“Ever since I first heard the name 'Weta', it has had a special, even magical sound to me; it suggests goodness and power. On my recent trip to New Zealand I found that Weta lives up to my image of it. Weta Workshop overflows with amazing displays of creatures, weapons, armour and props, even a 20 foot high "miniature" castle... anything and everything you could possibly imagine. Even more gratifying is the spirit I found there, the atmosphere of creativity and cooperation of Weta's people. This atmosphere is due in large part to the way Richard Taylor runs his enormous organization, with boundless cheerful energy and a genuine concern for his staff. Weta is truly a stimulating, invigorating place, and I can't wait to go back.”
Dick Smith, Academy Award winner and makeup legend - Amadeus, The Godfather, The Exorcist ...
Weta Workshop Special Makeup FX
Specialists in make-up effects, prosthetics and on-set application, Weta Workshop has spent over 20 years bringing some of the big screen's most legendary characters to life with groundbreaking make-up effects and prosthetics.
Best known for the work done on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Weta's Prosthetics and Special Make-Up Effects work won an Academy Award for Best Make-Up in 2004 (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King), and in 2002 (The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring), as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Make Up 2002 (The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring). Weta Workshop's special make-up has also featured in films including King Kong, Heavenly Creatures, Brain Dead, The Frighteners, 30 Days of Night, Daybreakers, Jonathan King's Black Sheep and Under the Mountain (in production), and, more recently, James Cameron's Avatar (in production) and Neill Blomkamp's District 9 (in production).
From basic make-up techniques and applications through to complex full body prosthetic creature suits, one-off hero pieces or armies of Orcs, Weta Workshop has both experience and expertise in efficiently achieving the highest quality special make-up effects. Under the creative guidance of Oscar award-winning Effects Supervisor Richard Tayor, Senior Prosthetics Supervisor Gino Acevedo and Head of Make Up Effects Frances Richardson, the Weta make-up team can work within a range of disciplines to cater for project-specific needs. Team members have proficiency in a variety of techniques, including hair punching, face casts and full body casts, and have experience using materials including silicone, gelatine, transfers and foam latex.
Weta Workshop's crew can guide a client through the realities and benefits of using prosthetics and make-up effects, offering experience and advice on the most appropriate ways to utilize them for their film or television show.
Weta Workshop prides itself on its groundbreaking work in the craft of prosthetics and make-up effects and is dedicated to producing powerful, convincing and actor-friendly applications -- to budget and to deadline.
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Learning from the best
Gino Acevedo, David Meng and Richard Taylor all have diplomas from Dick Smith's Advanced Professional Make-up Course. Richard often attributes a lot of Weta's success to this program by Dick Smith, the Academy Award winning makeup legend behind films like The Exorcist, The Godfather, Amadeus and Taxi Driver.
Watch Richard's personal endorsement of Dick Smith's Make-up Training Program:
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Learn more about Dick's Advanced Professional Make-up Course