tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post5793021448910458192..comments2024-03-03T15:05:00.965+13:00Comments on Matte Shot - a tribute to Golden Era special fx: IN SEARCH OF THE CASTAWAYS - Ellenshaw goes all out.NZPetehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-10333838722234470782019-04-17T05:24:33.045+12:002019-04-17T05:24:33.045+12:00Thankfulness to my father who shared with me about...Thankfulness to my father who shared with me about this website, this website is <br />truly amazing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-48675218797308294112018-07-28T22:38:31.277+12:002018-07-28T22:38:31.277+12:00I wish you'd do a post on 20,000 Leagues.........I wish you'd do a post on 20,000 Leagues......Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-81211200648993771892017-08-14T03:00:59.221+12:002017-08-14T03:00:59.221+12:00I saw this film when I was 11,bought the E. P. and...I saw this film when I was 11,bought the E. P. and L.P,a book with quality photos, and a comic. I still have the colour badge with Hayley Mills on from the Odeon cinema. Therefore, I was really interested in the blog. Thank you! Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05617579898516501924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-37869642288062487112014-02-11T00:20:59.165+13:002014-02-11T00:20:59.165+13:00Wonderful! This has always been one of my favorite...Wonderful! This has always been one of my favorite films! Thanks so much for all your efforts.<br /><a href="http://www.modahairdesignandspa.com/MHProducts.php?Cg=Gift+Cards" rel="nofollow">best hair color in davie</a>Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13922778139651502979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-77099374772124539822014-01-19T14:04:19.942+13:002014-01-19T14:04:19.942+13:00Hi Simon
Thanks for that great commendation on my...Hi Simon<br /><br />Thanks for that great commendation on my matte site - it's appreciated.<br />Aside from mattes and miniatures, I still love old time prosthetics and make up fx, with the great Dick Smith being my favourite inspiration and others such as John Chambers, Bob Keen, Gianetto Di Rossi, Rick Baker and of course Richard Taylor being true visionaries in the field.<br /><br />On matte reproductions, I'm fortunate in having a number of high resolution original images taken directly off the actual artwork at my disposal - courtesy of the original matte artists - many of which I have enlarged and study in detail. <br /><br />All the best<br /><br />Peter<br />NZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-52617758895429723542014-01-17T17:46:24.443+13:002014-01-17T17:46:24.443+13:00Pete, firstly I would like to thank Harrison, once...Pete, firstly I would like to thank Harrison, once again his candor and generosity, sorting out art, scanning annotating and sending all those images along with a fine interview is no easy task, it helps that a very knowledgeable interviewer/archivist of this art form knows exactly what to say and to ask those questions that the audience would want answering, a sign of true appreciation.<br />Im particularly looking forwad to the ILM article, i am wondering what Harrison will bring to the table, Harrison, Mike Pangrazio, Chris Evans and Macquarrie were my first introduction to this craft, so naturally they became an obvious target for my fandom and hero worship as an 8 year old, ...sorry guys, there's always someone younger, right?<br />Bizarrely after emigrating to wonderful New Zealand 3 years ago, my pal Gino mentioned that Mike was working down the road from me!! small world the F/X community, still.<br /><br />On closing, I wish, there was a way to own large 1:1 prints of these things, you know, previously published mattes from books do not enlarge well, i know, i tried.<br /><br />Thanks nzpete, for another outstanding article and for introducing me to another largely unknown set of beautiful Ellenshaw works.<br />Simon Rosehttp://www.simonrosefx.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-20672114387742054702012-11-12T20:32:46.274+13:002012-11-12T20:32:46.274+13:00Pete, I'm sorry. I didn't want to rush you...Pete, I'm sorry. I didn't want to rush you, nor did I want to sound like your wife ;-)<br />I was simply afraid, that something happend to you or your wonderful blog and just wanted to be sure that everything is allright. Take all the time you need. Still, it has to be fun.<br /><br />And now hurry up! In Germany we call it "Zack, zack" ;-)Thomas Thiemeyerhttp://www.thiemeyer.denoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-13236786212864114872012-11-12T12:58:29.458+13:002012-11-12T12:58:29.458+13:00Hi Thomas
You sound like my wife - "fix this...Hi Thomas<br /><br />You sound like my wife - "fix this, why haven't you done that job, do that chore Peter..."<br />It's hard to always stay 100% motivated, but don't fear, as I have the ISLAND article all ready to go (and several others too) with lots of wonderful Ellenshaw and Maley material. I've really got to be in the precise mood to make it happen. Hopefully this week it'll appear online.<br /><br />PeterNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-63486266352727973642012-11-11T20:52:12.521+13:002012-11-11T20:52:12.521+13:00Nothing happening here for 47 days! Pete, I sincer...Nothing happening here for 47 days! Pete, I sincerely hope, you don't have lost interest in your utterly fantastic blog.<br />Best wishes,<br />ThomasThomas Thiemeyerhttp://www.thiemeyer.denoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-7325754182839491762012-11-05T01:06:47.727+13:002012-11-05T01:06:47.727+13:00Hi Spencer
