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GREEN SCREEN
Green screen is the compositing of imagery and digital effects based on colour hues also known as chroma range. Chroma key compositing combines video frames and still images together in a scene and remove/add a background to a photo or video, most commonly used in subjects such as the weather forecast, films, tv and video games. The technique of chroma key compositing can be done with any type of colour, however green and blue are the most commonly used due to their ability to differ from human skin colours.
In the early 1970s British and American television networks slowly began to make the transition from blue screen technology to green screen technology. The reason for this being that the green colour component has a very similar level of intensity to the blue colour component. For the majority of the 20th century, travelling matte shots needed to be locked-down, so that the object that was being matted or the background image could shift the perspective of the camera. Relatively recently however, motion-control cameras were being developed with computer timed software. This drastically changed the way that things were done with green screen technology. New software and the use of digital cameras really made things easier for VFX specialists could now begin to have the foreground and background filmed with parallel camera movements.
Today, most studios design and film the background footage before production starts, later filming the actors and props against a green screen in a completely different studio. Filming a scene in two different parts today is considered normal for big budget studio film. For example in the 2013 film Gravity, 80 percent of the film was computer generated effects. There were only 17 shots in the film that incorporated live action elements, with almost every scene featuring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock being shot on a sound stage with little-to-no objects to interact with. The film was critically praised for its special effects, the film was able to seamlessly blend reality with visual effects earning the film multiple academy awards.
MATTE PAINTING
Matte painting is a painted background that filmmakers typically use for landscapes, set designs and distant locations. It is a technique that filmmakers use to create the illusion of depth and detail on a film set that does not actually exist e.g. In the film Spartacus (1960) the majority of exterior shots that feature the city of Rome are all done with matte painting backgrounds.
The first real utilisation of matte paintings in film was done by the film director Norman Dawn in his movie the Missions of California which used painted images on glass palettes as backgrounds for a lot of the movie. Subsequently, this new trend began to spread all over the industry, with major films and tv shows incorporate the technique into their productions. Films such as; Dracula, King Kong, Star Wars, The Thing and Blade Runner are all major films that have utilised the effect of matte paintings. In recent years the usage of matte paintings in film has been rare to say the least. With the rapid developments in digital technology, computer generated imagery has been able to create 3D environments and backdrops for films that matte paintings cant come close to. Traditional glass matte painting has not been used in a major Hollywood since the late 1990s (with a few exceptions).
A prime example of the use of matte paintings in film is in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) where the majority of the interior shots for the 'death star' were almost completely made up from a matte painting. The main reason that this VFX sequence is so successful is because it wisely chooses to incorporate real world elements into the image. The matte painting does not show any humans in the image so as to make it harder for people to tell the difference, then afterwards the filmmakers incorporated the real world elements into the scene. By blending reality with the illusion it makes it harder for people to tell the difference between the two.
ROTOSCOPING
Rotoscoping was developed by animator Max Fleisher in 1915. Rotoscoping is a visual effects technique that is used in film animation where the animators will trace over the live action footage frame by frame and then composite it over the live action footage so it appears like animation. This effect is used to create a sense of realism in the movements and actions of the films characters.
Originally known as 'The Fleisher Process', Rotoscoping was first used and created by Max Fleisher in his 'Out of the inkwell' animated series. After a few years of perfecting the technique, major film studies such as Walt Disney and Warner Bros began to use rotoscoping in their animated films as well. The effect can be seen in shows such as Looney Tunes and famously in the 1978 version of Lord of the Rings which was done by Ralph Bakshi. In modern cinema the technique is rarely used. The visual effects technique did not take over the industry back in the day like green screen and matte paintings did, the animation style is now something that is used outside of the mainstream that is hard to find in modern cinema these days.
One of the most famous uses of the effect in film is from A Scanner Darkly (2007). Originally the film was shot completely in the live action format. It was only after filming that the director Richard Linklator decided to rotoscope the entire film frame by frame, giving the film a distinctive animated look. The reason I think that this film succeeds in its usage of this effect is because it completely immerses you in it. If the film was partly live action and partly rotoscoping then it would be jaunting for audience members, taking them out of the experience by having to different styles. However by fully committing to the effect and utilising it properly in the film, it allows the movie to come into its own and be judged for what it is.
