Weta Workshop

Founded in 1987 by Richard Taylor and Tania Rodger as RT Effects, the company was renamed Weta Workshop in 1993 upon the entry of filmmaker Peter Jackson and film editor Jamie Selkirk as partners. Peter Jackson remained a director until 2015, and is no longer an owner of Wētā Workshop.

The initial operations of the company were defined by a series of early television projects, notably including the creation of creatures and makeup effects for the series Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. The studio simultaneously expanded into cinema, providing special effects for Peter Jackson films such as Heavenly Creatures and The Frighteners. The workshop expanded into CGI in 1993 by founding a separate visual effects company known as Weta Digital, which was then renamed in 2021 as Wētā FX. This company operates independently as a separate entity. Both businesses are named after the New Zealand wētā, one of the world's largest insects. Macrons were added to the companies' names in 2021.

Wētā Workshop achieved international prominence for its extensive contributions to director Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, where the studio was responsible for manufacturing the physical sets, costumes, armour, weapons, creatures, and miniatures. This work earned the studio's crew multiple Academy Awards, with co-founder Richard Taylor individually winning Oscars for Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects for The Fellowship of the Ring, as well as Best Costume Design and Best Makeup for The Return of the King. These accolades established the workshop as an industry leader in practical effects and cinematic world-building.

Following success with The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Taylor won a fifth Academy Award in 2006 for Best Visual Effects for his work on Jackson's 2005 remake of King Kong.

Wētā Workshop continues to provide extensive conceptual design and special effects for major Hollywood and international productions. Notable film projects included The Chronicles of Narnia series, James Cameron's Avatar series, Neill Blomkamp's District 9 (2009), Elysium (2013), Chappie (2015), and Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024).

Wētā Workshop's video games division was founded in 2012 and has produced numerous games including the augmented reality project Dr. …

For The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, realistic-looking, lightweight chainmail devised by creature, armour, and weapons art director Kayne Horsham was made for the lead actors and for the hundreds of extras that appeared in the films. PVC pipe was cut into rings, assembled by hand into a semblance of armour, and then electroplated. A total of 82.9 million links were manufactured from 7 miles (11 km) of PVC pipe. Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen nicknamed the chainmail 'Kayne's-mail' after its inventor. Horsham later improved his chainmail creation technique and patented it as Kaynemaile.

Wētā Workshop makes chainmail (branded as Tenzan Chain Maille) for film and creative industries using new techniques developed in-house. PVC injection was used for the armour in Kingdom of Heaven, giving better results than the process for The Lord of the Rings. It produces aluminium or steel chainmail for high-impact stunt work.

The term 'bigature' is Wētā Workshop's nickname for a very large miniature model. They were used in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, with the largest model measuring some 9 metres (30 ft) tall. Extensive computer graphics techniques and computer-controlled cameras were used to seamlessly mesh the bigature photography with live actors and scenes.

Bigatures used in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy included models of:

'Weta Legs' was a "low profile, professional grade reverse leg stilt" developed by Wētā technicians and manufactured by Performing Legs Ltd. Designed and largely hand-made by Wētā Workshop's sculptor-designer Kim Graham, these digitigrade leg extensions were intended for "creature and costume performances in movies, television, theatre, circus, street performances and other creative performances".

Originally reserved for commercial film and television projects, Wētā brought them to market in limited quantities for online purchase by members of the public in 2010. With the ability to take extra prosthetics such as layers of fur or skin "to resemble a digitigrade leg, from canine and feline to fantastical demons, dragons, satyrs and even robots", these devices were promoted as being easy to get used to because they allowed for realistic and natural movement due to knee and ankle joints. Citing low pre-order numbers, Wētā cancelled the commercial production of Weta Legs in June 2010. …

In 2012, Wētā Workshop expanded its operations by establishing Wētā Workshop Game Studio, a division focused on developing original interactive titles and providing conceptual design services for the video game industry. In 2018, Weta Gameshop, described as possibly "the world's first specialist mixed reality development studio", was opened in partnership with Magic Leap. In the field of mixed reality and emerging technology, the studio developed the award-winning title Dr. Grordbort's Invaders, a flagship augmented reality action game created specifically for the Magic Leap platform. Many staff were laid off in 2020.

