Company:WetaFX
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Visual effects, CGI animation |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Miramar, Wellington, New Zealand |
Key people |
|
| Owner | Peter Jackson |
| Website | www |
Wētā FX (formerly known as 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. The company went on to produce some of the highest-grossing films ever made, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Avatar. Considered one of the most influential film companies of the 21st century, Weta Digital has won several Academy Awards and BAFTAs.[1][2]
Wētā FX is run by CEO Prem Akkaraju and is part of a number of Peter Jackson's co-owned companies in Wellington which includes Weta Productions and Park Road Post Production.
The company is named after the New Zealand wētā, one of the world's largest insects, which is also featured in the logo.
History
As of 2017, Wētā FX has won six Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), King Kong (2005), Avatar (2009), and The Jungle Book (2016). Wētā FX has developed several proprietary software packages to achieve groundbreaking visual effects. The scale of the battles required for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy led to the creation of MASSIVE, a program which can animate huge numbers of agents: independent characters acting according to pre-set rules.[3] To recreate 1933 New York for King Kong, Wētā created CityBot, an application which could "build" the city on a shot by shot basis.[4]
Kong's fur also required the development of new simulation and modeling software. A set of tools that combined procedural and interactive techniques added wind to the 5 million individual strands of fur and modeled interaction with other surfaces. New shaders were written that accounted for the scattering of light from within each hair that added to the volumetric quality of the fur. Large chunks of fur were ripped out and filled in with scars, blood, and the mud of Skull Island. Each frame of fur took 2 gigabytes of data.[5]
For James Cameron's Avatar, Wētā modified MASSIVE to give life to the flora and fauna on Pandora, for which the company did most of the visual effects with the four-time Academy Award winner visual effects expert, Joe Letteri,[6] under a team led by executive and producer Eileen Moran.[7]
In 2010, a texture painting application developed by Wētā for Avatar called Mari has been bought by The Foundry Visionmongers.[8]
For The Adventures of Tintin and Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Wētā developed a new grooming system called Barbershop where users can interactively manipulate digital hair. This tool received a Sci-tech award in 2015.[9]
Recently the company has developed their motion capture technique to be able to leave studio for shooting on location, as utilized on the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes and its sequel Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.[10][11]
On June 19, 2020, Weta Digital announced that it would be producing original animation content under the name Weta Animated, was getting a Multi-year Production Deal with Sony Pictures Animation. The company also announced a new chief executive Prem Akkaraju, who comes from Los Angeles .[12]
In December 2020, Weta Digital CEO Prem Akkaraju announced additional board members including Tom Staggs, Jeff Huber and Ken Kamins. They join current board members Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Sean Parker, Prem Akkaraju and Joe Letteri.[13]
On June 17, 2021, Weta Digital announced they have partnered with Autodesk to productize Weta's proprietary tools based in Autodesk Maya for a cloud service called WetaM. It will first be released in Q4 as a private beta.[14]
On August 23, 2021, Wētā announced a collaboration with SideFX for a cloud service combining Wētā's proprietary tools within SideFX's Houdini called WetaH.[15]
On November 9, 2021, Jackson sold the company's VFX tools development division to video games software company Unity Technologies for US$1.62 billion.[16][17]
Workplace culture
Beginning in June 2020, an investigative project by Kiwi public TV broadcaster 1 News into Wētā's workplace culture following a social media posting by former Wētā Workshop employee Layna Lazar later resulted in more than 40 current and former Weta Digital employees anonymously sharing accounts of "sexism, bullying and harassment" in September 2020.[18]
