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The Art of Film Magic: 20 Years of Weta
A deluxe two-volume set that brings to life twenty years of movie-making magic at Weta Workshop and Weta Digital—the creative teams behind such celebrated films as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar, The Avengers, District 9, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes
To realize a director’s vision on screen requires the right sets, costumes, makeup and prosthetics, weapons, vehicles, and visual effects—and in this field no company has the breadth of imagination, skill, and technique as Weta Workshop and Weta Digital. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, the companies, partially owned by Sir Peter Jackson, have provided the creative support for some of the most acclaimed filmmakers and iconic movies of all time, from King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Prometheus to The Adventures of Tintin, Elysium, and The Hobbit trilogy.
To mark their twentieth anniversary, the Weta companies have each created a spectacular book. Weta Workshop: Celebrating Twenty Years of Creativity and Weta Digital: Twenty Years of Imagination On Screen include hundreds of black and white and color images—concept designs, sketches, and behind-the-scenes photographs—as well as insightful commentary from cast and crew.
In The Art of Film Magic, the books are presented together inside a special die-cut, four-color printed slip-case. The result is an extraordinary up-close look inside the Weta studios, where movie magic is made.
Sure to become a collector’s item, this package will excite aspiring filmmakers and allow movie fans to enjoy their favorite films in a dazzling new way.
To realize a director’s vision on screen requires the right sets, costumes, makeup and prosthetics, weapons, vehicles, and visual effects—and in this field no company has the breadth of imagination, skill, and technique as Weta Workshop and Weta Digital. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, the companies, partially owned by Sir Peter Jackson, have provided the creative support for some of the most acclaimed filmmakers and iconic movies of all time, from King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Prometheus to The Adventures of Tintin, Elysium, and The Hobbit trilogy.
To mark their twentieth anniversary, the Weta companies have each created a spectacular book. Weta Workshop: Celebrating Twenty Years of Creativity and Weta Digital: Twenty Years of Imagination On Screen include hundreds of black and white and color images—concept designs, sketches, and behind-the-scenes photographs—as well as insightful commentary from cast and crew.
In The Art of Film Magic, the books are presented together inside a special die-cut, four-color printed slip-case. The result is an extraordinary up-close look inside the Weta studios, where movie magic is made.
Sure to become a collector’s item, this package will excite aspiring filmmakers and allow movie fans to enjoy their favorite films in a dazzling new way.
- GenresNonfictionArt
464 pages, Hardcover
First published October 9, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 25, 2017
I finally finished it! I took longer than usual to read this one because they're actually TWO books --one about Weta Workshop, the practical effects and makeup division, and the other one's about Weta Digital, the visual effects division. And they're both fascinating reads. If you've ever wanted to know everything about Peter Jackson's career, the way he actually STARTED these companies, they way he, along with many talented artists, revolutionised the effects and makeup and digital industry (especially in New Zealand), then these books are for you. They really make you appreciate the amount of work and dedicated that go to every major blockbuster, and the difficulty of giving life to major digital characters such as Gollum or King Kong. Yeah, there are a couple of spelling mistakes here and there, and they skip over some major movies --specially the Hobbit ones, I guess because they don't look THAT good--, but apart from that, these are really addicting and thoroughly interesting books, especially for potential filmmakers, visual effects artists, or even movie geeks. Highly recommendable.
November 8, 2018
A terrific book, saved from 5 star status only because I can theoretically imagine one where the prose moved me and made me cry. But for a wide overview of all Weta has accomplished (and it was much more than I'd realised prior to reading the book!), with an extremely well-balanced mix of art and text (if anything I'd rather slightly more text, but that wouldn't quite be the same book), this was an engrossing and lengthy read. I did it in snippets over every-so-often-lunch for a few months.
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s).
March 25, 2015
For photos/video of this book, please visit my blog movieartbook.com
Weta has done so much amazing work over the years, and this book is a celebration of the company's history and it's contribution to the movies. This book is actually two volumes - one for Weta Digital (computer effects and animation) and one for Weta Workshop (practical effects, models, props, etc).
I tend to find the Weta Workshop book a bit more exciting, because everything is actually made - whether it is Iron Man's suit, Wikus' gun in "District 9", or thousands of different swords for films like "The Hobbit" and "The Last Samurai". They do a lot of great work on various creature features, specializing in animatronics and prosthetics. The designs are so great and fan enthusiasm is so high that Weta has actually been able to produce various prop replicas, which are sold on their website and often sell out.
But equally impressive (and perhaps more complex) are the innovations that Weta Digital is making on the virtual side of things. In particular, their pioneering of performance capture with movies like "Lord of the Rings", "The Adventures of Tintin", and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is nothing short of a game-changer in filmmaking. This company has brought to life almost every one of the most impressive CGI characters you can think of - whether it is King Kong, Gollum, or Smaug the dragon. The company has pushed the effects industry forward in a number of ways -- digital lighting and light scattering; tissues and textures; improvements in the stereo (3D) pipeline; etc.
