matte painting
AT&T “Parkour”
This past May, I worked at Motion Theory producing enhanced backgrounds and set extensions for at set of three AT&T commercials based around the urban gymnastic sport, Parkour. The individual commercials were called, “Friends”, “Around the House”, and “Movement”. The above image is one my favorites for these spots, from “Friends”, which was unfortunately only briefly used as an inset on a lap top screen. See the raw untreated plate to the left.
Two of these commercials can currently be seen online at the website of the designers, Sanders\Wingo Advertising. To view “FRIENDS” or “AROUND THE HOUSE”, click the name.
Gravity Weapon X
Honestly, I have nothing against the Eiffel Tower or Paris! It just seems that every modern disaster movie has to destroy this landmark, including an unnamed, and as yet unmade, broadcast feature I was briefly contracted to develop concepts for. The movie was about a “gravity weapon”, the after effects of it’s misuse, and the struggle of the good guys to put an end to the machine and its perpetrators.
In the above image, the hero is racing around the world trying to put a stop this gravity weapon, and finds himself caught in it’s after effect, an inverted gravity “push”, while flying a helicopter over Paris. He suddenly has to fly for his life through the floating Eiffel Tower itself! Also, freak weather accompanies these “pushes”.
Two more concept images to follow shortly.
End of Nations
End of Nations is a soon to be released MMORTS (massively multiplayer online real-time strategy) game. If you were a PC gamer in the late 1990′s you probably played Total Annihilation, and if you enjoyed it as much as I did, then you’ll probably love this game as well.
At Farmer Brown, I got the opportunity to work on the CG trailer for the game; designed to introduce and advertise the game at E3 and to act as an early cinematic. I created matte paintings of destroyed New Jersey docks to be projected on 3D geometry for the NY fight sequence, and well as creating the 2D middle part of the destroyed London overhead/pullout shot. The central part of the shot was created in 3D by another artist, I just destroyed in the rest. Check out the new game trailer below.
Percy Jackson: Hellywood
In late 2009 I got the opportunity to work at Pixomondo on the feature, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief as a digital matte painter. The studio was awarded the shots of the reverse underworld version of Los Angeles. As an internal joke, the famous Hollywood sign changes to ‘Hellywood’ once Percy and friends pass through it, but this is not obvious in the movie.
One of my first duties was finalizing the matte painting for the above shot. The matte painting had been under development by at least three (count ‘em) other artists before I came on board the project. I was handed two pages of type written notes in an 8-point font to address before beginning anything. Most of the notes were in regard to the city and the lighting, but I had to completely redevelop the cliffs for the open chasms. Above is the actual background matte painting I worked on.
One of my specialties seems to be rocky cliffs, which I had to develop for these shots, as the show VFX Sup and Director had as specific look in mind – long jagged vertical faces. I sourced an island in Tasmania which I’ve used in the past (Underworld: Evolution), and everybody was pleased. So my responsibilities for the two shots below were just for the cliffs. The city and sky were developed by a combination of either Thilo Ewers, Richard Lee, or Matt Conway. The matte paintings were projected in 3D by John Lindstein, and rendered out for comp.
See the three finished shots below.
Air Force “CSAR”
“CSAR” is the third commercial in a series for the U. S. Air Force, and highlights combat search and rescue (CSAR), and shows the teamwork involved to locate, communicate with and recover downed aircrews and isolated personnel. Each commercial spot is portrayed in a cinematic, sci-fi environment and then revealed in the end to be missions that are not science fiction but rather what the men and women in the Air Force do every day.
I created matte paintings for several shots, including a large (12K x 4.7K) horizontal aerial image for the opening shot with the aircraft, a large (8K x 12K) vertical aerial image for the drop with the paratroopers, a tree top image (3.8K x 2.9K) when the troopers begin to land, and a large horizontal forested landscape (above, 9.6K x 2.7K) for use in the main shots. All of these matte paintings were created with use in 3D projection and compositing in mind. Meaning, I worked through masks/alphas in Photoshop to generate the images, a process I normally employ. Working through this method is particularly challenging with trees and other organic twisted multi-armed shapes.
I also created several look development images to translate the look/feel of the forest from the initial impressionistic concept images to something more photographic. One being shown above along with the concept. I went through several revisions to get the desired look, which many times was lesson in reading between the lines, as direction was often conflicting and multi-sourced.
The 30-second spot began airing Oct. 5, 2009 on the Adult Swim, BET, Comedy Central, ESPN, ESPNews, FX, FOX Soccer, G4, MTV, NFL, Speed, Spike TV, TBS, USA and History channels.
Air Force “UAS”
In May of 2009, I worked on a national Air Force commercial at Psyop, which highlights the technology of the Air Force unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). It aired nationally the week of 6.30.09 in television markets and select movie theaters across the country. The “UAS” commercial depicts a futuristic look at war and how what was once considered science fiction is now reality for the U. S. Air Force.
