Aging? How can it be done??

clarkage

clarkage

Well-known member
Hey guys,

I'm starting up a small short film here where we have several actors who need to go from teens, to mid 40's, to around 60's.

Going from 40's to 60's may not be too much of a challenge because I am thinking that if I cannot find any look alike actors for that part then I can just put the makeup artist to work. However, I am not sure how I will go from teen to adult?? Do you guys know any ways that people have done this in the past? Is there an "easy way" to how to cast that. If any of you is a mother/father looking to act and has a son/daughter maybe that would work. Please, any suggestions would be very much appreciated!

Thank you,

Kevin Clark
 
Do you have any idea of what you want any of the characters to look like? That's probably a good start. If you do, go ahead and post a photo. :)
 
Too bad you're on the left coast or we could offer you my skinny teen son to his overweight 60 father....
Actually I have the skinny teen actor kid and his older teen bodybuilder brother.
Best bet if you can't find father/son combinations is lots and lots of casting.
 
We don't have anything in mind yet for what we want them to look like because we don't have anyone yet. Basically father son Mother daughter combos is what we would be looking for at this point. Or we may just get an adult and cover them in a lot of make up for the "older" scenes.
 
I am interested in that as well...


Say I need to make a person in hist 25s look like he is 15....

What would I do? Shave him (of course)? But what else...

I am afraid that just dressing him in some clothes from the period of his mid-teens will make a Franken-scene with associations from that film, where Stallone was sucking a dummy in one of his bad dreams...
 
That may be hard. For going from young to old, I am thinking make up.

I think old to young will be very hard.

But if you do find a way to make your actors look 10 years younger I recommend you copyright it and sell it to the public! ;)

Or if you just get a teenage year old actor that works as well.
 
You have to be REALLY careful. Finding a 15 yo actor who can also convincingly play a 25 year old is NOT easy to do. If you really want to have a credible performance from your actors, you really need to put a LOT of thought and effort into getting the right ones, not just people who you can make look 10 years older.

No one really seems to put a lot of effort into finding the cast that will make something the best it can be, regardless of budget, and it really shows - every single time.

Cast for months if you need to. Don't just go with the first actors you find. That's what callbacks are for...
 
Make up will not likely be the answer for the first jump in age: teens - 40s. It won't work on film, particularly at your budget level. Double cast the role(s). Get someone age appropriate or slightly older who can play young (I did that for years professionally) and then cast another actor to take on the 40-60 age range. It will be much easier to do the 40-60 aging with wardrobe/makeup but that's no slam dunk either. You might want to cast age appropriate all the way. Sure that increases your cast size but if the characters aren't believable then your whole effort will be a waste so you might as well do what it takes to get it right if it's worth doing at all.

Best of luck with the project.

Tommy
 
And test out some 'Old Age Stipple' from Namies or one of the other make up shops. It is tricky to apply and best done by a professional make up artist. If that costs too much check out the old style with spirit gum...or simply add lines.

Plus....with anyone over a certain age...all you really have to do is put on a lot of makeup and it fills in creases which makes them look deeper and should make them look older.

Just some other options.
 
I was going to be a smart-a$$ and say film them now, then wait 20-30 years to finish the project. like many indie projects. LOL

But another thing to consider is body padding, and shaving/thinning the eyebrows. People's eyebrows help define their age. But better make sure the talent agrees to do it first.

Director "I need you to go to hair/MU"
Actor "I just did"
Dir. "No this is for something different"
Act "What?"
Dir. "You're losing the caterpillar over your eyes."
 
Best restults will come from layering many subtle effects as opposed to any one, aggressively applied effect.

I noticed the very carefully applied selective softening/blurring of Brad Pitt's and Kate Blanchet's creases around their mouths, noses and eyes was very effective at making them appear to be in their very early twenties. This can be done with motion tracking their faces and then creating blur masks in Final Cut or After Effects in post. Lighter skin tones and lighter blond hair helped as well. Appearing to be light on their feet and agile also sold their youth at a less conscious level. Then there's very-diffused white light and the additive effect of the subtle soft focus applied in post.

Temporary face lift: Makeup for middle aged actors who have some natural age showing in their faces (sagging forehead and cheeks) can be pulled back with silk or other monofilament and medical adhesive- attached patches of thin netting material in the airline or under a wig, all pulled back/up and secured together.

Good prosthetic makeup can effectively age your teen all the wya to their 90's. If you light and frame well and your actors do the research ( have them spend a few days hanging with seniors) and focus on all of the tertiary details, you can pull it off.
 
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