Weta Workshop
Encyclopedia
Theatrical property
A theatrical property, commonly referred to as a prop, is an object used on stage by actors to further the plot or story line of a theatrical production. Smaller props are referred to as "hand props". Larger props may also be set decoration, such as a chair or table. The difference between a set...
company based in Miramar, New Zealand
Miramar, New Zealand
Miramar is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, south-east of the city centre. It is on the Miramar Peninsula, directly east of the isthmus of Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport.-History:...
, producing effects for television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
.
Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, Weta Workshop has produced creatures and makeup effects for the TV series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is a television series, filmed in New Zealand and the United States. It was produced from 1995, and was very loosely based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles...
and Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess
Xena: Warrior Princess is an American–New Zealand supernatural fantasy adventure series that aired in syndication from September 4, 1995 until June 18, 2001....
and effects for films such as Meet The Feebles
Meet the Feebles
Meet the Feebles is a 1989 black comedy film directed by Peter Jackson. It features Jim Henson-esque puppets in a perverse comic satire. Like Henson's Muppets, the Feebles are animal-figured puppets assembled together as members of a theatre troupe...
and Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures
Heavenly Creatures is a 1994 film directed by Peter Jackson, from a screenplay he co-wrote with his wife Fran Walsh, about the notorious 1954 Parker-Hulme murder case in Christchurch, New Zealand. Filmed on location in Christchurch, it features Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet in their screen debuts...
. A digital division, Weta Digital
Weta Digital
Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digital special effects for Heavenly Creatures. In 2007 Weta Digital’s Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Joe Letteri, was...
, was formed in 1993.
Weta Workshop's output came to worldwide prominence with director Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's film trilogy The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, producing sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures and miniatures.
The company name comes from the weta
Weta
Weta is the name given to about 70 insect species endemic to New Zealand. There are many similar species around the world, though most are in the southern hemisphere. The name comes from the Māori word 'wētā' and is the same in the plural...
, "...New Zealand's coolest little monster, a bizarre and prickly prehistoric cricket..."
Chainmail
For The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
realistic looking PVC
Polyvinyl chloride
Polyvinyl chloride, commonly abbreviated PVC, is a thermoplastic polymer. It is a vinyl polymer constructed of repeating vinyl groups having one hydrogen replaced by chloride. Polyvinyl chloride is the third most widely produced plastic, after polyethylene and polypropylene. PVC is widely used in...
chainmail
Chainmail
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
was made, not just for the lead actors, but also for the hundreds of extras that appeared throughout the films. PVC pipe was cut into rings, assembled by hand into armor, and then electroplated, so the rings had some rough edges to them. 12.5 million links from 7 miles of PVC pipe were used in this extremely laborious process.
Bigatures
The term "Bigature" is Weta Workshop's nickname for a very large miniature modelScale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
. They are used in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, with the largest of them measuring some 9 metres high. Extensive computer graphics techniques and computer controlled cameras were used to seamlessly mesh the Bigature photography with live actors and scenes. Weta also used Bigatures in Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's King Kong
King Kong (2005 film)
King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....
.
Bigatures used in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy include:
- The HornburgHelm's DeepIn J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, Helm's Deep was a large valley in the north-western Ered Nimrais .The valley was described as being blocked over its entire width by the natural series of hills called Helm's Dike and behind that lay the fortress of Aglarond or the Hornburg, at the...
– The mountain fortress of the Rohirrim. - The Grey Havens – The ElvenElf (Middle-earth)In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
harbour. - Minas TirithMinas TirithMinas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
– The White City of GondorGondorGondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
. - Orthanc – SarumanSarumanSaruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
's tower. - Minas MorgulMinas MorgulMinas Morgul , also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil , is a fictional fortified city in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth...
– SauronSauronSauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
's 'Dead City'. - Barad-dûrBarad-dûrBarad-dûr is the fortress of Sauron in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Mount Doom in the fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
– SauronSauronSauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
's massive tower. - The Black Gate – The gate guarding the gap between the Ered Lithui and the Ephel Dúath.
- Grond – The battering ram that smashed down the gates of Minas TirithMinas TirithMinas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
. - Mûmakil – Large war elephant used by the HaradHaradIn J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy legendarium, Harad was the name for the immense lands south of Gondor and Mordor. Called Haradwaith from the people who lived there, it literally means "South-folk", from the Sindarin harad, "South" and gwaith, "people"...
armies.
Weta Legs
The name "Weta Legs" is Weta Workshop's name for a "low profile, professional grade reverse leg stiltStilts
Stilts are poles, posts or pillars used to allow a person or structure to stand at a distance above the ground. Walking stilts are poles equipped with steps for the feet to stand on, or straps to attach them to the legs, for the purpose of walking while elevated above a normal height...
" developed by Kim Graham and Weta technicians and manufactured by Performing Legs Ltd. Designed and largely hand-made by their sculptor-designer, Kim Graham, these digitigrade
Digitigrade
A digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits, or toes. Digitigrades include walking birds , cats, dogs, and many other mammals, but not plantigrades or unguligrades...
leg extensions are intended for "creature and costume performances in movies, television, theatre, circus, street performances and other creative performances."
Originally reserved for "commercial film and television projects", Weta brought them to market – in relatively limited quantities – for online purchase by members of the public in 2010. With the ability to take extra prosthetics such as layers of fur or skin "to resemble a digitigrade leg, from canine and feline to fantastical demons, dragons, satyrs and even robots", these devices are promoted as being easy to get used to, partly because they "allow for realistic and natural movement as they are jointed at the knee and the ankle."
Citing low pre-order numbers, Weta unceremoniously canceled the commercial production of Weta Legs by informing those who did pre-order by email. The Weta Legs page has since been removed from Weta's website.
Weta Tenzan Chain Maille
The workshop now has a division, Weta Tenzan Chain Maille, making chainmailChainmail
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
for film work. PVC injection was used for the armor in Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven (film)
Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic action film directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McKidd, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam...
, giving better results than the process for Lord of the Rings. Versions electroplated with a thin layer of metal have the same look as real chain mail, moves like metal at one third the weight, and is much cheaper. Aluminium or steel mail for high-impact stuntwork is also produced.
Special effects filmography
- Mortal Engines (TBD)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion (TBD)
- The Hobbit (2012/2013)
- Panzer 88 (2012)
- Mortis RexMortis RexMortis Rex is a Roman-themed upcoming supernatural action thriller film, set in 123 A.D. and due to begin production in early-to-mid 2011, tentatively scheduled to begin filming in Spring 2012, and with plans to complete and release later that year...
(2012) - The Wind in the Willows (2012)
- Born of HopeBorn of HopeBorn of Hope: The Ring of Barahir is a 2009 fantasy-adventure fan film directed by Kate Madison and written by Paula DiSante that is based on the appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
(2009) - The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (2011)
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a 2010 3D fantasy-adventure film based on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia . It is the third installment in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media...
(2010) - DaybreakersDaybreakersDaybreakers is a 2009 science-fiction horror film written and directed by Australian filmmakers Michael and Peter Spierig. The film takes place in 2019, where a plague has turned most of the planet's human population into vampires. A vampiric corporation sets out to capture and farm the remaining...
(2010) - The WotWotsThe WotWotsThe WotWots is a New Zealand children's television show which debuted in 2009.The show features two aliens, named SpottyWot and DottyWot, who spend their days exploring a zoo where their steam-powered spaceship has landed.This show also plays on Canada's Treehouse TV which played in early 2010.-...
(2009) - District 9District 9District 9 is a 2009 South African science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James...
(2009) - Avatar (2009)
- Under The MountainUnder The Mountain (2009 film)Under The Mountain is a 2009 film based on the 1979 novel by New Zealand author Maurice Gee.-Plot:Teenage twins Rachel and Theo travel to Auckland to stay with relatives following the sudden death of their mother. Where there was once a psychic bond between them, now there is a rift as Theo,...
(2009) - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince CaspianThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince CaspianThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
(2008) - Love Story 2050Love Story 2050Love Story 2050 is a 2008 Bollywood science fiction film starring producer Pammi Baweja and director Harry Baweja's son Harman Baweja and Priyanka Chopra. Some parts of the movie were filmed in Adelaide, Australia. Initially the film was supposed to release on 21 December 2007 but got postponed to...
(2008) - Eel GirlEel GirlEel Girl is a 2008 horror science fiction short film written and directed by Paul Campion, in which what appears to be a sort of human-eel hybrid woman, being studied by scientists in a Naval research facility, takes revenge on one of the scientists who is studying her.The film was produced by...
(2008) - 30 Days of Night30 Days of Night (film)30 Days of Night is a 2007 American horror film based on the comic book miniseries of the same name. The film is directed by David Slade and stars Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and Danny Huston...
(2007) - Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...
(2007) - The WaterhorseThe WaterhorseThe Water Horse: Legend of the Deep is a 2007 American family fantasy-drama film directed by Jay Russell. The screenplay by Robert Nelson Jacobs, is an adaptation of Dick King-Smith's children's novel The Water Horse...
(2007) - The HostThe Host (film)The Host is a 2006 South Korean monster film, which also contains elements of comedy and drama films. The film was directed by Bong Joon-ho, who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Baek Chul-hyun....
(2006) - Black SheepBlack Sheep (2007 film)Black Sheep is a New Zealand made comedy horror film written and directed by Jonathan King. North American distribution rights were acquired by The Weinstein Company and IFC Films. The Weinstein Company released the film on DVD on 9 October 2007 under their Dimension Extreme brand through Genius...
(2007) - Jane & the DragonJane and The Dragon (TV series)Jane and the Dragon is a CGI animated series based on the books of the same name by Martin Baynton. The show is directed by Mike Fallows and motion capture directed by Peter Salmon; it is co-produced by Weta Workshop in New Zealand and Nelvana Limited in Canada...
(2005–2006) - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
(2005) - King KongKing Kong (2005 film)King Kong is a 2005 fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson. It is a remake of the 1933 film of the same name and stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black and Adrien Brody. Andy Serkis, through performance capture, portrays Kong....
(2005) - The Legend of ZorroThe Legend of ZorroThe Legend of Zorro is a 2005 sequel to The Mask of Zorro , both directed by Martin Campbell. Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones reprise their roles as the titular hero and his spouse, and Rufus Sewell stars as the villain...
(2005) - Van HelsingVan Helsing (film)Van Helsing is a 2004 American action horror film directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as vigilante monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing, and Kate Beckinsale...
(2004) - Peter PanPeter Pan (2003 film)Peter Pan is a 2003 fantasy film released as a joint venture of Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios. P. J. Hogan directed a screenplay co-written with Michael Goldenberg which is based on the classic play and novel by J. M. Barrie. Jason Isaacs plays the roles of Captain...
(2003) - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
(2003) - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the WorldMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the WorldMaster and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...
(2003) - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)