In their testimonies, workers identified the existence of a male-only pornographic mailing list called "Caveman", which originated in 2002 following a company-wide tradition known as Porn Friday, and continued to circulate until 2015.[18] Several reports also alleged that the company's IT systems required upgrades in order to accommodate the volume of pornographic content hosted on the company intranet, in addition to numerous allegations of sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation, misogyny and homophobia.[18][19]
In response to these allegations, Wētā owners, including Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and chief executive officer Prem Akkaraju, commissioned an independent review from barrister Miriam Dean, who stated in her report that she received 80 complaints of bullying behavior, 120 complaints of inappropriate conduct and 19 complaints of sexual harassment from amongst the company's 1,500 employees.[20][21][22] Dean put forward 17 recommendations for internal reform, including the establishment of a code of conduct, restricting the executive team, expanding the diversity and inclusion program, and reviewing the company's pay structure.[20] Her review also stipulated that the existing management systems were not sufficient to protect workers "from bullying, sexual harassment, sex discrimination and other inappropriate conduct".[20]
Film
1990s
| Year | Films | Studio(s) and Distributor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Heavenly Creatures[23] | Miramax Films |
| 1995 | Forgotten Silver | TBC |
| 1996 | Tales from the Crypt
(You, Murderer) |
Warner Bros. |
| The Frighteners | Universal Pictures | |
| 1997 | Contact | Warner Bros. |
2000s
| Year | Films | Studio(s) and Distributor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | New Line Cinema |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | |
| 2004 | Van Helsing | Universal Studios |
| I, Robot | 20th Century Fox | |
| 2005 | King Kong | Universal Studios |
| 2006 | X-Men: The Last Stand | 20th Century Fox |
| Eragon | ||
| 2007 | Bridge to Terabithia | Walt Disney Pictures |
| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | 20th Century Fox | |
| Enchanted | Walt Disney Pictures | |
| The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep | Columbia Pictures | |
| 30 Days of Night | ||
| 2008 | Jumper | 20th Century Fox |
| The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian | Walt Disney Studios | |
| The Day the Earth Stood Still | 20th Century Fox | |
| 2009 | District 9 | TriStar Pictures |
| The Lovely Bones | Paramount Pictures
DreamWorks Pictures | |
| Avatar | 20th Century Fox |
2010s
| Year | Films | Studio(s) and Distributor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | The A-Team | 20th Century Fox |
| Knight and Day | ||
| Predators | ||
| Gulliver's Travels | ||
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | |
| Rise of the Planet of the Apes | ||
| The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn | Paramount Pictures | |
| 2012 | The Avengers | Walt Disney Studios
Paramount Pictures |
| Prometheus | 20th Century Fox | |
| Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter | ||
| The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Warner Bros. | |
| 2013 | Iron Man 3 | Walt Disney Studios
Paramount Pictures |
| Man of Steel | Warner Bros. | |
| The Wolverine | 20th Century Fox | |
| The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Lionsgate | |
| The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Warner Bros. | |
| 2014 | Godzilla | |
| Dawn of the Planet of the Apes | 20th Century Fox | |
| The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | Warner Bros. | |
| What We Do in the Shadows | Paramount Pictures | |
| 2015 | Furious 7 | Universal Studios |
| Fantastic Four | 20th Century Fox | |
| Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials | ||
| The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 | Lionsgate | |
| Krampus | Universal Studios | |
| Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip | 20th Century Fox | |
| 2016 | Deadpool | |
| Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice | Warner Bros. | |
| The Jungle Book | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Central Intelligence | Warner Bros.
