EXECUTION

In the following examples of how digital matte paintings are utlilized, 2003's The Last Samurai and 2000's Bicentennial Man display how motion mattes can present both an old and futuristic look to embrace the viewing audience into another space and time.

The Last Samurai (2003)

The greenscreen plate was shot on a backlot with Tom Cruise and Billy Connolly walking out of an alleyway as the camera pans and cranes up.

Illustrated here is the 3D model artists at Matte World built to create the 3D Matte Painting.

The finished shot showing the streets as they appeared in 1876 complete with CG cable cars, horses and carriages. The people added to the distant street and sidewalks were shot on the Matte World greenscreen stage with extras dressed in authentic period clothing.

Bicentennial Man (2000)

The Golden Gate Bridge, as it currently appears, is photographed with a cinematic camera, elevated downward to Fort Point below. Note the absence of any skyscraping buildings across the bridge in Marin County.

The finished and futuristic Golden Gate Bridge from the film Bicentennial Man (starring Robin Williams) is given a two-tiered roadway, a futuristic water tanker, and the City of Tiburon is now a thriving, skyscrapered metropolis across San Francisco Bay.