Oscar & BAFTA Winning Principal
Guaranteed Paid On-set Work Experience
ScreenSkills Bursaries of up to £3,000 Now Available
for Beginner & Experienced MUAs studying @ CB*MA
Limited Places Left
Next 4 Month Hair & Makeup Course for Film & TV – 6th Jan 2020
Short CB*MA courses also eligible for ScreenSkills bursary, click here for more info
Small Classes / One Unique Course / Family Spirit & True Aftercare
The Christine Blundell Make-up Academy is the only Make-up school in the UK run by an Oscar & BAFTA winning Make-up Designer actively working in the industry. All our Tutors currently work as professional Film, TV & Theatre Make-up Artists & Designers. Now in its 11th year, our Academy nurtures a true Family spirit & Aftercare and we only run one Make-up course at any one time, with the maximum class size of 14 students. In addition, all our graduates are given the opportunity to join Christine on set, gaining valuable experience after completing their course. Read More
Christine Blundell’s Amazing Biography
Christine first got involved in hair and make up when styling bands in the late ‘70s and working in a salon in Kensington Market. She went on to open her own hairdressing salon, which she ran successfully for 4 years and then embarked on an intensive three-month make-up course. After completing the course, Christine worked on Phantom of the Opera doing prosthetics and went on to work for LWT, gaining invaluable experience on sketch shows and TV films.
Her first feature with Mike Leigh was Life is Sweet, which marked the beginning of a long and successful working relationship that has spanned more than 20 years and produced 10 features including Secrets and Lies, Topsy Turvy, Vera Drake, Happy-Go- Lucky, Another Year and Mr. Turner, for which she received a BAFTA nomination. Christine won both an Academy Award and a BAFTA for Topsy Turvy and in 2004 received BAFTA nominations for both Vera Drake and Finding Neverland. Christine’s other varied film credits include The Full Monty, Closer, The Constant Gardener, Casino Royale, Eastern Promises, Sherlock Holmes, Trance, About Time and The Fifth Estate.
More recently, Christine has worked on Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service, Brian Helgeland’s Legend, Michael Grandage’s Genius, Paddington 2, Guy Ritchie’s Knights of the Round Table: King Arthur, also Wonder Woman, Disney’s Aladdin & Bill Condon’s film The Good Liar. Christine is currently working on the new HBO TV Series, where a number of our recent graduates worked as Makeup Trainees.
Next Makeup Course 6th January 2020
Exciting News! – The KM Effects Ltd Prosthetics Studio is now in partnership with our Academy and its Expert Prosthetics Artists, including Kristyan Mallett himself, will be teaching @ our next 4 Month course, starting 6th January! What an amazing training opportunity @ CB*MA, especially if you are passionate about SFX & Prosthetics art!
And as always, linked to other course modules, you will be taught by Christine Blundell’s team of industry leading tutors, who have a wealth of experience of Film, TV and Theatre Hair & Make up.
CB*MA Short Courses Eligible for up to £3,000 ScreenSkills bursary
Applications are now also open for our Spring 2020 Short courses:
- 4 week Hairstyling, Barbering & Wig Dressing & Styling course Click Here
- 4 week Special Effects course – 1 week of Casualty & 3 weeks of Prosthetics Click Here
- 3 week Understanding of Media Makeup course, including Fashion & Period Makeup Click Here
- 3 week Theatre makeup & Facial hair application course Click Here
You may be an experienced MUA wanting to brush up on your existing skills or a complete beginner who’d rather do a short course on a specific topic. You can receive from £1,000 to £3,000 ScreenSkills training bursary, depending on your experience level.
Upcoming CB*MA Events
Learn Casualty Makeup @ Our Next Day Taster course Saturday 15th February 2020, £95 Only – Your day will be taken up with understanding the importance of Breaking down a character and creating cuts & bruises (and you will be using numerous Casualty makeup techniques to achieve this). Attending our Day Taster course is a perfect way to discover what it takes to become a Makeup artist & what’s it feels like to study at the UK’s leading Film & TV Makeup school.
Come to our next Open Evening, Thursday 27th Feb 2020 6-9pm and immerse yourself in hands-on Film, TV & Theatre Makeup and Special effects? Our Expert Tutors, who are leading UK Makeup Artists and Designers, joined by our ex Graduates and current Students, will show you basic Makeup & Casualty skills. And all that with a complimentary glass of wine – what’s not to like!
CB*MA Update December 2019
Christine has just started prepping for her next HBO The Nevers series that starts filming in January and she has invited a number of our recent graduates to be her Trainee Makeup Artists on that project. In addition, over 20 of our graduates who are now Junior Makeup Artists will also join her on set next year. They are all very excited about being on The Nevers and working alongside Christine!
And back here at the Academy, our September 4 Month course students are slowly coming to the end of their course and are looking forward to their Bootcamp week where they can demonstrate all their hair & makeup skills learnt so far, while creating different period , SFX and other looks.
We are also helping our recent graduates with their ScreenSkills Trainee Finder applications and some of them are also applying for the ScreenSkills bursaries, so they can fund their further Hair & Makeup Training at our Academy. Last year’s CB*MA graduates who are successful applicants for the Trainee finder scheme have worked on various big productions and their placements end in April 2020. Here is a testimonial from one of them:
“I have been working on a high-end TV drama called Black Narcissus which will air on the BBC. I’m working as the main team trainee and it’s been great to really get stuck in and better understand how things are run on set. ScreenSkills has been absolutely amazing! I’ve had so many opportunities come up and lots of offers from people for work in the future. So hopefully onwards and upwards.
I’d definitely say in regards to the ScreenSkills Trainee Finder application people should take it really seriously and spend good time on it, as well as their portfolio and practise for the interview. It’s worth putting in just as much effort if not more than you would for a job interview. It basically cuts that process out for the production company. “
Christina
100% of our Graduates get paid on set experience.
What Makes A Makeup Academy One Of The Best?
Follow The Steps And Find Out.
When you join our family you benefit not only from Christine Blundell’s years of experience in theatre and films, but also from the vast network of media and entertainment contacts she has nurtured, many of whom will be teaching you. In addition, all our courses are run in small groups, allowing us to focus well on each individual student. All our graduates are given the opportunity to join Christine on set, thus allowing them to gain valuable experience after completing their course.
Our Experts
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Jonathan David
Creative Director
Lavena Aroda
Art Director
Radostina Doe
Market Analyst
Kalee Wahet
Marketing Head
Seto Rolla
Product Director
Khaal Wastine
Creative Artist
Janvee Kaur
Product Manager
Jane Bullock
Creative Artist
CB*MA Graduates have worked on
To succeed in your career as a film and TV makeup artist you will need real drive and commitment, and at the Chistine Blundell Academy for Film & Television in London (CB*MA) we promise to reward that commitment by offering our industry-leading training courses and the support needed to realise your goals.
The Film & TV industry is an exacting and demanding one, but there are few industries that are ultimately as rewarding and fun as a life spent behind the scenes on a film and TV set helping to bring stories to life on the silver screen (or indeed the plasma screen!).
As long as there have been movie stars, there have have been make up artists making them look good. From the ability to make an actor appear ‘natural’ while on camera, to the ability to transform an actor completely with special effects makeup, the Film & TV makeup artist has long been a treasured part of the entertainment industry as a whole. Part art, part science, the discipline of Film & TV makeup is a wondrous craft where gifted individuals use the infinitely malleable palette of the human face and body to bring dreams into reality.
Testimonials
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