Universal Studios | |
| Independence Day: Resurgence | 20th Century Fox | |
| Hunt for the Wilderpeople | Madman Entertainment | |
| The BFG | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Pete's Dragon | ||
| 2017 | Spectral | Netflix |
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Avatar Flight of Passage[24] | TBA | |
| Wonder Woman | Warner Bros. | |
| War for the Planet of the Apes | 20th Century Fox | |
| Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | EuropaCorp Distribution
Lionsgate | |
| Justice League | Warner Bros. | |
| 2018 | Maze Runner: The Death Cure | 20th Century Fox |
| Rampage | Warner Bros. | |
| Avengers: Infinity War | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Deadpool 2 | 20th Century Fox | |
| Animal World | Enlight Pictures | |
| Aquaman | Warner Bros. | |
| Mortal Engines | Universal Studios | |
| 2019 | Alita: Battle Angel | 20th Century Fox |
| Avengers: Endgame | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Annabelle Comes Home | Warner Bros. | |
| Ad Astra | 20th Century Fox (under Walt Disney Studios) | |
| Gemini Man | Paramount Pictures | |
| Terminator: Dark Fate | 20th Century Fox
Paramount Pictures | |
| Lady and the Tramp | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Jumanji: The Next Level | Columbia Pictures |
2020s
| Year | Films | Studio(s) and Distributor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Birds of Prey | Warner Bros. |
| Mulan | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Shadow in the Cloud | Rertical Entertainment
Redbox Entertainment | |
| The Christmas Chronicles 2 | Netflix | |
| We Can Be Heroes | ||
| 2021 | Zack Snyder's Justice League | Warner Bros. |
| Godzilla vs. Kong | ||
| Black Widow | Walt Disney Studios | |
| The Tomorrow War | Amazon Studios
Paramount Pictures | |
| Jungle Cruise | Walt Disney Studios | |
| The Green Knight | A24 | |
| The Suicide Squad | Warner Bros. | |
| Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings | Walt Disney Studios | |
| Eternals | ||
| The King's Man | 20th Century Studios (under Walt Disney Studios) | |
| 2022 | Kimi | Warner Bros. |
| No Exit | 20th Century Studios (under Walt Disney Studios) | |
| The Batman | Warner Bros. |
Upcoming
| Year | Films | Studio(s) and Distributor(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness | Walt Disney Studios |
| Avatar 2 | 20th Century Studios (under Walt Disney Studios) | |
| 2023 | Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | Warner Bros. |
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Walt Disney Studios | |
| The Little Mermaid | ||
| Untitled Planet of the Apes sequel | 20th Century Studios (under Walt Disney Studios) | |
| 2024 | Avatar 3 | |
| 2026 | Avatar 4 | |
| 2028 | Avatar 5 |
Television
| Year | Name of Television show | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Game of Thrones (Season 7) | Warner Bros./HBO |
| 2018 | Game of Thrones (Season 8) | |
| 2019 | The Umbrella Academy | Netflix |
| 2020 | Space Force | |
| 2021 | The Falcon and the Winter Soldier | Disney+ |
| Mr. Corman | Apple TV+ | |
| Invasion | ||
| Hawkeye | Disney+ | |
| 2022 | Peacemaker | HBO Max |
Upcoming
| Year | Name of Television show | Network |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Moon Knight | Disney+ |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Amazon Prime |
See also
- Wētā Workshop
- Industrial Light & Magic
- Moving Picture Company (MPC)
- Animal Logic
- Blue Sky Studios
- Pacific Data Images
- Framestore
- Digital Domain
- DNEG
- Sony Pictures Imageworks
- Rhythm & Hues
- Image Engine
- Visual Works
References
- ↑ "Another visual effects Oscar for Weta Digital?". Wellington.scoop. http://wellington.scoop.co.nz/?p=18885.
- ↑ "Weta Digital Announces Launch of ‘Weta Animated’ to Produce Original Animated Content. Prem Akkaraju Joins as CEO of Weta. | Weta Digital". https://www.wetafx.co.nz/articles/press-release-weta-digital-announces-launch-of-weta-animated-to-produce-original-animated-content-prem-akkaraju-joins-as-ceo-of-weta/.
- ↑ "Massive Software". Massive Software. http://www.massivesoftware.com/weta-digital-uses-massive-software-to-ape-reality-on-king-kong/.
- ↑ "Interview with Chris White on King Kong". cgarchitect. http://www.cgarchitect.com/upclose/article1_CW.asp.
- ↑ "Bigger and Badder: How Weta Digital Bulked Up for King Kong". Studio Daily. http://www.studiodaily.com/main/technique/casestudies/5704.html.
- ↑ Alex Ben Block (2009-12-10). "The creatures of 'Avatar' were 15 years in the making". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ia3a7c2e70e62048d33459d19cbe990c9.
- ↑ Barnes, Mike (2012-12-03). "Top Visual Effects Producer Eileen Moran Dies in New Zealand; Worked on 'Avatar,' 'The Hobbit'". The Hollywood Reporter. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/eileen-moran-visual-effects-peter-jackson-397419.
