Weta – travelogs

The first thing we learned upon arriving in Wellington is how good the coffee is. We had a bit of time to wait at the airport before Kim and Ray picked us up, so we grabbed some coffee at a shop by baggage claim. I was introduced to a ‘Flat White’, which is a Latte with a double shot of coffee in it, and it was excellent. This has become my new standard in NZ.

Kim is a friend of mine through the Visual Effects Society (VES), and is the reason I was invited to speak at AnimFX. She and Ray (both from Sauce FX) picked us up and gave us a driving tour of Weta on our way to the hotel. After hearing about Weta Digital for the first time when they were ramping up for “Lord of the Rings”, I’ve been following their work and rise to CG superpower. As is the case with so many effects and animation ‘shops,’ their humble exteriors hide the amazing work that is going on inside.

The Weta Cave - their retail shop

We checked into the Museum Hotel, right across from the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum where the conference will be happening.

View of the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum from our room at the Museum Hotel. The AnimFX conference is held at the Te Papa.

After lunch down the street and a walk through the Sunday farmers’ market, we boarded a bus tour of Wellington to help us get our bearings. We learned a bit about NZ politics (though it still remains somewhat cryptic to me), saw some wonderful historic architecture, drove along the Carmel-esque shoreline, and went to the top of things.

Wellington, from the top of the cable car

Old St. Paul's, a beautiful wood church in Wellington

Sarah, in Old St. Paul's

The view of Wellington from Mt. Victoria

We ended the day with a walk along the waterfront, stopping for drinks and a great dinner at Macs brewery.

I had a Macs Wheat Beer, while Sarah dreamt of sleeping

Chicken breast marinated in hard cider, with leeks, carrots and mushrooms. Yum.

Alas, another day with too few pictures. Weta Digital sponsored a Weta Day for AnimFX and presented a series of fantastic talks at one of their facilities: Park Road Post. They requested no photography or recordings on campus, so the best I did was this:

Me, outside Weta's Park Road Post

The morning had five speakers breaking down the making of “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” including Eric Winquist (formerly of PDI!) going into detail on the Golden Gate Bridge sequence which he supervised. During the afternoon we were treated to talks by Wayne Stables and Jamie Beard about the genesis of the digital version of Tin Tin for “The Adventures of Tin Tin,” and pre-script visualization of action sequences for the film.

In between the sessions they hosted lunch for all of us at the local (lawn) bowling club. As is typical at conferences, these types of meals and coffee breaks make for great opportunities to meet new people and catch up with old acquaintances. Though I tend to be introverted in large groups of people, this crowd made it very easy to make some new friends.

I stuck around after the main events to watch two screenings of Enrico’s “La Luna” that were arranged for Weta employees in the evening. After seeing his talk on Tuesday it was fun to see the finished film a couple times more to appreciate the nuances that he exposed us to.

AnimFX closed with a party at Red Square in downtown Wellington.

While I was whiling away the hours at Weta, Sarah was sightseeing and shopping along the seaside.

Back in our hotel room that night, Sarah let out a scream in the dark that I was sure would have the police showing up. The perp would have been our luggage on the floor that attacked one of her toes with enough energy to break it. The beautiful picture of the now purple ped was not approved by its owner for public publication, but it is quite glorious in its rich hues. Some tape and limping will hopefully be sufficient for a full recovery.

(In review, it’s pretty clear this was written late at night. All that alliteration!)