The Illusionists of Illusion Arts

With my long held admiration for Albert Whitlock and his particular modus operandi, it’s natural that when the renowned matte department at Universal Studios closed down in the mid eighties following Whitlock’s retirement that I continue my interest in the artists and cameramen so vital to Al’s latter day success as they ventured out on their own in an arguably overpopulated American based visual fx community.

 Today’s blog is a tribute to the remarkable talents of visual effects cinematographer Bill Taylor, ASC  and matte painter Syd Dutton.  In addition to a look at Bill and Syd will be some recognition to several other key members of the former Whitlock unit who, would form the backbone of Illusion Arts – a new specialist matte effects company with figures such as key grip Larry Schuler, optical cameraman Dennis Glouner and matte camera assistant Mike Moramarco all of whom came from Universal’s old Whitlock matte department as well as important latecomers such as matte effects technician Lynn Ledgerwood  (shown below far right) and matte artist Robert Stromberg.

…Read the Full Article @ Matte Shot
A Tribute to Golden Era Special FX

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

This site is over 15 years old and 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 please, like me, I hope you enjoy this wonderful journey.

PJ Max