About the Documentary

Watch Setting the Scene, a documentary produced by Alcalde Docs for the Texas Exes. The film explores the history, artistry, and preservation of the Hollywood Backdrop Collection at The University of Texas at Austin. Through interviews with faculty, students, and museum professionals, the documentary introduces the collection and explains why these paintings remain important today.

The documentary explains how painted backdrops extended film sets and created convincing worlds long before digital effects. It highlights iconic examples, including the Mount Rushmore backdrop from North by Northwest. It also notes that Hollywood studios relied on painted backdrops in countless productions through the early 2000s.

Viewers learn how MGM Studios organized backdrop production on an industrial scale. Scenic artists worked around the clock in three shifts to meet the demands of film production. The documentary also explains how artists developed specialized painting techniques that allowed enormous canvases to appear realistic on camera while remaining nearly invisible to audiences.

Preserving the Collection

The film follows the conservation and educational work taking place at The University of Texas at Austin. Students describe learning traditional scenic painting techniques from experienced artists. They also explain the care required to restore historic backdrops using original materials and methods.

Setting the Scene highlights the many students drawn to the collection. Participants come from fine arts, theatre, engineering, computer science, design, and other disciplines. Together, they study the paintings while learning techniques that continue to influence creative practice today.

The documentary concludes with the world premiere exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art. The exhibition featured 20 backdrops from The University of Texas at Austin and two from the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Karen Maness explains that these paintings represent the work of highly trained scenic artists whose contributions often went unrecognized. By preserving, digitizing, and sharing the collection online, Setting the Scene helps ensure both the paintings and the artists who created them remain part of Hollywood history.

Watch Setting the Scene by Alcalde Docs for the Texas Exes: