The Invisible Art The Legends of Movie Matte Painting

by Vaz, Mark Cotta; Barron, Craig

• ISBN13: 9780811845151
• ISBN10: 081184515X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-09-02
• Publisher: Chronicle Books

Summary

Now available in paperback,The Invisible Artprovides an unprecedented retrospective of matte art painting -- the unsung hero in the fast-paced world of cinematic visual effects. Until recently, matte-painting techniques were closely guarded secrets kept locked up on studio lots.The Invisible Artflings open the gates to reveal the finest representations of matte paintings from rare examples seen in epics such asGone with the WindandCitizen Kaneto prove that the brush is mightier than the computer, as seen in such blockbusters asStar WarsandTitanic. Lavishly illustrated, the book's tremendous scope unveils a century's worth of fascinating stories, legendary personalities, and cunning movie craft from the first pioneering "glass shots" to the dawn of digital technology. Including a foreword by George Lucas,The Invisible Artconjures a never-before-told story of film wizardry.

Author Biography

Mark Cotta Vaz recently completed his 19th book, a biography of Merian C. Cooper, creator of King Kong which is scheduled to be published by Random House in 2005. Vaz's books on movie history include Industrial Light + Magic: Into the Digital Realm , which

Craig Barron has been an innovator in the cinematic technique of matte painting for the last two decades, playing a key role in the effects for films from The Empire Strikes Back to The Last Samurai. A veteran of George Lucas's effects company, Industrial Light + Magic, Barron now heads Matte World Digital. He is currently creating the visual effects for an Imax film on the Universe for professor Stephen Hawking. Barron lives in Marin County, California.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. 11
Preface	p. 13
Introduction	p. 14
The Kingdom of Shadows	p. 29
Trick Man	p. 39
Worldly Hope	p. 53
Wonderful Magic	p. 63
Dream Factories	p. 83
To War and Back	p. 103
The Big Picture	p. 127
The Way of the Artist	p. 157
The Force	p. 181
Sudden Impact	p. 225
Epilogue: The Lost Art	p. 272
Interviews	p. 276
Notes	p. 277
Acknowledgments	p. 280
Picture Credits	p. 281
Index	p. 282
About the Authors	p. 290
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