The Art of District 9: Weta Workshop

Description

The Art Of District 9 gives fans a behind-the-scenes tour through the most visually and technologically stunning film of the past decade. Written by Weta Works insider Daniel Falconer—a special effects wizard who worked on The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — The Art Of District 9 will answer the question everyone has been asking since the movie’s 2009 release: How did they do it? From the Back CoverIn 2009 Weta Workshop created a world so uncannily realistic that the special effects (in addition to an undeniably poignant plot) helped a low-budget film with an unknown cast become a blockbuster hit. Movie-goes, bloggers, and critics could not stop talking about Neill Blomkamp's first feature film, District 9 , the newest alien movie that has raised the bar for science fiction thrillers in the new century.Weta Workshop's artists created the special make-up effects, physical characteristics, alien weaponry, props, armor, custom vehicles and spaceships that were all stylized in a foreign yet familiar graphic language that defined the film's distinctive alien aesthetic. This book illuminates the creative design process, detailing two years of interaction between Weta's artists and director Neill Blomkamp in the form of hundreds of images of concept art from both the designers and director, stunning photographs of the props and sculptures, and insightful remarks from the artists themselves. Many of the images included in this book have never been seen before, including work cut or barely glimpsed in the finished film. Written by designer Daniel Falconer with a foreword by Neill Blomkamp and introduction by Richard Taylor (multi Academy Award winning special effects and make-up artist and head of Weta), The Art of District 9 offers an unrivalled, front row glimpse into the creative minds and hands that shaped this amazing film. About the AuthorDaniel Falconer has been a designer at Weta Workshop for more than a decade, producing conceptual art as part of the design team on many of the company's high profile projects, including The Lord of the Rings , King Kong , The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the short-lived Halo movie adaptation. Daniel wrote and collated Weta's first two books, The World of Kong (Simon & Schuster, 2005) and The Crafting of Narnia (HarperOne, 2008), art books that showcased the illustrative work of the entire design departments behind on King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia movies, and has provided descriptive copy for movie-based toys and collectibles including The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. He lives in Wellington with his wife Catherine and two daughters, reveling in his dream career of playing in imaginary worlds every day.K.M. Rice is a national award-winning screenwriter and author who has worked for both Magic Leap and Weta Workshop. Her first novel, Darkling , is a young adult dark fantasy that now has a companion novel titled The Watcher. Her novella The Wild Frontier is an ode to the American spirit of adventure and seeks to awaken the wildish nature in all of us. Her upcoming Afterworld series is set to debut with the first book, Ophelia. Over the years, her love of storytelling has led to producing and geeking out in various webshows and short films. When not writing or filming, she can be found hiking in the woods, baking, running, and enjoying the company of the many animals on her family ranch in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California.