Why is the study of Matte Painting important to modern visual effects artists? 

Course Code/Course Title: FX211 Matte Painting                                                        

Course Description: Starting with traditional painting and set design techniques for creating matte paintings that will be incorporated into a broadcast or film effect, students will design backgrounds, environments, and scenery creations. This course will also introduce students to the history of matte painting.

Course Competencies:

• Using additive and subtractive techniques and traditional media create black & white and color hue charts.
• Describe fundamental use and creation methodology for use of matte painting in film and video.
• Employ watercolor and gouache painting techniques to create background matte elements to be incorporated into a film plate.
• Create a series of matte plates composited from photographic elements, original concept art, and found elements.
• Identify cinematic milestones using matte painting techniques during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
• Demonstrate ability to create original art to be converted to a digital format for use in video post-production and digital matte.

Matte painting a relatively straight forward way to create certain visual effect for multiple needs or reason.Protect actors; safety issues
Create environs that no longer exist or never existed.
Save money (For example: set extensions)

Matte painting is one of the first and longest lasting techniques that visual effects artists have used.

All visual effects artists should know this technique. (It is expected. For example: a carpenter should know what a saw or a hammer is in the world of carpentry.)

Why have some knowledge of film history and masters of matte painting?

          To understand how masters solved technical or artistic problems.
          To understand their techniques and tricks.
          To know a body of films and projects that you can go to for reference or inspiration.
          To discover and then employ old techniques that can be adapted to digital technology.

Why be able design, to set up (supervise) and /or do matte shots?

          Make you more valuable to an employer.
          Save money and time – by having more tools and techniques available to you.
          More creativity and fun!
          Solve production problems!

How do you identify when matte shots could or should be used?

          When you need to protect actors – safety issues
          When you need to create environs that no longer exist or never existed.
          When you can save money (set extensions or environments

To do this effectively you must understand the technique

          Understand how matte shots are constructed
          Know the different ways matte shots can or have been done (to extrapolate how they could be used or done with           current technology)
          Be able to design a matte shot
          Know how to set up and document a matte shot

Why create a series of matte plates composited from photographic elements, original concept art, and found elements?

          To give you practice and confidence in the techniques.
          To practice compositing: maintaining contrast, perspective and color between all the elements.

Why be able to employ watercolor and gouache painting techniques to create background matte elements to be incorporated into a film plate?

          Flexibility. You can still do painting or solve visual problems even when you do not have a computer.
          Make you more valuable as an employee.
          Another tool of expression

FX211 Course textbook:

          The Invisible Art  (Hardcover) by Mark Cotta Vaz & Craig Barron
           http://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Art-Mark-Cotta-Vaz/dp/0811831361

 

Additional recommended texts:

Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects (Hardcover) by Thomas G. Smith
http://www.amazon.com/Industrial-Light-Magic-Special-Effects/dp/0345322630/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

Special Effects: The History and Technique  (Hardcover)  by Richard Rickitt
http://www.amazon.com/Special-Effects-Technique-Richard-Rickitt/dp/0823084086/ref=pd_sim_b_img_1

Matte painting links:

http://www.matteworld.com/projects/siggraph01.html

StopMotionAnimation.com

Matte Artists (traditional)

MattePainting.org

 

Additional Links:

The Visual Effects Society unveils “50 Most Influential Visual Effects Films of All Time”
http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/documents/ves50revelfin.pdf

Student matte painting examples

FX 211 matte Painting assignments:

To be posted. E-mail instructor