How Matte Paintings were utilized in Robert Zemeckis’ film ‘The Walk’

Here is a great article about the vfx work in ‘The Walk’ wherein Visual Effects Supervisor Kevin Baillie of Atomic Fiction explains how it was all done. I am also very excited to see some of my work showcased in this article as well. Having been there in the beginning at ImageMovers Digital while it was being visualized in the early concept art stages and then to be called back to work on it years later by Kevin during the final stages of visual effects production was a very special opportunity for me to be involved in this movie which has been called a love letter to the twin towers.

Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) takes a quick break in 'The Walk'

Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) takes a quick break in ‘The Walk’

Step-by-step: a walkthrough of The Walk

Walking The Walk in Virtual Reality

Walking The Walk

Philippe Petit (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) prepares to take his first step out on the wire in Robert Zemeckis’ thriller, The Walk.

I was most delighted to find that my work on Robert Zemeckis’ film The Walk will be available in IMAX as well as in VR. I have not yet seen it, but have only heard that it is quite dizzying. If you are afraid of heights, proceed with caution.. or at least bring along a brown paper bag just in case.

The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, is the story of French high-wire artiste, Philippe Petit.

SEE THE ORIGINAL STORY HERE:

Drew Struzan talks movie posters and #theforceawakens

One of the common misconceptions regarding commercial art these days is that ALL of it is produced digitally. Well, after reading this article and finding that one of the true masters of the art form of movie poster art is still doing it the “old fashioned way”, it gives one hope.

Drew Struzen’s response when asked about the medium he chooses for his movie poster art:

“There’s a connection between human beings when you turn a pot or bake a cake or put a brush to a canvas. The humanity transfers to other people, and the computer loses that transference and that relationship. So I gotta do it with paint. I do it with scratches. I do it with fingerprints, I do it with water. I do it with all kinds of things that are natural, human and that connect with you. So it’s not just a picture, it’s a whole lot more than that and the computer doesn’t do all that. So I’m sticking to what I do :-)”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE:

SWTFA

 

NY Film Festival to open with Robert Zemeckis’ feature film The Walk!!!

I am really proud to have been a part of this awesome project!

The Walk

Matte Painting for The Walk


It is this shot in particular (when Philippe Petit is laying down across the wire) which I spent countless hours getting just right! I can’t take all the credit though. I had an amazing team of matte painters, compositors, and lighters to work with too 😉

Traditional Matte Paintings from the original Star Wars trilogy

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away.. actually it was really very close. Let me start over. Quite some time ago, I was captivated by the art of matte painting when my grandfather gave me a book for my 18th birthday called Industrial Light & Magic: The Art of Special Effects. It was one of the best books I’ve ever read about visual effects in movies besides The Invisible Art: The Legends of Movie Matte Painting which really goes into depth about the history and tradition of the art and craft of matte painting. In this article, we see some of the matte painters and their shots from the original Star Wars movies.

Millenium Falcon