Ben Wootten | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 28, 1969 [1] |
Benjamin (Ben) Charles Wootten is a graphic artist and designer based in Wellington, New Zealand.
Ben Wootten | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 28, 1969 [1] |
Benjamin (Ben) Charles Wootten is a graphic artist and designer based in Wellington, New Zealand.
Wootten was born in Essex, England in 1969, and his family moved to New Zealand when he was three. [2] He grew up in Whakatāne. As a teenager, he was interested in Dungeons & Dragons as well as The Lord of the Rings . [3] Wootten completed a degree in zoology at the University of Otago in Dunedin before moving to Christchurch where he studied Graphic Art at Christchurch Polytechnic. [3]
Immediately on graduating Wootten began working at the Weta Workshop as a designer and started to work on the films of Peter Jackson. [4] At first Wootten worked on King Kong (which was originally planned to be made before The Lord of the Rings trilogy). When Kong was canceled Wootten began to work on designs for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. A notable piece of work there was being closely involved in designing the Balrog.[ citation needed ] Wootten designed both Aragorn’s Strider sword and Boromir’s sword at Weta Workshop. [5]
He has also worked on the film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe .
His designs combined his knowledge of zoology with his artistic skill.
Wootten is now a freelance illustrator, working out of Wellington. Most of his recent work has been for RPGs and TCGs; clients including Wizards of the Coast, [3] Paizo and Upper Deck.
For Paizo, he has done interior illustrations for the Pathfinder: Curse of the Crimson Throne Player’s Guide, and for the GameMastery line, Crucible of Chaos. [1]
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson, based on 1954's The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The film is the first installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, and Andy Serkis.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic high fantasy adventure film directed by Peter Jackson from a screenplay by Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, and Jackson. It is based on 1955's The Return of the King, the third volume of the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. The sequel to 2002's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the film is the third installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. It features an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Bernard Hill, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Miranda Otto, David Wenham, Karl Urban, John Noble, Andy Serkis, Ian Holm, and Sean Bean. Continuing the plot of the previous film, Frodo, Sam and, Gollum make their final way toward Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring, unaware of Gollum's true intentions, while Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and, their allies join forces against Sauron and his legions from Mordor.
Wētā FX, formerly known as Weta Digital, is a New Zealand-based digital visual effects and animation company based in Miramar, Wellington. It was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993 to produce the digital special effects for Heavenly Creatures. The company went on to produce some of the highest-grossing films ever made, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Avatar, and Avatar: The Way of Water. Considered one of the most influential film companies of the 21st century, Wētā FX has won several Academy Awards and BAFTAs. The company is named after the New Zealand wētā, one of the world's largest insects, which was historically featured in the company logo.
Wētā Workshop is a special effects and prop company as well as video game developer based in Miramar, Wellington, in New Zealand, that produces effects for television and film. The company is named after the New Zealand wētā, one of the world's largest insects.
The Lord of the Rings is a trilogy of epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson, based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by British author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are subtitled The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), and The Return of the King (2003). Produced and distributed by New Line Cinema with the co-production of WingNut Films, the films feature an ensemble cast including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Christopher Lee, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Hugo Weaving, Andy Serkis, and Sean Bean.
Dame Frances Rosemary Walsh is a New Zealand screenwriter and film producer.
King Kong is a 2005 epic adventure monster film co-written, produced, and directed by Peter Jackson. It is the ninth entry in the King Kong franchise and the second remake of the 1933 film of the same title, the first being the 1976 remake. The film stars Naomi Watts, Jack Black, and Adrien Brody. Set in 1933, it follows the story of an ambitious filmmaker who coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island. There they encounter prehistoric creatures and a legendary giant gorilla known as Kong, whom they capture and take to New York City.
Sir Richard Leslie Taylor is the founder, creative director and head of New Zealand film prop and special effects company Wētā Workshop.
Mark Herbert Blumsky is a former New Zealand politician and diplomat. He was Mayor of Wellington from 1995 to 2001, and a Member of Parliament for the National Party from 2005 to 2008. Blumsky was New Zealand's High Commissioner to Niue from 2010 to 2014.
Miramar is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, south-east of the city centre. It is on the Miramar Peninsula, directly east of the isthmus of Rongotai, the site of Wellington International Airport.
James William Arthur "Jamie" Selkirk is a film editor and producer who has worked primarily in New Zealand. He is particularly noted for his work on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which he co-produced with Peter Jackson. He received the Academy Award for Best Film Editing for the last film of the trilogy, The Return of the King (2003).
Christian Rivers is a New Zealand storyboard artist, visual effects supervisor, special effects technician, and director. He first met Peter Jackson as a 17-year-old, and storyboarded all of Jackson's films since Braindead. He made his directing debut in the film adaptation of Mortal Engines, and planning a remake of The Dam Busters, both produced by Peter Jackson.
The production of The Lord of the Rings film series posed enormous challenges, both logistical and creative. Under Peter Jackson's direction, these obstacles were overcome between 1997 and 2004. Many attempts to produce J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings had failed; the few that had reached the screen were animations. Since the publication of the source novels in the mid-1950s, many filmmakers and producers had considered a film but then set the project aside. The series as filmed by Jackson consists of three epic fantasy adventure films. They were produced by New Line Cinema, assisted by WingNut Films. The cinema versions appeared between 2001 and 2003, and the extended edition for home video in 2004. Development began in August 1997. The films were shot simultaneously. Their production was undertaken entirely in Jackson's native New Zealand. It spanned the 14-month period from October 1999 until December 2000, with pick-up shots filmed over a further 24 months, from 2001 to 2003.
The Hobbit is a series of three fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. The films are subtitled An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), and The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). The films are based on J. R. R. Tolkien's 1937 novel The Hobbit, but much of the trilogy was inspired by the appendices to his 1954–55 The Lord of the Rings, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit. Additional material and new characters were created specially for the films. The series is a prequel to Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Sir Peter Robert Jackson is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003) and the Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014), both of which are adapted from the novels of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien. Other notable films include the critically lauded drama Heavenly Creatures (1994), the horror comedy The Frighteners (1996), the epic monster remake film King Kong (2005), the World War I documentary film They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) and the documentary The Beatles: Get Back (2021). He is the fourth-highest-grossing film director of all-time, his films having made over $6.5 billion worldwide.
Warren Mahy is an artist whose work has appeared in role-playing games and other fantasy works.
Greg Broadmore is a New Zealand concept designer, artist, writer and sculptor based in Wellington. He is the creator of Dr Grordbort's, and has worked as a designer, artist and writer at The Lord of the Rings film franchise director Peter Jackson's award-winning special effects and prop company, Weta Workshop since 2002. He was the lead concept designer on District 9 and a concept designer and sculptor on King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Adventures of Tintin. Broadmore was also one of the illustrators and concept writers for Weta Workshop's first publication, The World of Kong: A Natural History of Skull Island.
Benjamin Joseph Hawker is a New Zealand film director and special effects artist.
Sacha Lees is a New Zealand artist, working primarily in oil painting in the genres of portraiture and fantastic art. In 2020 she was awarded the Adam Portraiture Award, New Zealand's premier portrait prize. Lees also works as a freelance commercial artist.