I created one very large (6K x 2.7k) matte painting of a barren Mars-like mountainous landscape (above), as well as three other supporting/related matte paintings and sky assets for this commercial. Shown are three of the matte paintings, four stills from the film using these matte paintings, as well as the commercial itself.
The Storm – Matte Paintings
From February to April in 2009 I was employed primarily as a Digital Matte Painter at LLP Digital, Inc. working on The Storm. The Storm is a two-part broadcast feature about a weather manipulation weapon, the people who want it, the people who want to stop it, and the consequences of its misuse. It aired July 26 and August 2 on NBC.
Shown here are a composite of a tornado assaulting Anchorage, AK and the assosciated plate, a matte painting of a very snowy Las Vegas, the Taj Mahal (also very snowy) and it’s plate, a multi-car pile up, and a major news network anchor desk.
Meteor – Matte Paintings
From June to December 2008 I was employed at LLP Digital, Inc. primarily as a Digital Matte Painter on Meteor, a four-hour miniseries where two scientists discover that the giant meteor Kassandra, approximately three times the size of Mt. Everest, has been knocked out of its orbit and is now barreling straight for Earth, as showers of smaller meteorites begin to lay waste to major cities around the globe. It aired in two parts on July 12th and 19th on NBC.
The bulk of my tasks as a Digital Matte Painter on this project involved inflicting meteor impact damage on large cities and various environments, as well as creating straightforward background plates for multiple establishing shots. All of the environment matte paintings displayed here are not final, and have not been composited with actors or effects elements.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
On the 2008 feature, The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, I created several desert backplates for the film. Shown here is a still from the film featuring two zombie armies charging towards each other, including the original backplate. The matte painting was projected, and re-rendered in 3D by another artist.
Another of my duties included creating clean backplates for many of the desert fight sequences. In other words, removing the actors and dudes in green pajamas so that they can be replaced or integrated with the visual effects. I worked on over 20 such shots. Shown here are stills from the film, the clean plates I created, as well as the original plates. One may ask, why weren’t clean plates simply shot during production? But then we wouldn’t have movie magic, would we! 
Midway Games “Blacksite Area 51″
A frame from the commercial for the game, Blacksite Area 51. The budget for the shoot dictated that many elements for this commercial be created in post. I created a destroyed set extension for the foreground house as well as replacing the sky and creating several destroyed town elements for the background. Shown are the matte painting, the plate, and the commercial itself.
Hairspray
T his is a shot of an aerial view of 1960′s Baltimore for the opening sequence of the 2007 feature, Hairspray. The shot initially began as a helicopter shot of present day Baltimore, but all modern architectural elements and non-period buildings had to be removed to transform the city to a 1960’s version.
It was determined that converting this shot into a large-scale digital matte painting would be more effective than tracking myriad painted elements into the shot. Besides mysef, four other matte painters, modelers, and texture artists created this 2.5D matte painting.
My responsibilities included in-house supervision and set up of the projected digital matte painting process, as well as creating digital matte paintings for the close-up buildings at the end of the shot. Photoshop, Maya and Mental Ray were used to execute the process.
Hidden Valley Ranch “Neighborhood”
This is a digital matte painting I did for two related Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing commercials, “Fairground “ and “Neighborhood “. I used several projected matte paintings to give the impression of passing out of this valley over hilly terrain, while maintaining the feeling of a 2D bottle label.
I worked closely with another matte painter, Patrick Mullane, who contributed the sky for this image.
Kawasaki “Ninja: Going Home”
This is the matte painting I did for the ending shot of, “Going Home “, a national commercial for Kawasaki USA intended to introduce the latest model Ninja motorcycle. Multiple elements for the hero house, race track, and neighborhood were shot on location in GA. I put all these disparate elements together with a nice dusk lighting over.
Underworld: Evolution – Werewolf
For this shot from Underworld: Evolution, I used camera projection techniques to turn a locked off plate into a fully “3D” hallway set, filling in all of the many (at least 75%) details that were unseen within the plate.
55 frames of movie magic!
Images present are of the wireframe over the projected plate, the plate itself, and the 3D texture after projection.
While this may not be a traditional matte painting, I feel it’s an example of the kind of “3D” matte painting becoming more and more required in today’s post production.
Underworld: Evolution – Fortress Environment
As a Digital Matte Painter on the 2006 feature, Underworld: Evolution, I used Photoshop to initially create mattes for the surrounding mountains and sky. I then broke the individual mountain ranges apart into layers, applied them as surface shaded textures in Maya to specifically laid out and conformed 3D cards, where they were rendered in sequences with Mental Ray.