We've not had a chat in ages and i...Hi Spencer<br /><br />We've not had a chat in ages and it's good to hear from you and I always appreciate your expert professional input. I'm actually keen on CASTAWAYS and consider it in the top shelf of Disney FX shows so I'm not sure where you think I'm "harsh" on the film. Peter Ellenshaw's son, Harrison, didn't think much of the film as he mentioned in the interview.<br /><br />Interestingly, Disney used both Sodium and Blue Screen processes on the 1974 epic ISLAND AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD for a huge number of comps, and the reasons for this will be all detailed in my next blog out soon.<br /><br />All the best<br /><br />Peter<br /><br />NZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-26489862689710851092012-10-30T04:16:01.818+13:002012-10-30T04:16:01.818+13:00You were a bit harsh when talking about this film....You were a bit harsh when talking about this film. Of course I saw this at the proper age (I was 8 years-old) on its initial release and I was so upset when the film ended I cannot tell you. <br /><br />Many years later in the early days of VHS movie rentals (when I was sharing a house with some make-up effects guys) I rented a copy much to the amusement of my friends. They reacted with revulsion and amazement saying, "A DISNEY kiddie flick starring Hayley Mills!?!?!" We ran it first and it was the hit of the evening. Hayley Mills out-did Indiana Jones (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK had just come out) and managed to out-do him. <br /><br />Also virtually every other shot was a sodium Vapor traveling matte, a stunning matte painting, a miniature, or some combination of the three. You could tell it was sodium vapor on the big screen since the mattes had better detail than the color footage. That is even more evident in the Harryhausen MYSTERIOUS ISLAND especially in the balloon sequence. The reason Ray Harryhausen relocated in the UK was to use the sodium vapor process and Walt Disney had the only sodium vapor set-up in the USA. The beam splitters (it reflected only the wavelengths produced by the sodium vapor lamps) were of a batch created in the UK and in spite of Disney spending a fairly sizable chunk of money on replicating them they never had much success. <br /><br />The matte paintings really are amazing.<br /><br />Spencer Gill (opticalguy1954@yahoo.com)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-52105426751311239272012-09-27T01:25:32.877+12:002012-09-27T01:25:32.877+12:00Thanks for posting. I remember seeing this film on...Thanks for posting. I remember seeing this film on 16mm in a local film club for kids sometime in the late 70's. I think I was 6 or 7 years old, and I was truly flabbergasted at the whole adventure. The images from the film stuck to my brain ever since and was one of the main influences for me wanting to work in movies. I immediately ordered the dvd from amazon and plan on showing it to my kids next weekend ;-)Pederhttp://www.pederpedersen.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-77341766208789301562012-09-26T11:42:17.932+12:002012-09-26T11:42:17.932+12:00Hi Steve
Yes it is sad, but that's the way VF...Hi Steve<br /><br />Yes it is sad, but that's the way VFX is headed. It's all done on laptops by 20 year olds spread across the globe now it seems.<br />The GOOD news is that this very blogsite will be publishing a 'Matte Art & Miniatures of Matte World' blog in the near future. Craig has graciously offered images of all of MWD's traditional era mattes and miniature shots to me, and I would be honoured to try to do Craig and his talented people justice with this tribute. As they say in the movies, 'Watch This Space'.NZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-91112089139351874942012-09-26T02:32:45.147+12:002012-09-26T02:32:45.147+12:00Don't know if people heard, but Matte World Di...Don't know if people heard, but Matte World Digital recently closed shop.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-16880259317321980052012-09-25T19:04:15.234+12:002012-09-25T19:04:15.234+12:00Hello Pete,
wonderful as always. One of my absolu...Hello Pete,<br /><br />wonderful as always. One of my absolute favorites when it comes to matte paintings. The other, you guessed it already, is "Island at the top of the world", which I like a little better, simply because of the story. Both have this naive charm, which can only be enjoyed, when viewed with the eyes of a child. I showed Island to my son Max when he was about 6 and it is still one of his favorite movies. If he had seen it later, he probably would have laughed at me. I guess todays boys and girls are is so sophisticated and saturated, they simply have forgotten how to be amazed. <br />Disney films never have had a strong story - with the exception of 20,000 Miles perhaps. But what they’ve got, was this "sense of wonder". Nothing about them was perfect: neither the actors nor the effects or the screenplay. But they were bold and ventured to subjects that fire up your imagination: adventures, fantasy, mystery, natural disasters, science fiction. But you need to have an effects mastermind like Peter Ellenshaw to get them done on budget. Unfortunately, these kind of movies seem a bit out of fashion, except maybe, if you watch the films of Hayao Miyazaki. I, for my part, would like to preserve this children's view for myself, this ability to wonder.<br /> <br />Thanks for bringing back those memories.<br /><br />Kind regards,<br />Thomas<br />Thomas Thiemeyerhttp://www.thiemeyer.denoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-86484065001702519392012-09-25T15:18:58.225+12:002012-09-25T15:18:58.225+12:00Howdy Steve
I asked Harrison about this exact mat...Howdy Steve<br /><br />I asked Harrison about this exact matter recently, and sadly he says he has no idea and in his words "wouldn't be surprised if Disney themselves had no idea either". I do know that The Black Hole is getting a makeover as we speak but aside from that, no clues.<br /><br />PeterNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-40366240663447764802012-09-25T15:16:56.500+12:002012-09-25T15:16:56.500+12:00Hi Mike
Thanks for that. Yeah, i like it too and...Hi Mike<br /><br />Thanks for that. Yeah, i like it too and as I said, Peter's mattes are astonishing. Really a neglected film which alot of people don't know about.<br /><br />PeterNZPetehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13863364769084676156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-11796896758350807682012-09-25T04:43:55.821+12:002012-09-25T04:43:55.821+12:00I know that Disney has recently undertaken a massi...I know that Disney has recently undertaken a massive project to scan/lightly cleanup/preserve their entire film library. Would Harrison have any news Peter's Disney film's being released on Bluray ?Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7063592677187148799.post-71272266816423548132012-09-25T04:27:01.629+12:002012-09-25T04:27:01.629+12:00Wonderful! This has always been one of my favorite...Wonderful! This has always been one of my favorite films! Thanks so much for all your efforts.<br />Mike Goldberg<br />Nashville, TN USAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com