 |
|
|
|
Book
Review by Don Shay
Like
most aspects of visual effects, the art of movie matte painting
has been transformed by technology, to the point that 'before
digital' and 'after digital' techniques and end products seem
only distantly related. Today, a matte painting can be a full
environment -- a three-dimensional collage of images and textures
over, through and around which a camera, without film or lens,
can be flown with total freedom. Not all that many years ago,
a matte painting was ... well, a painting.
Matte
paintings were among the earliest visual effects tools; and for
decades, filmmakers used variations on the theme to affordably
alter and expand movie settings, both interior and exterior. The
era of traditional matte painting was comprehensively and elegantly
chronicled in The Invisible Art, by Mark Cotta Vaz and
Craig Barron, published in 2002, a must-have volume for anyone
with a love for the art and history of visual effects.
|
A
companion volume now exists. Peter Ellenshaw, one of the
Michelangelos of matte painting, has produced Ellenshaw
Under Glass -- a mammoth coffee-table book filled with
photographs and artwork and recollections spanning the entirety
of his 80-plus years. Ellenshaw suggests that his love of
painting dates to his World War I childhood, when he and
his sisters were hustled under a kitchen table, with paper
and crayons to amuse themselves, whenever German zeppelins
made bombing runs over London. Having taught himself to
paint by copying the old masters, Ellenshaw eventually approached
the only artist he knew of -- pioneer matte painter and
effects artist W. Percy Day. Ellenshaw spent seven years
with the curmudgeonly master, learning the art and craft
of visual effects on high-profile Korda productions, before
setting off on his own. Eventually his work caught the eye
of Walt Disney, who hired him to do matte paintings on his
first live-action films, produced in England. The artist
recalls creating 62 matte shots in 27 weeks for one of them.
With no firm prospect of employment, Ellenshaw moved his
family to the United States, where he soon made a career
for himself within the Disney organization, working closely
with the studio's gruff patriarch, who took an almost fatherly
interest in the ambitious young artist.
Ellenshaw
Under Glass is not a technical treatise on matte painting,
or even a comprehensive account of Ellenshaw's considerable
body of work, but rather a personal memoir. He does, however,
explain the fundamentals of matte painting, from vintage
on-set glass paintings to dupe-negative optical composites
to original-negative matte shots -- citing a near disaster
on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in delineating the
risks of the latter approach. He also explains -- and illustrates
with details from a painting he created for Spartacus
-- the impressionistic art of incorporating just enough
detail into a matte painting. Too much is as bad as too
little.
|
|
|
Ellenshaw
offers fascinating chapters on his early work with 'Pop' Day,
and provides anecdotal, if not comprehensive details on such Disney
classics as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Darby O'Gill and
the Little People and Mary Poppins. Photographically,
the book is a marvel -- 334 pages of matte paintings, concept
art and behind-the-scenes photos, seasoned with personal photos
and mementos. Happily, Ellenshaw was not one to throw things away.
Bruce
Gordon and David Mumford -- who collaborated with Ellenshaw on
the book -- explain in an afterword that the original intent was
to have Ellenshaw write only a outline, which they would then
flesh out into book length. By the time he finished with it, however,
Ellenshaw's 'outline' was so rich with detail that it was already
book length -- and it needed only to be shaped and polished. Ellenshaw
writes with a clipped, short-hand style. Thoughts and memories
cascade onto the page. He talks to himself in italicized asides
-- often self-deprecating. Incomplete and run-on sentences abound.
Setups and segues are sparse. Though the style is jarring at first,
the text is endearingly conversational -- as if the reader is
sitting in Ellenshaw's living room listening to him reminisce
while he pages through a lifetime's worth of scrapbooks. As a
writer, Ellenshaw has a singular, if unconventional, voice --
and Gordon and Mumford are to be commended for not 'improving'
upon it.
|
Whether
recollecting his childhood in England, his early days in
the movie business, his wartime experiences as a pilot,
his long and fruitful years at Disney, or his second career
as a fine art painter, Ellenshaw flavors his text with warmth
and wit. A man of artistic temperament and conviction, Ellenshaw
was ever forthright in his views and not averse to butting
heads with his professional elders -- but never with Walt
Disney, whom he clearly revered. In the end, Ellenshaw
Under Glass is a valentine to the artist's longtime
employer and friend, and to his beloved wife Bobbie, his
muse and mate of 58 years, whose death, before this book
was completed, broke his heart -- but not his spirit.
|
|
|
Ellenshaw
Under Glass is available in two editions -- standard and deluxe
-- the latter being a slipcased edition with a novel cover that
provides a fitting visual pun for the book's wry title. Copies
of this limited-edition work may be purchased online at www.ellenshawbook.com.
|
|
Eyetronics™ (www.eyetronics.com)
provides 3D scanning and modeling services based on its proprietary
portable hardware systems and software for feature films (Gothika,
Master and Commander, Lara Croft Tomb Raider II: Cradle of Life,
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Freddy v. Jason, Agent Cody
Banks, Bulletproof Monk, James Bond's Die Another Day),
TV (Alias, Star Trek: Enterprise, Angel, Buffy the Vampire
Slayer) and games (The Getaway, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?).
Call (800)-205-9808 for more information.
|
 |
|
-
The
Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Variety reports
that Rhythm & Hues will be the lead visual effects
house on Disney's and Walden Media's C.S. Lewis children's
fantasy adaptation, directed by Andrew Adamson, scheduled
for release in 2005. With Bill Westenhofer and Doug Smith
as visual effects supervisors, Bill Kroyer as senior animation
director and Erica Burton as visual effects producer,
R&H is slated to deliver approximately 700 shots.
