Weta Workshop 🇳🇿 Lord of the Rings, Avatar & More | Wellington New Zealand
Join Chantal for a short interview with Kevin, one of the fantastic tour guides at the Weta Workshop.
Located in Miramar, New Zealand, the Weta Workshop is a world-renowned prop and special effects company with over 30 years of experience in the film and TV industry.
They are most known for producing effects for “The Lord of the Rings,” “King Kong,” “Avatar,” the “Hobbit” trilogy, “District 9”, and even more recent Netflix titles such as “I am Mother” and “Spectral.”
It all began in the late 1980s when many creatives, among which the famous Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor, moved to Wellington to work on their projects.
As they were making rapid progress, operating out of their tiny apartment was no longer an option. So, they decided to rent this building that later grew to become the Weta Workshop.
Despite decades of hard work, the Weta Workshop only became available to the public around 2012, when they first started organizing tours for film fans and enthusiasts.
Ever since, they have been welcoming visitors from all over the world, closing doors only during Christmas.
So, what should you expect during a tour?
A tour guide will take you through a designated area of the workshop, where you will see different parts of the creative process. The coolest thing about it is that you may even get your hands on some of the props and personally experience the creation.
The Weta Workshop is composed of 12 different departments whose joint efforts contribute to creating the magic you see on the big and small screens.
From design to final product, you see professionals working and collaborating under the same roof, which is exactly what sets this company apart from other similar places.
You can take a single tour for $28 or go for the combo tour and have a full experience for $48.
They also offer hands-on workshops where you can actually participate in the creative process and learn sculpting or some basic effects like creating fake scars and wounds.
Now that we had learned so much about the Weta Workshop, it was time to take the tour ourselves.
We learned that some special effect costumes take 8 hours to put on and an additional 5 to take off. There are even actors famous in the film industry for doing heavy makeup but whose real faces we rarely see in movies.
We also got to see a short documentary about the work and history of Weta Workshop, and I promise you, if you ever see that production, you will never watch a movie the same way again.
We finished our visit with the secret magical tour of filmmaking which completely changed our perspective on movies.
I hope you enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed this tour!
0:00 Meet Kevin - Weta Workshop Crew
01:18 The Biggest Titles of Weta Workshop
1:49 Visitors’ Favorite Trolls at Weta Workshop
03:18 The Birth of Weta Workshop
04:04 When Did Weta Workshop Open to the Public
04:35 What to Expect from a Visit to Weta Workshop
05:12 A Typical Day for a Creator at Weta Workshop
05:47 12 Divisions, 1 Family at Weta Workshop
06:22 Overcoming Challenges and Meeting Film Creators’ Expectations
05:55 How to Get the Best of your Visit to Weta Workshop
09:38 Hands-on Tour for Personalised Experience
09:58 Is New Zealand the Next Film-Making Hub?
11:00 Introduction to Heavy Makeup and Special Costumes
12:35 Weta Workshop Documentary
12:57 Into the Secret Magical Weta Tour
14:43 Such a Unique and Affordable Wellington Experience
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