Wētā Workshop — Stories from The Lord of the Rings, Four Tenets to Live By, and Untapping Creativity
Tim FerrissKey Moments
Wētā Workshop founders Richard Taylor and Greg Broadmore discuss creativity, inspiration, and the journey from a small bedroom startup to a global creative powerhouse.
Key Insights
Creativity thrives on curiosity and a willingness to "make makers."
Inspiration can be found in unexpected places, from obscure art books to everyday objects like tin foil.
Resilience and a "can-do" attitude are crucial for overcoming creative challenges and setbacks.
The "grand idea" is essential for meaningful projects, providing a central conceit around which work can coalesce.
Balancing deep passion for one's work with the ability to let go is key to artistic growth.
New Zealand's unique culture fosters resourcefulness, grit, and a desire to "punch above weight."
THE POWER OF INSPIRATION AND MAKING
Richard Taylor, co-founder of Wētā Workshop, emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with inspiring objects and fostering a "maker" culture. His office is a testament to this, filled with garage kits, props, and sculptures that serve as constant reminders of creative possibility. Taylor believes that 'making other makers' is a core tenet of Wētā Workshop's philosophy, highlighting the imperative to introduce people, especially children, to the joy of creation. This philosophy extends to using accessible materials like tin foil to spark creativity, demonstrating that remarkable things can be achieved with simple resources.
EARLY INFLUENCES AND SELF-TAUGHT CRAFT
Richard Taylor's journey into sculpting was self-taught, heavily influenced by a book of unknown sculptures and Hieronymus Bosch's "The Garden of Earthly Delights." Growing up in rural New Zealand, his parents' practical professions likely instilled a foundational work ethic. Similarly, Greg Broadmore's artistic path involved rejection from art schools, leading him to a more organic, 'learn-by-doing' approach. Both creators highlight the value of personal exploration and the process of discovering one's own methods, even if it means unconventional materials like margarine or a Nintendo DS for digital art.
THE STORY OF MARGARINE AND EARLY SUCCESS
Taylor's unique early sculpting medium, margarine, stemmed from observing a chef creating sculptures and realizing its potential for rapid, detailed work. This unconventional approach proved instrumental when he landed the satirical puppet job for the New Zealand version of 'Spitting Image.' By sculpting a puppet of the boss in margarine overnight, he demonstrated initiative and a "go the nth degree" attitude, securing a crucial early opportunity. The sheer volume of puppets created (72 in two years) for this project underscored the team's rapid problem-solving and efficient execution.
TENETS OF LEADERSHIP AND COMPANY CULTURE
Richard Taylor operates under four core tenets: love of oneself, love of what you do, love of who you do it with, and love of who you do it for. He believes these principles are fundamental to personal and professional success, particularly within a company. Wētā Workshop's longevity and success are attributed to its diverse divisions, a supportive team with long tenures, and a culture that embraces new technologies while retaining its tactile, workshop-based ethos. This approach keeps the company adaptable in a constantly evolving creative landscape, especially within the film industry.
NAVIGATING CHALLENGES: THE DISTRICT 9 EXPERIENCE
Greg Broadmore shares the profound impact of projects like District 9. Initially set to work on a Halo movie adaptation, the project fell through, causing disappointment due to the extensive unseen work. However, this paved the way for District 9, a project where Wētā Workshop helped build a science fiction world from scratch. Despite the inherent artistic challenges, such as significant redesigns of the alien robot under director Neill Blomkamp's vision, the team's resilience and adaptability were key. This experience highlighted the necessity of detaching from one's work and embracing iterative problem-solving to achieve a better final outcome.
THE CRUCIAL ROLE OF THE 'GRAND IDEA'
Richard Taylor emphasizes the concept of the 'grand idea' as the foundational element for any significant project. For the Gallipoli exhibition, the grand idea was to humanize war by presenting hyper-realistic, larger-than-life figures, shifting focus from statistics to individual experiences. This contrasts with Bug Lab, where the team struggled to find a unifying concept for months, illustrating the peril of proceeding without a clear central conceit. Taylor advocates for philosophical exploration to uncover these core ideas, which ensures the work has depth and resonates with its intended audience.
BROADMORE'S CREATIVE PROCESS AND NEW VENTURES
Greg Broadmore's upcoming graphic novel, 'One Path,' represents a return to basics and a more solitary creative process after his experience with game development. Initially inspired by retro science fiction and the concept of ray guns, the project evolved into a world of cavewomen and dinosaurs. Broadmore favors an improvisational approach, driven by curiosity and 'why' questions, embracing the unknown outcome. He has also explored his artistic roots through a new website and is excited about 'One Path,' which promises a blend of primal themes and graphic novel storytelling, deliberately keeping the IP pure for the comic book medium.
THE ARTIST'S JOURNEY AND THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH
Both Taylor and Broadmore touch upon the psychological aspects of creativity, including the balance between passion and detachment. Broadmore finds solace in the act of creation itself, recognizing that detachment from specific outcomes is crucial for resilience, especially when facing rejection or redesigns. Taylor echoes this by highlighting the importance of finding truth in art, comparing it to scientific discovery. The ultimate goal, for both, is to engage with the creative process authentically, pursue what is inspiring, and leave behind artifacts that carry meaning and joy long after their creation.
