Design and Technology Students Gain Insight into Special Effects Industry

Earlier this month a class of eighteen Year 13 A Level Design and Technology students travelled to Wellington for an educational trip to learn about professional film and exhibition design and the model making processes.

Firstly they visited Te Papa, to experience the “Gallipoli ~ The Scale of Our War” exhibit. It was truly awe-inspiring to witness the sheer size and detail of the sculptures, which are 2.4 times human size. The students had previously learnt about how the exhibit was created, and were deeply fascinated by the depth of realism that the sculptures held. From the individually placed hairs on the heads of the figures - which took around six weeks to manually insert on each head - to the artificial sweat and blood, the exhibition was extraordinary in its content, depth and attention to detail.

They commemorated the thousands of Kiwis that served at Gallipoli in the First World War, and the 2,779 fallen New Zealanders who sacrificed their lives for their nation. At the end of the exhibit, the students were also given the opportunity to write down their feelings on paper poppies, a pool of which are displayed in the last sculpture at Te Papa. 

They had the privilege of meeting Sir Richard Taylor, the founder and Creative Director of New Zealand’s famous Weta Workshop; the special effects empire that brought epic worlds such as Middle Earth and Pandora to life. 

This was followed by a visit to the Weta Workshop in Miramar. Everyone was captivated by the fine detail and craftsmanship in Weta’s memorabilia on display, including props, figures and artwork. Highlights included the WotWots, District 9, Thor Ragnarok and King Kong. 

What followed was a grand adventure into the secret universe behind these magical films. Reese Dixon, a spectacular tour guide and chainmail specialist at Weta, led everyone into the first tour - Middle Earth. The students were also privileged to see Master Swordsmith Peter Lyon at work. Amongst visually experiencing the fantastic industry of special effects and prop-making, the group was also allowed to hold some of the props, costumes and materials used in productions. 

The Thunderbirds Are Go behind-the-scenes tour featured enormous miniature scale models of the show’s setting, or as Weta calls them - Bigatures. Locations such as Tracy Island, Lady Penelope’s mansion and evil genius’ lairs came into life in the exhibition, and it was breathtaking to see the amount of detail and work the creators put into making the models. It was also very intriguing to know that they recycled many household items from old Weetbix boxes, lemon squeezers to vacuum cleaner pipes to create the bigatures. 

Overall, the Wellington Design Trip was highly successful in giving practical and inspirational insights into the professional special effects industry. Many thanks to Mr Hey and Ms Hsu.