Urban Landscapes – Part One

Matte Shot – a tribute to Golden Era & Traditional Special Effects is a tribute to the artistry and ingenuity of traditional matte painters, this collection celebrates the hand‑crafted movie magic that once shaped cinema — from grand, epic vistas to invisible effects even seasoned viewers might miss. It’s designed for both casual fans and dedicated enthusiasts, offering a renewed appreciation for skills largely forgotten today.

So, here’s the latest from the Archives of Matte Shot …

Greetings friends and fellow matte painting fanatics, it’s well and truly time to clutter up internet servers and bog down your data usage as NZPete enthralls you with yet another mammoth entry in this eye opening cinematic artform. This month I have put together what I hope will be a fascinating and comprehensive look at the urban landscape and associated architecture that traditional era matte artists have created, often without us, the audience, being any the wiser. I’ve assembled a large selection of matte shots – some of which you might have seen and a great many of which have not been illustrated until now – the result of which I’ve split this article into two parts to accomodate it all.
I had originally included historic urban views as well but have pulled those aside to include in an upcoming blog tentatively titled Great Moments in World History According to the Matte Artist. Some great stuff to be had there folks.

I’ve always had something of an amateur interest in ‘painted’ architecture, in particular the more classic, traditional variety, so there is a healthy collection of such matte shots featured below amid the more avant garde and modernist constructions. Classical fine painters such as the Italian master Canaletto still leave me in awe with his draftsmanship and precision in perspective (I especially love the masterpieces rendered during his English period, though as usual I digress…). As far as the films illustrated here today, matte painters from all of the Hollywood studios as well as their British counterparts are included, though as is often the case, so many of the fine mattes from the Golden Era are sadly anonymous as far as authorship goes, with sometimes as many as 8 to 12 individual painters employed at any one time at some of the big studio matte departments such as 20th Century Fox, MGM and Warner Bros., especially during the heyday of 1940’s. I’ve been more successful at pinning down the individuals responsible in much later years as the studios trimmed their effects departments down to just one or two painters…

…Read the Full Article @ Matte Shot…