Ryan Coogler is giving audiences a rare look at how Sinners began to take shape long before cameras officially rolled.
The filmmaker recently released previously unseen footage from the film’s hair and makeup test, personally narrating the three-minute video and walking viewers through one of the earliest creative stages of the production. Shared through his Proximity Media banner, the footage was filmed before the start of principal photography.
In the clip, Coogler explains that hair and makeup tests are a standard step in the filmmaking process, allowing actors to appear in costume and character while multiple departments evaluate how the look of the film translates on camera.
“A hair and makeup test is something pretty much all movies and television shows do a few days before the first day of principal photography,” Coogler says in the video. “It’s a big day.”
The footage shows actors stepping in front of the camera while costume, hair, and makeup teams experiment with different looks for their characters. Performers rotate through what filmmakers call a “turntable,” appearing from multiple angles so the creative team can study how wardrobe, hairstyles, and makeup interact with lighting and the camera.
Costume pieces designed by Academy Award winner Ruth E. Carter appear throughout the test, while hairstylists and makeup artists refine the visual identity of each character. For the cinematography team, it’s also an opportunity to see how actors and costumes appear in the same large-format cameras that would be used during filming.
But beyond the technical work, Coogler says the day holds special significance for him as a director.
“It’s the first time I get a glimpse of what these actors might look like as these characters,” he explains in the footage.
The test day also becomes an opportunity for actors to begin exploring their roles. As the footage shows, performers experiment with dialogue, movement, and chemistry while the crew continues shaping the film’s visual world.
Reflecting on the moment, Coogler says it was one of the early signs that the film could resonate with audiences.
“This was one of those days early on where we realized that we might really have something special that audiences could latch onto,” he says.
By sharing the footage, Coogler continues a pattern he’s maintained throughout Sinners’ release — pulling back the curtain on the filmmaking process and giving audiences a deeper appreciation for the craft behind the film.
The footage shows that what audiences eventually saw on screen started long before the first shot was filmed — in rooms where artists were experimenting, collaborating, and discovering the characters together.