These books are absolutely worth owning. The text is rich with detail and insightful information. One of my favorite things is that scattered throughout the book are quotes and experiences from a bunch of different people - it's great to hear about the films directly from the artists/craftsmen who work on them. Emphasis is placed on the fact that Weta constantly goes into uncharted territory and each production has various challenges that had to be overcome in order for the project to be successful. The Weta Workshop book has a foreword by Peter Jackson and an introduction by Richard Taylor. The Weta Digital book has an intro by Joe Letteri.
But of course, the most important aspect of these books are the imagery. For Weta Workshop: behind the scenes at the workshop, building sets, prop molds, actors in the makeup chair, models and miniatures, etc. For Weta Digital: on set w/ green screen, the mo-cap stage, visual effects progressions, digital models, etc. Images are abundant and range from very small to nearly full-page; most of them are very high-resolution and clear (though there are some behind the scenes photos that are not as sharp, but it's worth a look anyway). Finally, at the end of both books is a timeline/filmography, where you can see the totality of the company's work thus far.
If there is one thing I'd like to see more of, it's concept art. These books tend to feature the finished product more than anything else, but I am also interested in seeing first concepts (even if they were unused) from early in the process. While the books have plenty of imagery and photographs, it is a bit spare on concept artwork. Fortunately, there are separately available art books available for movies like The Hobbit, District 9, and others (most of which do feature a lot of concept art).
If you are a fan of Weta, creative filmmaking, or just movies in general, then this book is worthy of your time (especially if you are curious about the process). The price tag is higher than I usually pay for movie art books; but as a collector I can say this is easily one of the nicest books on my shelf.
Weta has done so much amazing work over the years, and this book is a celebration of the company's history and it's contribution to the movies. This book is actually two volumes - one for Weta Digital (computer effects and animation) and one for Weta Workshop (practical effects, models, props, etc).
I tend to find the Weta Workshop book a bit more exciting, because everything is actually made - whether it is Iron Man's suit, Wikus' gun in "District 9", or thousands of different swords for films like "The Hobbit" and "The Last Samurai". They do a lot of great work on various creature features, specializing in animatronics and prosthetics. The designs are so great and fan enthusiasm is so high that Weta has actually been able to produce various prop replicas, which are sold on their website and often sell out.
But equally impressive (and perhaps more complex) are the innovations that Weta Digital is making on the virtual side of things. In particular, their pioneering of performance capture with movies like "Lord of the Rings", "The Adventures of Tintin", and "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" is nothing short of a game-changer in filmmaking. This company has brought to life almost every one of the most impressive CGI characters you can think of - whether it is King Kong, Gollum, or Smaug the dragon. The company has pushed the effects industry forward in a number of ways -- digital lighting and light scattering; tissues and textures; improvements in the stereo (3D) pipeline; etc.
These books are absolutely worth owning. The text is rich with detail and insightful information. One of my favorite things is that scattered throughout the book are quotes and experiences from a bunch of different people - it's great to hear about the films directly from the artists/craftsmen who work on them. Emphasis is placed on the fact that Weta constantly goes into uncharted territory and each production has various challenges that had to be overcome in order for the project to be successful. The Weta Workshop book has a foreword by Peter Jackson and an introduction by Richard Taylor. The Weta Digital book has an intro by Joe Letteri.
But of course, the most important aspect of these books are the imagery. For Weta Workshop: behind the scenes at the workshop, building sets, prop molds, actors in the makeup chair, models and miniatures, etc. For Weta Digital: on set w/ green screen, the mo-cap stage, visual effects progressions, digital models, etc. Images are abundant and range from very small to nearly full-page; most of them are very high-resolution and clear (though there are some behind the scenes photos that are not as sharp, but it's worth a look anyway). Finally, at the end of both books is a timeline/filmography, where you can see the totality of the company's work thus far.
If there is one thing I'd like to see more of, it's concept art. These books tend to feature the finished product more than anything else, but I am also interested in seeing first concepts (even if they were unused) from early in the process. While the books have plenty of imagery and photographs, it is a bit spare on concept artwork. Fortunately, there are separately available art books available for movies like The Hobbit, District 9, and others (most of which do feature a lot of concept art).
If you are a fan of Weta, creative filmmaking, or just movies in general, then this book is worthy of your time (especially if you are curious about the process). The price tag is higher than I usually pay for movie art books; but as a collector I can say this is easily one of the nicest books on my shelf.
March 14, 2015
Review at Bookerie:
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews