Weta Workshop
| Privately held company | |
| Industry | Visual effects, animation |
| Founded | 1987 (as RT Effects) |
| Headquarters | Wellington, New Zealand |
|
Key people
|
Richard Taylor, Tania Rodger, Jamie Selkirk, Peter Jackson |
| Website | www.wetaworkshop.co.nz |
Weta Workshop is a special effects and prop company based in Miramar, New Zealand, producing effects for television and film.
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 and Xena: Warrior Princess and effects for films such as Meet the Feebles and Heavenly Creatures. A digital division, Weta Digital, was formed in 1993.
Weta Workshop's output came to worldwide prominence with director Peter Jackson's film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, producing sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures and miniatures. It supported the creation of Reclaiming the Blade (2009), a documentary film on stage combat, historical European and Asian swordsmanship.
The company name comes from the weta, "New Zealand's coolest little monster, a bizarre and prickly prehistoric cricket".
For The Lord of the Rings film trilogy realistic looking PVC chainmail 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. A total of 12.5 million links were manufactured from 7 miles of PVC pipe.
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