Interview with Dylan Cole By Tavy Ann
took a chance on me with my limited experience and I had an absolute blast. After that things really snowballed.
Interview
Tavy: Of all your film work, what are you the most proud of and why? Dylan: I am probably most proud of the work I did on Return of the King. I am not sure if it is my best painting, but I think I am proud because I contributed a lot to the film. I was fortunate enough to be able to create some pretty iconic shots. Alan Lee and Jeremy Bennett had a lot of faith in me and trusted me with some challenges. It was also the longest I have been involved with a project. I learned a lot while working on that film, it was fun to contrast the first paintings I did for it with the last ones. There was a definite improvement.
Copyright New Line Cinema , 2004
Copyright New Line Cinema , 2004
Tavy: What is the most challenging aspect you have found in painting for a film in contrast to still painting? Dylan: I think the hardest thing is to let go and realize you are just creating one shot in a big film and that it has to fit. When painting for film you really have to think about context and continuity. You need to know what is going on in the scene, and what cuts surround your shot. When you are doing a painting for yourself, you can do whatever you want and take whatever license you need to. When you are doing painting for film, often times your painting is meant to just enhance the live action and not be the star. The audience is looking at the actor doing his or her thing, not your beautifully painted mountains in the background. Obviously not all matte
Copyright New Line Cinema , 2004
paintings are like this. There are the fun occasions when you get to create the big hero shot. Tavy: What kind of concepts, emotions, etc. do you try and convey in each painting? Dylan: Well this really depends on the shot. I try and get as much information as possible about what is going on the scene. For example if it is supposed to be a celebration
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scene, then I probably won't paint a dark, stormy sky. I just try and do what I can to enhance the mood of the scene. I naturally tend toward the high drama shots, probably because of my love for the Hudson River School artists such as Bierstadt and Church. Tavy: Let's got back to "Return Of The King" for a moment. When working on this film what was your schedule like? How much time did