Matte Magic
May 24, 2022
Ron
Matte paintings have been used to produce visual effects in movies from nearly the beginning of movies themselves. By the late 1930s the use of matte paintings to advance the cinematic experience and cut studio costs was already a highly-refined mainstay of Hollywood production, but while the matte technology has evolved over the years (green screen usage and digital capabilities, etc.), the basic principle remains virtually the same.
To simply explain, when a particular visual effect is required for a film, a matte painting is created by an artist with a blacked-out area where (separately-filmed) live action is to be inserted, and then the two images are combined to seamlessly construct a whole image. This short video explains the process brilliantly, and in the simplest of terms that anyone can follow.
Here we can see how a matte painting was employed for a scene in MGM's 1939 Technicolor masterpiece, "Gone With the Wind". And below, of course, is the famous reveal of Emerald City in the other 1939 MGM masterpiece "The Wizard of Oz" (here's a study of the mattes used in the "Oz" production).
For further analysis on the use of matte paintings in movies, I highly recommend the following.
History of Matte Painting
Matte Painting
Movie Magic — Matte Painting
What is Matte Painting
HIGHLIGHTING A MASTER
Peter Ellenshaw was a master visual effects artist with a legendary reputation in Hollywood. Ellenshaw was signed by Walt Disney in 1947 to work on "Treasure Island" and remained with the company for the rest of his professional life. A noted painter of fine art in his own right, he became famous for the hand-painted mattes he created for films like "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" and "The Black Hole". He was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning the Best Special Visual Effects Oscar for "Mary Poppins" in 1964. The following documentary about Ellenshaw not only illuminates the life of this great artist, but the art form that he helped create.
[NOTE: I'm providing two versions of the same Ellenshaw documentary: this version and the installments listed below.]
Peter Ellenshaw - Matte Painter / Part 1 of 6
Peter Ellenshaw - Matte Painter / Part 2 of 6
Peter Ellenshaw - Matte Painter / Part 3 of 6
Peter Ellenshaw - Matte Painter / Part 4 of 6
Peter Ellenshaw - Matte Painter / Part 5 of 6
Peter Ellenshaw - Matte Painter / Part 6 of 6
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