The art of the glass shot or matte painting is one which originated very much in the early ‘teens’ of the silent era. Pioneer film maker, director, cameraman and visual effects inventor Norman Dawn is generally acknowledged as the father of the painted matte composite, with other visionary film makers such as Ferdinand Pinney Earle, Walter Hall and Walter Percy Day being heralded as making vast contributions to the trick process in the early 1920’s.
Boiled down, the matte process is one whereby a limited film set may be extended to whatever, or wherever the director’s imagination dictates with the employment of a matte artist. In it’s most pure form, the artist would set up a large plate of clear glass in front of the motion picture camera upon which he would carefully paint in new scenery an ornate period ceiling, snow capped mountains, a Gothic castle or even an alien world.
Boiled down, the matte process is one whereby a limited film set may be extended to whatever, or wherever the director’s imagination dictates with the employment of a matte artist. In it’s most pure form, the artist would set up a large plate of clear glass in front of the motion picture camera upon which he would carefully paint in new scenery an ornate period ceiling, snow capped mountains, a Gothic castle or even an alien world.
- 5/27/2012
- Shadowlocked
Like most British dramas about the monarchy, The King's Speech skates over the less savoury aspects of royal history
The King's Speech is another addition to the royal family's filmography, a vast body of work that has played an underappreciated but insidious role in maintaining support for the monarchy.
The royal family – always the worst judges of their own self-interest – initially discouraged the production of dramatisations of themselves by making their displeasure known to those censors who vigorously policed stage and screen. In 1937 the lord chamberlain even issued a formal ban on the portrayal of sovereigns on the stage until a century after their accession. This was undoubtedly meant to prevent dramatists writing about the recently abdicated Edward VIII. It did, however, mean that depictions of Queen Victoria could be shown on stage for the first time, as she came to the throne in 1837. Prior to that, even harmless dramas...
The King's Speech is another addition to the royal family's filmography, a vast body of work that has played an underappreciated but insidious role in maintaining support for the monarchy.
The royal family – always the worst judges of their own self-interest – initially discouraged the production of dramatisations of themselves by making their displeasure known to those censors who vigorously policed stage and screen. In 1937 the lord chamberlain even issued a formal ban on the portrayal of sovereigns on the stage until a century after their accession. This was undoubtedly meant to prevent dramatists writing about the recently abdicated Edward VIII. It did, however, mean that depictions of Queen Victoria could be shown on stage for the first time, as she came to the throne in 1837. Prior to that, even harmless dramas...
- 1/11/2011
- by Steven Fielding
- The Guardian - Film News
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