Matte Paintings

A matte painting is a painted representation of a landscape, set, or distant location that allows filmmakers to create the illusion of an environment that would otherwise be too expensive or impossible to build or visit. Historically, matte painters and film technicians have used various techniques to combine a matte-painted image with live-action footage. At its best, depending on the skill levels of the artists and technicians, the effect is "seamless" and creates environments that would otherwise be impossible to film.

Percy Jackson : Hellywood

 One of my  Tim Matney's first duties was finalizing the matte painting for the above shots. The matte painting had been under development by at least three other artists before he came on board the project. He 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 he had to completely redevelop the cliffs for the open chasms. Above is the actual background matte painting he worked on.

One of his specialties seems to be rocky cliffs, which he had to develop for these shots, as the show VFX Sup and Director had as specific look in mind – long jagged vertical faces. He sourced an island in Tasmania which he had used in the past (Underworld: Evolution), and everybody was pleased. 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.