Regarding its work on Middle-earth projects, the studio's Design Studio provided extensive concept art for Monolith Productions' Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Middle-earth: Shadow of War, specifically influencing the visual identity of characters, weaponry, and environmental assets. The division also internally developed Tales of the Shire, a cosy life-simulation game that allows players to experience the daily lives of hobbits within the world of J.R.R. Tolkien.

The studio has also contributed significant design work to the Call of Duty franchise, including providing character and world concept design for Call of Duty: Vanguard and developing character and weapon skins for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

In addition to its work in film and television, Wētā Workshop maintains a division focused on public and private commissions, specializing in large-scale sculptures and museum exhibits. This department applies cinematic fabrication techniques, such as high-detail prosthetics and structural engineering, to permanent physical installations.

The workshop’s private and institutional commissions range from bespoke bronze statues for individual collectors to collaborative projects with corporate and governmental organisations. These include design and fabrication for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Cultural Experience Center in Zhuhai and the redevelopment of the National Aquarium of New Zealand in Napier.

For the 2016 film Warcraft, Wētā Workshop collaborated with Madame Tussauds to create an immersive experience featuring a life-sized figure of the Orc chieftain Durotan, which stood over 2.1 m (7 ft) tall and was constructed using more than 90 silicone moulds and yak hair to achieve a realistic appearance. They also produced a massive bronze statue of the character Orgrim Doomhammer for the Blizzard Entertainment, the developer of the Warcraft video game franchise, at their headquarters in California.

A significant portion of Wētā Workshop's museum work is represented by the 'Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War' exhibition at Te Papa in Wellington, featuring human figures crafted at 2.4 times life size. The exhibition opened in 2015 and was intended to be in place for four years, but has proved so popular that Te Papa has extended it until 2032. A museum representative said that the exhibition had been Te Papa's most successful ever, with an estimated 5 million visitors to the end of 2025, and Sir Richard Taylor stated that "We wanted to share a deep respect to the memories of the men and women who served and sacrificed so much - on a scale that they deserved."

The company's public work includes various urban projects, such as the 2011 Rugby World Cup sculpture in Wellington and several significant memorial and collaborative art projects across New Zealand and abroad. At Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, the workshop fabricated the United Kingdom Memorial, which features intertwined bronze trees representing the royal oak and the pōhutukawa. …

Sideshow Weta Collectibles operated as a joint venture between the American manufacturer Sideshow Collectibles and Wētā Workshop.

Formed in 2001 to capitalise on the release of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the partnership combined Wētā Workshop’s authentic film-prop expertise with Sideshow’s global distribution and marketing infrastructure. The collaboration is best known for producing high-end polystone statues, busts, and prop replicas that set a new industry standard for cinematic accuracy and detail.

The formal partnership between Sideshow Collectibles and Wētā Workshop concluded on 1 July 2005, allowing both entities to pursue independent creative and commercial interests. To mark the end of the collaboration, the final product released was a 1:6 scale polystone statue of director Peter Jackson. The figure depicted Jackson in his cameo role as a Corsair of Umbar from the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Wētā Workshop re-established its independent consumer products division in 2005 following the conclusion of its joint venture with Sideshow. In 2005-2006 Wētā made collectibles for Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, as well as Superman Returns in 2006. The company also made collectibles for Hellgate: London in 2007/2008, and Doctor Who in 2008/2009.

In 2009, Wētā announced its return to creating collectibles based on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy after securing a new licensing agreement with Warner Bros. Consumer Products. The workshop produces high-end collectibles designed and sculpted by the same artists who create props and practical effects for major film productions.

Wētā Workshop’s consumer products division includes several distinct lines of collectibles which initially derived from its work in film and television. The Masters Collection consists of large-scale, limited-edition statues produced with an emphasis on technical detail and complex character arrangements. These mixed-media figures were often hand-painted by the same artists who work on the studio's props and miniatures to ensure a high level of craftsmanship.

Currently pre-production prototypes for all of their collectibles are painted by the Wētā Workshop paint department, who also paint the film props and physical items for other projects Wētā Workshop contributes to. …