou Athie and Dina Shihabi in leading roles. The series was released on January 14, 2022, on Netflix.
We had the opportunity to speak with Etzel Ecleston about her work as one of the Makeup Department Heads on this series.
Q : Please can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background?
Etzel Ecleston : Hello my name is Etzel Ecleston, and I was one of the department heads for Archive 81 as a makeup artist.
Q : You have worked on excellent series such as Blacklist, Gotham and recently Archive 81, but also films such as Section 99, Clifford, West Side Story. How do you choose which project to sign onto?
Etzel Ecleston : I usually try to see who is the department head or the key so I can go ahead and see if they have work available, but I just love to work on anything that has to do with makeup and especially anything that has to do with comic books. That's especially what I like to do.
Q : Can you describe your position as the hair and makeup department head ?
Etzel Ecleston : Yes, for department head, you are usually working closely with the executive producers and the showrunners in order to best translate their story and interpret the look for the project, especially if it's a time period piece.
Q : What is a typical day on set like for you on the Archive 81 ?
Etzel Ecleston : It was amazingly thrilling and it was sometimes a little bit hectic because sometimes we would have to be in two or three time periods at the same time, since one main character, Dan Turner, was in the present time, but character Melody Pendras was in 1994. So you have to make sure to keep the makeup and the looks accurate to how it used to look. Oh my goodness, it was about 30 years ago. Can you believe it?
Q : What have you learned during your time in the film industry ?
Etzel Ecleston : To wake up really, really early. I am not an early person, but definitely that, and also to keep everything very organized, especially being a department head.
Q : Which are, for you, the good ingredients to create a good series as Archive 81 ?
Etzel Ecleston : Definitely the set designs. Sometimes when we were filming and it was at night time, I was like ‘oh my god, this is so creepy, thank goodness we are together!’ The fact that this series is a little bit dark, and that we were filming in the forest at night time, are good ingredients to have for a cult classic for something scary.
Q : Can you speak more about the hair and your collaboration with Mamadou Ati, Ariana Neal ?
Etzel Ecleston : Yes for Mamadou Ati, he is such a gentleman, it was such a thrill to work with him, he definitely is such a good actor! And for Ariana Neil, she is young but she is great. She made everything really easy and it was a pleasure to work with them.
Q : What was the most difficult aspect of this series for you ?
Etzel Ecleston : Definitely the timelines! Sometimes we would have to go ahead and be in the 1920s when we had to deal with the character of Iris Vos that was played by Georgina Haig. That jumping from 1994 to 1920s had us going back and forth and making sure to use the proper lipstick and the proper colors, and having to pay attention to how people used to wear their makeup around that time also made it really interesting.
Q : How much direction do you require? Or, how much freedom are you given to do your work ?
Etzel Ecleston : It's a compromise. It's definitely a compromise between the showrunner, the executive producer, and the director, because as a makeup artist, you want to do something exactly how you feel it should be done for historical accuracy. But at the same time, we're telling someone else's stories, so it's definitely a give and take with the executive producer and the storytellers and the writers. We go ahead and come to a happy medium.
Q : How different is a film production from TV? At least in terms of your position?
Etzel Ecleston : Just the timing. With a tv series, it's usually about four to six months, but in a movie it's usually about six weeks. So definitely it's a lot of time and effort and waking up early for a series.
Q : Is there anything you want the audience to know about the hair and makeup process on this series ?
Etzel Ecleston : There was definitely a lot of research, especially for the scenes that were for the gala and for the vast party. You want to be correct with the way that the ladies would wear their eyebrows and what type of lipstick shape that they had for their lips, and for the gentlemen, how they would wear their facial hair and their sideburns around the 1920s.
Q : What did you learn and retain from working on this series ?
Etzel Ecleston : Definitely a lot more about satanic rituals, more than I may want to know, but definitely learned more about pagan rituals.
Q : What advice would you give to someone who wants to become a makeup artist ?