Mentioned in This Episode
●Products
●Companies
●Organizations
●Books
●Concepts
●People Referenced
Common Questions
Wētā Workshop started in Richard Taylor's bedroom with his wife, growing from a flat to a company with 400 people across seven business centers, including digital games, collectibles, location-based experiences, and robotics. This expansion was driven by a desire to offer creative careers in New Zealand.
Topics
Mentioned in this video
A model of Thunderbird 2, a vehicle from the TV series 'Thunderbirds', collected by Richard.
Creator of the animatronic Harry for the movie 'Harry and the Hendersons', a favorite of Richard's.
A British satirical puppet show, which inspired a New Zealand version Richard worked on.
A handheld game console with a touchscreen and hidden pressure sensitivity that Greg used for early digital art.
One of two co-authors for Greg Broadmore's comic book 'One Path'.
A vehicle from the Halo universe that Wētā Workshop was making props for during the Halo film project.
Referred to as the 'grandfather of makeup effects,' who inspired and educated many makeup artists worldwide, and was a mentor to Richard.
Actor who shot scenes in South Africa with one of Greg Broadmore's robot props from District 9.
A book co-authored by Adam Lee, covering 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons gameplay and worlds.
A comic book series by Simon Bisley that Greg Broadmore found mind-blowing and highly influential.
A great American illustrator and peer/teacher of N.C. Wyeth.
Richard owns a gremlin sculpture from the movie 'Gremlins 2', originally painted by Steve Wang.
A proposed live-action movie adaptation that never happened, which Greg had submitted an art portfolio for.
A sculptor and friend of Greg Broadmore's who designed aliens for District 9 through extensive prosthetic work that was ultimately rejected.
A master fantasy artist known for his powerful male figures and strong female characters, captivating Greg with his iconic works.
An illustrator known for creating iconic male figures for advertisements.
An artist mentioned for inventing entire alien worlds.
A dinosaur skeleton prop initially bought for the movie 'Kong' by Richard, later gifted to Greg, serving as a proud possession.
An event for which Wētā Workshop designed and built the largest pavilion.
Director of 'District 9', praised for his unique style, vision, and ability to make quick creative decisions.
A comic book series that immediately preceded Simon Bisley's 'Slaine', featuring his black-and-white penmanship.
A magazine that featured works by Richard Corben, and heavily influenced Greg Broadmore.
Greg Broadmore's new 200-page graphic novel about cavewomen and dinosaurs, releasing April 8th, with three more volumes planned.
A hotel in Wellington where Richard's wife worked, and where he learned to sculpt with margarine from the chef.
A film Peter Jackson was about to start on, and a prop for which Richard bought an Albertosaurus skeleton.
A New Zealand technology company mentioned as an example of achieving great things with limited resources.
A film directed by Neill Blomkamp, which Greg worked on, designing robots and weapons.
Neill Blomkamp's short film that served as the basis for District 9.
Original painter of the gremlin sculpture from Gremlins 2.
Artist of 'The Garden of Earthly Delights', a triptych that inspired Richard in his early teens.
One of Ray Harryhausen's better-known movie projects.
A film for which all sculptures were made using margarine.
A highly acclaimed museum exhibition designed by Wētā Workshop for Te Papa, featuring hyper-realistic, larger-than-life sculptures.
Founder of Magic Leap, who massively supported Greg in starting a game studio.
A comic artist for 2000 AD, particularly known for 'Slaine: The Horned God' and 'Lobo', whose art blew Greg's mind and set a new standard for him.
An illustrator who dealt with the commercialization of art, mentioned by the host.
Mysterious hardcover books from Dungeons & Dragons that gave Greg a nostalgic hit and inspired his bestiary.
A movie featuring the character Harry, which Richard has sculptures of in his office.
A fund for which Greg, Richard, and Remi raised money in Chengdu.
The production company that Richard worked for, making satirical puppets for a New Zealand version of Spitting Image.
Asia's largest recording artist and Chinese musician, for whom Wētā Workshop's Creative Media division does work.
One of two co-authors for Greg Broadmore's comic book 'One Path'.
A feature film adaptation of the video game that Wētā Workshop initially worked on before it was cancelled.
A British comic book series that Greg Broadmore grew up reading and aspired to work for.
An American artist known for his distinctive lighting and drawing of powerful figures, often featured in Heavy Metal magazine.
A comic book character whose work by Simon Bisley Greg remembers distinctly.
An American illustrator from the turn of the last century, known for iconic book illustrations, whose paintings provided a semi-religious experience for Greg.
A prop sword from The Lord of the Rings movie, kept by Richard, symbolizing strength, wonder, and creative immortality.
A stop-motion master and legendary animator who profoundly inspired Richard and the Wētā Workshop crew.
New Zealand's national museum, where Wētā Workshop built the 'Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War' exhibition.
Greg Broadmore's original intellectual property, a retro sci-fi universe involving ray guns, characters, and satirical themes.
A publisher Greg Broadmore is working with for his new comic book 'One Path'.
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