- ↑ Mike Seymour (2010-03-29). "Exclusive: Foundry NAB Preview". fxguide. https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/exclusive_foundry_nab_preview/.
- ↑ Mike Seymour (2015-01-29). "Barbershop at Weta: Sci-tech winner explained". fxguide. https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/barbershop-at-weta-sci-tech-winner-explained/.
- ↑ Staskiewicz, Keith. "'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes': See Andy Serkis and others go ape in this side-by-side special-effects video -- EXCLUSIVE". Entertainment Weekly Inc.. http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/05/20/dawn-of-the-planet-of-the-apes-see-andy-serkis-and-others-go-ape-in-this-side-by-side-special-effects-exclusive/.
- ↑ Danny Allen (2011-08-05). "Giz Interviews Weta Digital’s Effects Guru, Joe Letteri". Gizmondo. http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2011/08/giz-interviews-weta-digitals-visual-effects-guru-joe-letteri/.
- ↑ Wiltshire, Laura (19 June 2020). "Weta Digital will create original content for the first time in 25 year histor". Stuff. https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/121880696/weta-digital-will-create-original-content-for-the-first-time-in-25-year-history.
- ↑ Flint, Joe. "Peter Jackson’s Special-Effects Firm Looks to Become a Content Producer". Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/peter-jacksons-special-effects-firm-looks-to-become-a-content-producer-11608201001.
- ↑ "WETA DIGITAL PARTNERS WITH AUTODESK TO OFFER NEXT GENERATION CREATIVE CLOUD PRODUCTION PIPELINE". Weta Digital. https://www.wetafx.co.nz/articles/weta-digital-partners-with-autodesk-to-offer-next-generation-creative-cloud-production-pipeline/.
- ↑ "WETA DIGITAL JOINS FORCES WITH SIDEFX TO OFFER CLOUD PRODUCTION WITH HOUDINI SOFTWARE". Weta Digital. https://www.wetafx.co.nz/articles/weta-digital-joins-forces-with-sidefx-to-further-enhance-cloud-production-with-houdini-software/.
- ↑ Hayes, Dade (9 November 2021). "Peter Jackson Selling Weta Digital's VFX Tech Division To Unity For $1.625 Billion, with the Visual Effects division renamed to Weta FX.". Deadline Hollywood. https://deadline.com/2021/11/weta-digital-sold-unity-peter-jackson-1234870996/.
- ↑ Silver, Katie (11 November 2021). "Peter Jackson sells visual effects firm for $1.6bn to Unity". BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-59229995.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Hall, Kristin (8 September 2020). "'World's most beautiful toxic waste dump' - Weta Digital employees claim sexism, bullying and harassment". 1 News. https://1news.co.nz/2020/09/08/worlds-most-beautiful-toxic-waste-dump-weta-digital-employees-claim-sexism-bullying-and-harassment.
- ↑ Hall, Kristin (1 October 2020). "'Toxic': Disturbing stories from behind the scenes at Weta Digital". 1 News (TVNZ). https://1news.co.nz/2020/09/30/toxic-disturbing-stories-from-behind-the-scenes-at-weta-digital.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 Miriam Dean. "Independent Review of Workplace Culture for Weta Digital". 1 News (TVNZ). https://1news.co.nz/2020/12/23/independent-review-of-workplace-culture-for-weta-digital. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- ↑ Witton, Bridie (18 September 2020). "Weta Digital calls in QC after sexual harassment allegations". Stuff. https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/122804210/weta-digital-calls-in-qc-after-sexual-harassment-allegations.
- ↑ "Weta Digital commissions independent review". Radio New Zealand. 17 September 2020. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/426317/weta-digital-commissions-independent-review.
- ↑ "The Birth of Weta", 1994, "The Edge" TV series, S2E7
- ↑ Murphy, Mekado (July 31, 2017). "Inside Avatar, the Theme Park Version". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/travel/pandora-avatar-film-disney-theme-park.html.
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