VFX Artist Services

Here is how this works in practice. Our VFX artists work primarily through Wētā FX (Unity-owned since 2021 with continuing independent Wellywood ops), Wētā Workshop's adjacent practical-effects partner, Department of Post Wellington's VFX bench, Auckland's Images and Sound, and Toybox Auckland's overflow capacity. Pipelines run Nuke / Nuke Studio compositing, Houdini FX simulation (fluids, smoke, fire, destruction), Maya for animation and lookdev, Katana for lighting, ZBrush / Mudbox / Mari for asset work, Substance Painter / Designer for texture, RenderMan / Arnold / V-Ray / Houdini Karma rendering, and ShotGrid / Shotgun shot running against the rolling vendor brief. Wētā FX keeps one of the largest render farms in the Southern Hemisphere. Compositing artists handle keying (Primatte, Keylight, IBK), tracking (3DEqualizer, PFTrack, Mocha Pro), roto-paint, and final integration with on-set ARRI Alexa 35 / 65 / Mini LF, RED V-Raptor, and Sony Venice 2 plates plus Wētā FX volumetric scans and performance-capture data.

Here is how this works in practice. Heritage stacks Joe Letteri (Wētā FX Senior VFX Supervisor — 4-time Best Visual Effects Oscar — LOTR The Two Towers 2003, King Kong 2006, Avatar 2010, Avatar: The Way of Water 2023). Richard Taylor (Wētā Workshop co-founder, 5-time Oscar winner across the Wētā divisions), Eric Saindon, Erik Winquist, and the deepest VFX bench in the Southern Hemisphere with 25 years of Oscar-winning body-level knowledge.

Wētā FX credits include LOTR, Hobbit, King Kong, Avatar, Planet of the Apes trilogy 2011-2017, Avatar: The Way of Water, Mortal Engines, Power of the Dog, Avatar 3, and Rings of Power. Reciprocal IATSE 839 / VES (Visual Effects Society) standing applies for US co-pros. Iwi consultation runs through VFX workflow for taonga, marae, or whakapapa-major CGI assets with kaumātua sign-off. ACC. SPADA contracts. GST 15 percent. NZSPG 25 percent grant. Privacy Act 2020 governs pre-release asset confidentiality.