- PITCH A PAINTING
MAX DENNISON WAS THE HEAD OF MATTE PAINTING FOR WETA ON THE LORD OF
THE RINGS TRILOGY. HE EXPLAINS HIS APPROACH TO A NEW MATTE PAINTING
© Max Dennison- PUT THE DEVIL IN THE DETAILS
Colour, perspective and detail are all key when it
comes to professional matte painting. “Colour and
perspective are derived from reality,” explains Max
Dennison. “Perspective is either right or wrong and
the audiences’ eye will very quickly pick that up.
Colour comes from nature. If you research your
theme well, you’ll be able to put the right colour in
the right place at the right time.” But how much
detail to put into an image often stumps even
talented artists. “This needs to be done with good
judgement, experience and an awareness of
screen space,” Dennison explains. “Often, students
of matte painting will labour for days or even
weeks filling the screen with unnecessary detail.
However, the eye is extraordinarily intuitive. A good
matte painter can lead the eye around the screen© Max Dennison
and keep it in one position for the entire length of
the shot. That means that you only put detail into
those areas where the eye travels. Everything else
is superfluous. I once watched Doug [Ferris] and
John [Grant] at Magic Camera ‘muddy’ up a
colleague’s painting after he had left for the night
because it was too crisp with detail which
ultimately wouldn’t photograph correctly.”In your mind’s eye: “Some clients are very happy with a
first pass,” says Dennison, “but others like to explore a range of options first. However, my process is to
describe a concept as ‘shot on film’. What I mean is that the concept should strictly adhere to the same rules as
the final painting. Perspective, colour, composition, lens and photographic constraints, and most
importantly exposure are vital as this stage”A vision to follow:out of ten, we will have a live plate – the live action Dennison explains that “Nine times
component which has been shot by the production. Additionally, we might receive some concepts or
layouts from production or editorial which are loosely put together with the director’s approval”Holistic approach: “I’m not sure I have a
style,” says Dennison, “but I expect that others might say that I do considering that I
can tell other painter’s work a mile off. What I try to achieve is a holistic approach to my
work. Design is my starting point. I mock up very quickly a rough [version] of my matte
painting,” he explains of his workRough it up:brush in Photoshop gets me efficiently onto the right This loose rough version, created “with a thick
track,” says Dennison, “but it also allows the client to approve something and buy into an idea before too much
effort has been employed. Design is a collaborative process and client involvement at this stage is very important”Freedom to create: “Other times,” he continues, “we will
get nothing except a loose description of the shot: ‘... A mountain, with some snow at the top and a lush jungle at
the bottom’. The latter method, for me, is probably the best as it allows the matte painter to express their own unique
creativity. With an artist’s instincts and foreknowledge of what will work in such a situation, the matte painter can
conjure up something far more visceral and believable...”Invisible objects:time,” says Dennison, “planets, cities, castles, skies, “I’ve painted a lot of things in my
clouds and so on. But I guess I prefer to paint things that are natural and invisible. The greatest
enjoyment is to know that I’ve fooled the audience and kept them suspended within the story”