A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to talk with artist Jett Green. Back in the 80’s she worked for Industrial Light and Magic and created a huge number of matte paintings for some iconic films, including Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom (1984), Star Trek: The Search for Spock (1984), Howard the Duck (1986), Labyrinth (1986), and Willow (1988). Amongst her colleagues in the matte painting department were two former podcast guests, Craig Barron and Michael Pangrazio, as well as Chris Evans and Frank Ordaz.
Only in her twenties in 1984, she was thrust into an already Oscar winning company with very well established artists around her. “They were like my brothers”, remarks Jett, pointing towards the well known familial culture at ILM.
She could easily have been a “bit overwhelmed at ILM while learning her craft under Pangrazio and Evans, [but] her remarkable talent allowed her to always create amazing shots” says Craig Barron, who at the time was a matte painting camera assistant. Barron later cofounded Matte World Digital with Pangrazio.
Jett explained in the case of the large matte painting depicting a cliff for Temple of Doom, that she started it, Michael made some changes to it, adding some lighting additions and Chris Evans made it look more “punchy”. Working on a painting together wasn’t the norm. “It wasn’t unusual and it wasn’t regular… we did anything to get the job done” she says, indicating the need to find a solution and finish the work to the highest possible standards.
Learning was very much on the job, “Chris Evans would bail me out if I screwed up. And I screwed up”, she adds without embarrassment, understanding from an early age that you only learn from your mistakes.
Her flair for vibrant, memorable paintings is evident in much of her later work, after she graduated from simple scene extensions. Take a look at some examples below…
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“It took me about three years [to get confident]. And I remember on Howard the Duck of all films… the telescope… I just found a way to extend it and do it. And I either used a photograph or projected it. I don’t know. Whatever decision making I did, I did on my own. And, Michael and Chris, they were not there to help me. And I remember Dennis Muren said to me… ‘it was looking good’“.
Jett eventually came to grips with digital tools in the 90s having originally said “No f***ing way” to something that might take her away from her beloved traditional painting. She went on to work extensively for Dreamworks on movies like How to Train your Dragon (2010) and Rise of the Guardians (2012), concluding that working in digital was “… kinda cool actually. It only took me a second to do a grad where it used to take me three days… with an airbrush… and I don’t have any paint on my clothes“.
Jett now lives in Maui and works at a gallery where she showcases her work.
Listen to the entire conversation here if you prefer Apple Podcasts or here if you like Spotify. Alternatively you can hit the player at the top of this page to listen right away!
*Many thanks to ILM for the watermarked photos of Jett at the top of the article. Used with permission. Copyright Industrial Light and Magic.
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