Matthew Yuricich – In His Own Words

Matt Yuricich hired me by asking me, in his down-to-earth manner, if I’d like to wash some brushes and then through the years as my mentor, he became my life-long friend. He was very loyal, most of all to his family and then to his friends. Every Christmas he’d buy all the ladies at Boss Film Studios a little gift, usually a bracelet or some type of trinket and have it boxed with a ribbon and then he’d hand me a paper bag of the gifts and tell me to distribute them after he’d gone home. He said he was too shy (with a twinkle in his eye). He didn’t want a big fuss to be made over him yet he was filled with generous and caring gestures. He was a proud gentleman who was a master at his craft. He taught me that matte painting was a craft that one learned and practiced. He was also a very talented artist who, in his free time, painted beautiful landscapes for art galleries but he never really advertised or promoted himself.

I began as an apprentice on Bladerunner and the way Matt taught me was to have me sit on a stool behind him and just watch. He’d come in to the studio really early in the morning, sometimes at 4:30 or 5 a.m. and do the most important sections of the painting before the rest of us came in. I’d be in before dailies at 9 a.m. and after dailies I’d watch Matt paint for 2 hours or so and he’d explain process or point something out. He was a good teacher and patient and I am lucky to have had that kind of training. By 3 he’d show me an area on the painting that he wanted me to fill in or continue painting on. He showed me how to look at the film frame through the loop every few minutes while I was applying a stroke to make sure the blend was successful. Look through the loop, look at the painting over and over until I knew exactly what I was looking for…

…Read the Full Article @ Matte Shot

This blog is intended as a tribute to the ingenuity of the traditional matte painter where movie magic was created entirely by hand. Some of the shots will amaze in their grandeur and epic quality while others will surprise in their ‘invisibility’ to even the sophisticated viewer. I hope this collection will serve as an appreciation of the artform and both casual visitors and those with a specialist interest may benefit, enjoy and be amazed at skills largely unknown today

NZPete

I have gone further back into the archives of Matte Shot – A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX to feature even more articles from this great site, so  I hope you enjoy this wonderful journey we’re on together.

PJ Max