Matte Painting Shots

Mary Poppins used the old technique of Matte Paintings to add additional buildings/extras to the scene in the movie. 

Here are some great websites l have found on Google which examples Matte Painting:

- http://nzpetesmatteshot.blogspot.co.uk/2010/07/mary-poppins-supercalifragulous-visual.html

Some things from the website above (^) that caught my eye and really interested me: 

The writing under the matte images of the scene images says "The beauty of the sodium vapour travelling matte system is the ability to matte such fine object's as diaphanous material such as the veil on Mary's hat with perfect results and almost no annoying fringing. Disney borrowed this technique from Rank Laboratories in England and it was to be a mainstay on almost all Disney features involving travelling mattes up until the late 70's often to exasperating levels where in some shows like "Herbie Rides Again" and "Island at the Top of the World" it is used in virtually hundreds of shots - often when it wasn't even really needed".

^That is crazy knowledge to know. This took a while to understand but after realising what it meant, its a real shock to know and I find it fascinating because they had to be so creative and clever with these techniques, they had no CGI computers to use. - They had to do it the hard way which is why I find it so fascinating.

- http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=4qF5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT767&lpg=PT767&dq=mary+poppins+matte+shot&source=bl&ots=QFaLZ1i4qE&sig=3JTrSvTq8cDQLWCD_VKXQitaZVA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=j7MRVLH3KJDsaPzCgfgO&ved=0CE0Q6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=212&f=false

^ Again I am using "Techniques of Special Effects of Cinematography" the book really has some good useful information.

Videos on YouTube explaining how special effects was made for Mary Poppins l personally find them so intriguing because you see clips in the video of the original drawings/planning's. 

This video is a clip of the movie getting a oscar for the visual effects in Mary Poppins:

^ I thought this was interesting because it does seem like the original footage and shows that they film got a oscar for the visual effects. - thought that was pretty amazing. 

Making of Mary Poppins going to through the sets with Richard Sherman. 

- This video shows you clips of how they filmed scene's using just the actors and props but blocking the background out with black. (1 minute 45) < this explanation scene.

Also with this clip you get the original images of how they worked together creating the film, and images of music sheets: 

Bit of Chroma key compositing:

My Bed Sheet Green Screen

The most exciting aspect of making videos, at least for me, is incorporating visual special effects. Ever since I started making videos for classes, I’ve yearned to do compositing, or chroma key. Even if you haven’t heard of chroma key, you’ve probably seen what it can do, either in the latest big-budget blockbuster or while watching the weatherman point out a front rolling across the Midwest. Basically, chroma key involves filming an image, usually a person or people, before a screen of a uniform color, e.g., blue, green, or, in the case of the movie Mary Poppins and some other Disney movies, yellow. A matte is used to screen out the blue, green, or yellow color so that the original image is superimposed upon another below it, whether it be space-dwelling aliens or a map of the Midwest. The two images are seen as one. 
^ - The website I found this piece of information from: http://www.aallnet.org/mm/Publications/spectrum/Spectrum-Online/making-movies.html


Chroma key in the movies actually dates back to before the second world war, with the 1940 release The Thief of Baghdad earning praise for its use of the technique. Vlahos refined the technique, using it for Ben Hur and Mary Poppins. He received a special award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science in 1964 for his work on the system.
^ - The website: http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2013/02/19/chroma-key-pioneer-petro-vlahos-dies/