Etzel Ecleston : Don't give up. It is a difficult task and it definitely has a lot of early hours, but just do your research, especially on who you are working with. Learn about the actors, including what they have previously worked on, how they might actually like to have their makeup done. Especially as a department head, it is so important to see who you are working with, including the executive producers and the show runners, and to know their past works. For example, when I was working with Rebecca Sonnenshine, she had worked on “Vampire Diaries” and “The Boys”, one of my favorites, so definitely knowing who you are working with, knowing your research and being organized.
Q : Can you talk a little about your work on West Side Story ?
Etzel Ecleston : Oh this was one of my favorites. I worked in the background and I was able to work for Judy Chin, which was amazing. That again being a time period specific project, we had to not only do the makeup exactly how they used to do it but also make sure that that makeup stayed because of all the dancing. Each take was around two or three minutes, but we had to do multiple takes outside in the summer on one of the hottest days, so it was amazing to experience.
Q : Which are your current projects ?
Etzel Ecleston : Right now we are on hiatus, but I do have another project coming up called “Not Okay”, and I can't wait to see how that is edited. It stars Zoey Deutch and Mia Isaac.
Etzel Ecleston is an experienced makeup artist that has worked on projects from television networks like NBC and MTV. She loves transforming and collaborating with an actor to have their characters come to life on screen. She has worked backstage at the coveted New York Fashion Week on shows for Project Runway, Serena Williams, Mara Hoffman and Venexiana among others. As a supporting makeup artist, she has also worked on West Side Story, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and the upcoming series The Gilded Age.
Etzel Ecleston is a bilingual, Panamanian born, New York raised Make Up Artist. She brings an abundance of energy, talent and professionalism to every project she works on. For over fifteen years in the industry, she has collaborated with numerous photographers and designers to discover new model talent for editorial work. Her beauty and editorial collaborations have graced such magazines as Nylon, Essence and GQ. This passion lead her backstage to the coveted New York Fashion Week, on shows such Project Runway, Venexiana and Serena Williams to name a few. Etzel has contributed her work for commercials such as Geico, Under Armour, and JC Penny. Her nights have been spent among the glitter and lights on Broadway shows like the award-winning "Kinky Boots" doing makeup for the very talented Billy Porter, and in "Fish in the Dark" with comedy genius Larry David. Her work has also blessed her with traveling to different parts of the world to work as personal makeup artist to Grammy Award winner Ms. Lauryn Hill. Working on movie and TV sets that widely span decades is where you will now find Etzel. Movies such as the mind bending 'Braid', 'Brawl in Cell Block 99', and TV Thriller ‘Archive 81’ are a few of her IMDb credits. She loves collaborating with an actor to bring their character to life on screen. It is truly a magical moment.
Synopsis :
Archivist Dan Turner sets out to restore a collection of damaged videotapes from the early 1990s. He discovers the work of a documentary filmmaker who was investigating a dangerous cult. Dan is convinced that he can save her from the terrifying end she met 25 years earlier...
Archive 81
Based on Archive 81 by Daniel Powell and Marc Sollinger
Developed by Rebecca Sonnenshine
Starring Mamoudou Athie, Dina Shihabi, Evan Jonigkeit, Julia Chan, Ariana Neal, Matt McGorry, Martin Donovan
Music by Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow
Executive producers : Rebecca Sonnenshine, Rebecca Thomas, James Wan, Michael Clear, Paul Harris Boardman, Antoine Douaihy
Producers :Bobak Esfarjani, Amanda Kay Price
Cinematography : Julie Kirkwood, Bobby Bukowski, Nathaniel Goodman
Editors : Tyler L. Cook, Michael Scotti Jr., Amelia Allwarden, Patrick J. Smith, Joel T. Pashby
Production companies : Atomic Monster Productions, Sonnenshine Productions
Distributor : Netflix
Original network : Netflix
Original release : January 14, 2022
Running time : 45–58 minutes
We would like to thank Etzel Ecleston for answering our questions and Elizabeth Forrest for her important help with this interview.
Photos: Copyright Netflix
We would like to thank Etzel Ecleston for answering our questions and Elizabeth Forrest for her important help with this interview.
Photos: Copyright Netflix