Here’s what I’ve been working on of late. The DE’s first shot of the Golden Gate Bridge has a bunch of really sloppy Photoshop work (an unfortunate theme across the director’s edition), far worse than the original digital matte by Doug Drexler, which is of course low detail, but cuts in fine at SD resolution. I would love to commission proper matte paintings for this (what they should have done for the 4K release), but I think at that point the tram probably needs to be re-rendered and it becomes quite an undertaking.

The main objection I’ve always had with this version is they’ve tried to include super tall “future skyscrapers” like the DVD version, but scaled them weirdly and they stick out: low detail gray masses that don’t match the (real) buildings that surround them at all. The twin skyscrapers and the one with the dish (?) look especially like cardboard cutouts. I’ve just removed them completely for San Fransisco’s real skyline and the result looks much better. I might try my hand at adding some fantastical ones, but I honestly like the result as-is (and now you can see the Transamerica Pyramid all that better Smile ).

I managed to fix a number of retouching errors, including where they removed the bank of the Presidio, cut off a part of Fort Point and other real weird stuff to the south side of the bridge. I also covered up the bit of the shoreline highway that they forgot about (no cars in the future!).

Here is the result (click to switch between the two). It still looks like a gummy photoshop mess, but I think it’s better.