Chapter 14
Welcome to the Circus
Personalities and the Work Environment
During my matte photography days, I had the advantage of observing set etiquette and hierarchy from a safe observation point. When I shot matte painting plates, the members of our effects crew were the “guests” of the production. We brought our own exotic camera, such as VistaVision and were set apart from the main production unit. By the time the director and actor were ready for us we were ready for them, and their main concern was the performance of the actors. There was no discussion of camera placement because it had been worked out ahead of time, and since it was such an exotic setup no one dared offer up alternatives out of fear of making a mistake.
This system ...
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