ABSTRACT
Ever since the birth of celluloid, optical illusions and special effects have been parts of the filmmaker’s repertoire. From Gone With The Wind and Citizen Kane to Star
Wars and Lord of The Rings, matte paintings and virtual sets have either wowed us
or sat in front of us without us ever knowing they were there. This chapter will briefly
explain what each term means, and provide an example for you to follow along with.
A matte painting is a fabricated environment that is intended to blend into a real set or exterior that has been recorded to film or video. This technique was popularized by Star Wars in 1977. One scene that used a matte painting was an overhead angle looking straight down on Obi Wan Kenobi sabotaging an electrical panel suspended high over a seemingly endless pit. The actor, floor and electrical panel were real, but the surrounding walls and bottomless pit were painted onto a glass plate with a hole in the center that framed the action. In the following example, we will be using two video clips, one digital photo, Photoshop, and a little help from After Effects to place an actor high atop a snow-covered mountain.