Green screen is the compositing of imagery and digital effects based on colour hues also known as chroma range. Chroma key compositing combines video frames and still images together in a scene and remove/add a background to a photo or video, most commonly used in subjects such as the weather forecast, films, tv and video games. The technique of chroma key compositing can be done with any type of colour, however green and blue are the most commonly used due to their ability to differ from human skin colours.
In the early 1970s British and American television networks slowly began to make the transition from blue screen technology to green screen technology. The reason for this being that the green colour component has a very similar level of intensity to the blue colour component. For the majority of the 20th century, travelling matte shots needed to be locked-down, so that the object that was being matted or the background image could shift the perspective of the camera. Relatively recently however, motion-control cameras were being developed with computer timed software. This drastically changed the way that things were done with green screen technology. New software and the use of digital cameras really made things easier for VFX specialists could now begin to have the foreground and background filmed with parallel camera movements.
Today, most studios design and film the background footage before production starts, later filming the actors and props against a green screen in a completely different studio. Filming a scene in two different parts today is considered normal for big budget studio film. For example in the 2013 film Gravity, 80 percent of the film was computer generated effects. There were only 17 shots in the film that incorporated live action elements, with almost every scene featuring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock being shot on a sound stage with little-to-no objects to interact with. The film was critically praised for its special effects, the film was able to seamlessly blend reality with visual effects earning the film multiple academy awards.
MATTE PAINTING
Matte painting is a painted background that filmmakers typically use for landscapes, set designs and distant locations. It is a technique that filmmakers use to create the illusion of depth and detail on a film set that does not actually exist e.g. In the film Spartacus (1960) the majority of exterior shots that feature the city of Rome are all done with matte painting backgrounds.
The first real utilisation of matte paintings in film was done by the film director Norman Dawn in his movie the Missions of California which used painted images on glass palettes as backgrounds for a lot of the movie. Subsequently, this new trend began to spread all over the industry, with major films and tv shows incorporate the technique into their productions. Films such as; Dracula, King Kong, Star Wars, The Thing and Blade Runner are all major films that have utilised the effect of matte paintings. In recent years the usage of matte paintings in film has been rare to say the least. With the rapid developments in digital technology, computer generated imagery has been able to create 3D environments and backdrops for films that matte paintings cant come close to. Traditional glass matte painting has not been used in a major Hollywood since the late 1990s (with a few exceptions).
A prime example of the use of matte paintings in film is in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983) where the majority of the interior shots for the 'death star' were almost completely made up from a matte painting. The main reason that this VFX sequence is so successful is because it wisely chooses to incorporate real world elements into the image. The matte painting does not show any humans in the image so as to make it harder for people to tell the difference, then afterwards the filmmakers incorporated the real world elements into the scene. By blending reality with the illusion it makes it harder for people to tell the difference between the two.
ROTOSCOPING
Rotoscoping was developed by animator Max Fleisher in 1915. Rotoscoping is a visual effects technique that is used in film animation where the animators will trace over the live action footage frame by frame and then composite it over the live action footage so it appears like animation. This effect is used to create a sense of realism in the movements and actions of the films characters.
Originally known as 'The Fleisher Process', Rotoscoping was first used and created by Max Fleisher in his 'Out of the inkwell' animated series. After a few years of perfecting the technique, major film studies such as Walt Disney and Warner Bros began to use rotoscoping in their animated films as well. The effect can be seen in shows such as Looney Tunes and famously in the 1978 version of Lord of the Rings which was done by Ralph Bakshi. In modern cinema the technique is rarely used. The visual effects technique did not take over the industry back in the day like green screen and matte paintings did, the animation style is now something that is used outside of the mainstream that is hard to find in modern cinema these days.
One of the most famous uses of the effect in film is from A Scanner Darkly (2007). Originally the film was shot completely in the live action format. It was only after filming that the director Richard Linklator decided to rotoscope the entire film frame by frame, giving the film a distinctive animated look. The reason I think that this film succeeds in its usage of this effect is because it completely immerses you in it. If the film was partly live action and partly rotoscoping then it would be jaunting for audience members, taking them out of the experience by having to different styles. However by fully committing to the effect and utilising it properly in the film, it allows the movie to come into its own and be judged for what it is.
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