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How Technology Is Changing The Business Of Makeup & Hair Artistry

Developed by wife and husband team, Maureen and Doug McGavin, SavingFace Continuity Software is the only software of its kind.  As implied by its name this software allows makeup artists and hairstylists to keep continuity records of their characters without the paper trail!  All continuity information is stored within the program, no more printing out pictures, hand written notes and huge production binders.

The story behind the development of this product is quite simple; creator Maureen McGavin credits its

development to a need.

SavingFace is the result of a need in the market. When I returned to work after a hiatus spent raising my son,

I discovered that although Polaroid’s had been replaced by digital cameras, continuity was still being kept in printed-paper books.

The time spent writing out charts longhand, printing photos & compiling pages was exhausting & encouraged

incomplete logs and the waste of paper, photo paper, ink, etc. really bothered me. I wanted to find a better way to do it, especially one that would save time, money and resources said McGavin

It was a natural fit for us since I'm an anally retentive, tree-hugging makeup artist with OCD tendencies & my husband and business partner, Doug is a GENIUS software developer!

As McGavin began her research for the software development, she came across a similar software program Visages, created by Dawson’s Creek Makeup Artist Sara Seidman Vance.

Falling short of funding Visages was retired to the self.  The McGavin’s reached out to creator Sara Seidman Vance and the development of SavingFace Continuity Software had begun.

The McGavin’s used Visages as a staring point for development and have put together a software that offers numerous features that is sure to make any makeup artist and hairstylists time on set a breeze.

So we asked McGavin what are the unique features about your product? Her answer had us wanting to utilize these features the next time we were on set!

In addition to being able to chart all of your continuity notes digitally for films or tv shows, SavingFace has several time-saving features.

The user can quickly create individual records for each character in each scene, allowing him/her to create a script breakdown.

The Match To Scene function allows the artist to carry all the makeup notes for a character forward from one scene to the next, without having to re-type it each time.

The Merge Scene Information function is an easy way to grab the scene information for one character and to quickly add the makeup details for other characters to a

new scene record, effectively merging the two records together without re-typing anything. The Script Day View grabs all of the photos for a given character for a script day

simultaneously, much the way an artist/stylist would lay out all of the photos to be able to compare them visually, the way we used to lay out all of our Polaroid’s to make sure

sideburns and other details matched exactly said McGavin.

Additionally, SavingFace also generates useful charts and reports as PDF's allowing everything to be attached to emails and shared between members of the makeup department and with production.

The breakdown reports are particularly useful, as they can be customized for the entire show; by character; or by shoot day and they can also be generated as xls files, for those accustomed to working with spreadsheets.

At the end of the project, all of the makeup charts, with photos, are exported as PDF's and can be burned to a disc or put on an external drive to be given to production, creating a digital 'makeup book'.

There is no need to print and compile a 'paper' book!

There is a free demo of the software on our website: http://www.savingface-software.com/index.php/demo where you can "try before you buy," McGavin concluded.

SavingFace is a small company that is run by the McGavin’s they offer a toll-free number as well as an email for any questions and issues that may arise while using the software.

The basic version of the software is priced at $349.00, Union Members and Students can purchase the basic version for $275.00.

In addition, a Special Effects Module and Branding Module can be purchased for $99.00 each.

All SavingFace users are provided free updates for the version, which they purchased.  SavingFace is available for both PC and Mac and does not require an Internet connection to run, only to install.

This software is a great investment purchase.  It’s features will provide any artist with complete details and organization when working on set and having to maintain continuity.

In the long run the cost does not compare to what the old school paper and pencil method costs in supplies, time and potential for lost or mixed up character information.

In addition to the continued development of SavingFace Maureen has continued her career as a makeup artist in the Minneapolis area.  For more information, please visit:  www.savingface-software.com