It’s been a while since my last post due to an immense amount of work that has fallen into my lap these past few months, including an epic battle between me and the dark corners of the internet.

After finishing up the the Gallipoli project for Peter Jackson, ANZ, and the New Zealand Government (http://www.wellingtonnz.com/discover/things-to-do/events/the-great-war-exhibition/) I went back to work for Weta Digital on Steven Spielberg’s feature film:  The Big Friendly Giant (The BFG by Roald Dahl).

I’ve worked on many great projects in my career, but The BFG was the absolute most fun film I’ve ever done.  I had a lot of artistic freedom on this show, and much of my work on body animation was left untouched and sent straight to Final Motion.  You’ll find much of my work were close ups on BFG’s hands – a fully animated shot of BFG placing labels inside a chest – animated, not simmed – by me 😉 and perhaps a tight shot of BFG closing/locking a dream in a jar.  Hands are tough, but seemed to be my speciality on this show.

There are few films the come along every generation that define a persons childhood – I think The BFG could be that film (Internationally at least).  So much charm and magic are in this film, as well as some incredibly difficult VFX shots.  I do think the American audience will not find this type of story appealing – kids 5-8 might – but other than that demographic, this isn’t for America.  Ninja Turtles are, The BFG isn’t.

That said, the love of making this movie definitely translated on screen and I hope, at the very least, it makes its money back.

Upon delivering our final shot and over a glass of champagne, Mr Spielberg made a toast to Weta Digital via satellite:

“I’ve had three very significant experiences in my career in the world of the imagination and creating things that are impossible to create and impossible to believe you’re actually seeing, and I’ve made a lot of movies where the special effects are crucial to the result but I can only count three on one hand that really made a difference in my life and that have profoundly moved me and surprised me and taught me things I never knew before. And the first – no, it wasn’t Jaws – the first was Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the second was Jurassic Park, and the last one was The BFG.”

-Steven Spielberg

Quite the statement considering this film making master’s body of works.

Cheers Steven!