Weta Workshop and KNB EFX Group are also involved. Principal
photography is due to begin in June.
-
Spider-Man
2: Click
here to read a Dark Horizons report about an impressive
seven-minute presentation of Spider-Man 2 at ShoWest
in Las Vegas, and here
for a more detailed account at CHUD.com. The film, whose
release date has been pushed forward two days, to June
30, appears to be generating lots of positive buzz. Moviehole.net
reports that Columbia has already sprung sneak previews
of Spidey 2 on lucky audiences in Australia.
-
Tremors
5: Stampede Entertainment report S.S. Wilson and Brent
Maddock have almost completed the screenplay to their
fifth giant, carnivorous worm movie, which will slither
into production pending the success of the recent direct-to-video
release of Tremors 4: The Legend Begins.
-
Star
Trek: Ain't It Cool News reports Paramount and producer
Jordan Kerner are prepping a trilogy of prequel movies
to their all-but-ossified Star Trek franchise.
Moviehole.net elaborates: "...the first film's about
a civil war, the second film's devoted largely to the
galactic switch-over from a fission standard to fusion,
and then there's a third film where we'll finally see
an Ensign Kirk show up for all of about the last 20 minutes.
Just Kirk. Nobody else. And no Enterprise."
There is speculation that the filmmakers are considering
digitally cloning William Shatner's head onto a younger
actor's body.
-
Batman
5: ChristopherNolan.net reports genre favorite Rutger
Hauer will have a cameo in director Christopher Nolan's
upcoming Batman Begins. The spy also describes
conceptual designs for one of the film's villains, the
Scarecrow, as a disturbing, hatless visage with hollow
eye sockets, and mentions that Warner Brothers is planning
to release the first images of Christian Bale in Batsuit
this summer -- unless another Internet spy beats them
to it.
-
Shaun
of the Dead: When there's no more room in hell, the
dead will go to the pub. Click
here for a new trailer to this British 'horror comedy'
whose title character embarks on a zombie killing spree
in the streets of London to impress his girlfriend. From
director Edgar Wright and the makers of the acclaimed
British sitcom Spaced, the film opens in April
in the U.K. No sign of a U.S. theatrical release yet.
-
Spectral
Motion: Click
here for a Moviehole.net interview with Mike Elizalde,
president and co-founder of Spectral Motion, discussing
his company's formation, its inaugural work as an independent
creature and effects house on the soon-to-be-released
Hellboy, and its current work on director David
Goyer's Blade: Trinity.
-
Star
Wars 3: AICN reports that the latest rumored -- and
probably bogus -- title for George Lucas' next movie is
Star Wars Episode 3: The Creeping Fear. This follows
other recent Internet candidates, including Rise of
the Empire, Birth of an Empire and Revenge of the
Sith. StarWars.com has meanwhile released images here
of the packaging for the original trilogy four-disc DVD
boxed set, coming this September.
-
The
War of the Worlds: According to New Zealand newspaper
The Dominion Post, Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise
are rumored to be considering New Zealand as a location
for their upcoming H.G. Wells adaptation. Speculation
stem from reports that Cruise was interested in returning
to Kiwiland after his experience with The Last Samurai,
and that Spielberg visited Rotorua with a film crew in
October 2003. Louise Baker, acting chief executive of
the local film development organization Film NZ, states
that she has 'not even heard a whisper.'
-
Stray
Toasters: Variety reports visual effects studio
The Orphanage will produce and provide visual effects
for this feature film adaptation of a Marvel Books graphic
novel by Bill Sienkiewicz, whose art has been described
as resembling 'the inside of a migraine.' The film will
be directed by Jeff Renfroe and Marteinn Thorsson, from
a script by Sienkiewicz, Renfroe and Thorsson. The story
is a 'futuristic noir thriller' involving a mentally unstable
detective, the serial slaying of housewives and their
young children, and a possibly inhuman culprit.
-
Mission:
Impossible 3: The Hollywood Reporter related
that Frank Darabont has chosen to accept the mission to
write the screenplay for the latest Mission: Impossible
adventure for Paramount, producers Tom Cruise and Paula
Wagner, and director Joe Carnahan. Darabont replaces Robert
Towne -- co-writer and writer, respectively, of the first
two entries -- who began to the write the third, but departed
to focus on a long-stalled pet project, Ask the Dust,
finally slated for production.
-
IMATS:
Makeup Artist magazine reports that Harry
Potter makeup effects designer Nick Dudman and members
of the makeup team from Hellboy will be keynote
speakers at the 8th Annual International Make-up Artist
Trade Show, to be held at the Pasadena Convention Center,
June 12 and 13. Click
here for more details.
-
Weta
Digital: New Zealand website Stuff.co.nz reports Weta
Digital is making several racks of its IBM blade servers
available for rental, in partnership with Telecom Advanced
Solutions. The article reports Weta Digital currently
owns 1600 servers incorporating 3200 processors, as well
as 500 workstations and 70 terabytes of online storage.
Work on the extended DVD version of The Return of the
King is due to be completed by April 5.
-
Australian
Effects & Animation Festival: If you haven't had
your fill of Middle Earth, Australia's upcoming animation
festival, to be held in Melbourne on June 1-2, will have
a presentation, per Digital Media World Magazine, by Oscar-winning
Weta Digital visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri, who
will discuss the groundbreaking visual effects in the
Lord of the Rings trilogy. Letteri will be joined
by other creative talents behind such movies at Big
Fish, Master & Commander and Hellboy.
|
|
|
 |
|
