The Artist at Work

There isn’t much in this world which thrills me as do photographs or video footage documenting the matte painter actually at work creating some form of movie magic – even more so when that material harks from the golden era of Hollywood and British special effects work, which sadly isn’t often a treat we are privy to very often, mainly due to the secretive nature of this sort of work at the time.

This blog article will take a well deserved trip down memory lane as we look at a great many examples of the matte artist at work on glass shots from across the decades with some truly memorable artwork and practitioners therein.

Regrettably, as already mentioned, behind the scenes matte set up images from the older era films are as rare as hens teeth, so some pictures here I’ve borrowed from other sources out of necessity. Most matte art documentation associated with George Lucas and his cohorts are perhaps over represented simply due to the availability of published information that has come about largely since the release of STAR WARS in 1978 which saw publications such as Starlog, Fantastic Films, Cinefantastique, Starburst and later on, Cinefex which would dedicate page space to these effects and interview celebrity matte specialists such as Whitlock, Yuricich and Ellenshaw jnr who were more than happy to finally have a voice and a receptive medium.

…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