The Cave
The Cave is where I made the leap from 3D Texture Artist and Modeler to Digital Matte Painter! I was initially given the task of texturing and modeling a digital set extension, but due to the uniqueness of the physical set construction (i.e. unrealistic) and the art direction (“the Grand Canyon underground”), matte paintings turned out to be a better solution.
The large image (with digital/rubber monster) was quite difficult to execute, and required the hard work of many people, which paid off, as it is one of the best visual effects shots of the film. I created the background using as set of 3 different mattes, each painted in perspective, and mapped on to 3D planes for rendering.
In the other shots I created background matte paintings, with the actress, Piper Perabo, and slice of set she’s on are the only “real” elements visible. The “Charlie’s Death” sequence for this show was quite challenging, as the physical set was VERY limited, and required over 36 individual 2D and 2.5D set extensions and mattes.
The Firefly Man – The Film
The Firefly Man is a pagan fairy tale that celebrates the cycle of life and death through the story of an elderly hermit who is isolated by loss and then transformed by reunion. The production utilized an unusual and experimental combination of animation techniques including an animatronic version of an eighteenth century form of Japanese puppetry: bunraku, which requires multiple puppeteers operating manual rods for intricate lifelike movements. The puppets were animated from within miniature models, backdrops and sculptural elements, and then layered with 2D and 3D digital animations. The goal of uniting these disparate techniques was to merge them both visually and conceptually while paying tribute to the historical and contemporary processes of storytelling though animation. Since the eleven-minute short has no dialogue, the story is conveyed through sequential happenings compromised of classic symbols and southern gothic archetypes. Production was completed in October of 2002.
The Firefly Man – About
MAKING OF
The animated short initially started as an in-house promotional piece for Alternate Route Studios in Cary, NC where the Director/Writer, Todd Fjelsted, and I were employed together – he as a scenic artist and I as a digital artist. We were put together to develop the project, and found ourselves a good creative match! Sadly, after initial development, the studio decided not to continue the short. But Todd and I, already immersed in the film, decided the project still had vast merit, so chose to continue developing the project ourselves, and were fortunate enough to gain the “official” blessing and support of the studio.
Even with this generous offer from our employer, it was difficult to internally find all the resources and people necessary to continuously develop the film, so we had to seek outside support and talent to join the production. We gained surprisingly enthusiastic response at every turn, and eventually the production turned into a vast “community arts project”, with artists and individuals from many different disciplines and walks of life contributing their time and talent to making The Firefly Man come to life.
Of course, my responsibilities included all aspects of post production! Where as VFX Supervisor/Director, I not only acted as lead 3D artist, but directed a team of five talented students in their first filmmaking experience, ensuring a consistent style and level of quality throughout. As well as 3D Supervision, I also handled many 2D tasks; creating matte paintings, rear-screen backdrops, and compositing some of the most difficult shots. As Producer, and with some key ARS help, I managed and developed The Firefly Man’s access and distribution to film festivals nationally and world wide.
BROADCAST AND DISTRIBUTION
As part of their Virtue and Vice Film Season, The Firefly Man played before the film, Black Narcissus, on Saturday July 7th, 2007 at the Sainsbury Wing Theatre of the The National Gallery in London (UK).
The Firefly Man has been nationally broadcast on The Sundance Channel on January 7th-28th and and September 23-26th, 2006.
The film was officially released on DVD in shorts! volume 2 from The Film Festival Collection in October, 2004. The DVD is a diverse group of award winning short films showcased at film festivals all over the globe. Featuring some of the best shorts seen at the Aspen ShortsFest, Cannes Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, Starz Denver International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and more . . .
The Firefly Man was first broadcast online at AtomFilms.com in March, 2004, and was in their top 20 animated drama downloads for some time, but is not longer available for viewing. It has also received consistently high viewer ratings throughout. AtomFilms (Atom Entertainment) works with creative independent content developers to find and publish the very best casual games, short films, and video. You can view the film in streaming Windows Media or RealPlayer formats, and check out some of the great reviews it’s received while there.
The Firefly Man was an official selection of the following film festivals:
| WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival Houston, TX – USA Gold Remi Award – Animated Independent Short Subject April 12th, 2003 |
Philadelphia Video Festival Philadelphia, PA – USA June 14th, 2003 |
| Philadelphia Video Festival Philadelphia, PA – USA June 14th, 2003 |
DancesWithFilms Los Angeles, CA – USA July 31st, 2003 |
| Teulluride International Film Festival Telluride, CO – USA August 31st, 2003 |
St. Louis International Film Festival St. Louis, MO – USA November 18th, 2003 |
| Taos Picture Show Taos, NM – USA April 4th, 2004 |
AEAF Short Film Festival Melbourne, VIC – Australia June 1st, 2004 |
| ASIFA Colorado Children’s Summer Animation Festival Boulder, CO – USA August 12-19th, 2004 |
1 Reel Film Festival Seattle, WA – USA September 5th, 2004 |