About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherChronicle Books

ISBN-100811831361

ISBN-139780811831369

eBay Product ID (ePID)1859136

Product Key Features

Book TitleInvisible Art : the Legends of Movie Matte Painting

Number of Pages288 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicGeneral, Techniques / Cinematography & Videography

Publication Year2002

IllustratorYes

GenrePerforming Arts, Photography

AuthorMark Cotta Vaz, Craig Barron

FormatMixed Lot

Dimensions

Item Height1 in

Item Weight76.5 Oz

Item Length1 in

Item Width1 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN00-050840

TitleLeadingThe

ReviewsSome of the most memorable settings in Hollywood film - Tara, Oz, Xanadu - were the sleight-of-had creation of matte painters, who laid down a scene with oil paints on a sheet of glass, leaving an area black (the matte) where the live action was slotted in. Pioneers of the genre like the aptly named Norman Dawn were unimpressed by such three-dimensional concoctions as D.W. Griffith's mammoth Babylon for "Intolerance." "No matter how big you make your sets," Dawn boasted, "I can make them 10 times bigger." For a hundred years, the magicians of matte worried that revealing their secrets would ruin the pleasurable illusions of filmgoers. Nnow that digital technology has made matte painting obsolete, this eye-opening book (with CD-ROM included), by a film historian and a matte-painting alumnus of George Lucas's studio, has the opposite effect; it increases our wonder at this heretofore "invisible art." The Wizard of Oz may be exposed, but his Emerald City - along with other shimmering images on glass from the silent era to the star wars series - retains its magic. - New York Times

Dewey Edition21

Grade FromEighth Grade

Dewey Decimal791.43/025

Grade ToCollege Graduate Student

SynopsisA richly illustrated history of the stunning visual effects created by the finest matte painting artists explores the origins and evolution of this key filmmaker's art, its use in paintings ranging from Gone with the Wind to Titanic, and some of its outstanding achievements and artists., Since the birth of cinema, movie-makers have created stunning special effects by combining still "matte" paintings with live-action film. Matte painting techniques were closely guarded secrets that never left the studio lot. In this unprecedented retrospective, Mark Cotta Vaz and Craig Barron reveal the history of a visual effect that has defined movies as we know them-from Gone with the Wind and Citizen Kane to Star Wars and Titanic . Lavishly illustrated, The Invisible Art showcases the finest examples of now-rare matte paintings and unveils a centurys worth of fascinating stories, legendary personalities, and cunning movie craft. Including a foreword by George Lucas and a CD-ROM that brings to life these moving pictures, this volume is packed with exclusive interviews and a narrative that time travels from the first pioneering "glass shots" to the dawn of digital technology. The definitive book for the consummate movie fan, The Invisible Art conjures a never-before-told story of film wizardry.

LC Classification NumberND2885.V39 2001