January 2015
[ Part III ] Artists Who Adorn Performers: Makeup, Wigs, and Costumes
Kyoko Hirotani
‘Formation and Transformation of “TV Art,”’ is a series that examines how TV art was born and developed through interviews with relevant persons. Under the theme of “Artists Who Adorn Performers,” the part three of this series casts a spotlight on arts of makeup, wigs, and costumes that transform performers’ appearances to create perfect characters. The author met people involved in these arts, who displayed their skills in the early days of television, mainly for drama productions, and asked them to reflect on their work and enthusiasm regarding the development of each art as well as the method of passing their techniques down the generations. TV makeup started as a method of preventing halation, and NHK has been leading the development of this art, making the most of its know-how. Wigs and costumes had been developed by precedent movie and stage industries, and television fully utilized the skills and assets fostered by them. It is also revealed that TV arts, which originated in live broadcasts, uniquely evolved into something of a quality between movie makeup and stage makeup. As Japanese television celebrated the 60th anniversary last year, innovations in broadcasting technology and changes in the production environment are affecting the production styles of dramas, especially of costume dramas, which, in some cases, lead to a conflict between conventional and new styles. Being regarded as “old media” now, television is required to take on news challenges as well as to protect the accumulated assets.