Karen Duncan is the Make-up Mechanic™

Completing the connection between the high definition camera and the face.

HD cameras demand expert artistry and that is exactly what Karen Duncan brings to every long and short-form HD engagement. Known for creating a bridge between make-up and HD camera technology, Karen's work focuses on delivering the look that is essential to executing the director’s vision. 

It might surprise you to learn that Karen began her career in radio as a DJ for ten years in Nashville and Atlanta before joining her mother, Emmy® award winning make-up artist Norma Gerson in what was to become both Karen’s business and her passion.  Karen’s dad was a DJ and she set out to be one, too, while filling in as her mom’s assistant when she could. Pretty soon, she was getting jobs as a make-up artist on her own. That’s when Karen and her mom went into business together as the Gerson Group.

Fast-forward to today and Karen is still just as wildly passionate about her work as she was as a teenager just starting out. She thinks that’s so because she learned early on that make-up is best when it reveals in an authentic way, the true character that is central to the story. That’s her mom’s influence and still impacts Karen’s work. Humbly following in her mom’s footsteps, Karen is proud that she has taken what Norma taught her to a whole new level.

Intensely disliking the make-up artist label, in many ways, Karen is the un-make-up artist – the polar opposite of what you might expect. She is instead a technician, expert in creating an onscreen look that works seamlessly with the raw honesty of the HD camera. “I’ve made it my business to be at the cutting edge of HD camera technology," Karen says. "It's what separates my work and takes my skills to ever evolving new levels." A calm and collected problem solver, Karen looks at everything that will affect the end result – lighting, camera, lenses, and plans for the footage in postproduction before the first brushstroke. Each of these elements impact on the choices she makes and is what differentiates her work.

When she’s not on set, Karen is studying the technology that keeps her ahead of the curve, teaching fitness dance and running half-marathons when she can. Karen’s work as the Make-up Mechanic has been featured in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Atlanta Magazine and Clark Howard’s Big Book of Bargains.

As a speaker, guest expert and make-up coach, Karen delivers group programs where participants learn the art and science of make-up and its application. “Creating a truly lovely face and helping complete the creative vision a director has is wonderful,” Karen says. “But answering a question about make up that makes a difference in how someone feels about him or herself...that's the best feeling of all.”