Geekery: Weta’s Miniatures for Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Blade Runner 2049’
The artists at Weta Workshop are working with Villeneuve to bring practical effects to Dune‘s Arrakis. Here’s a look back at what the company did for Blade Runner 2049 for an idea of what to expect.
When director Denis Villeneuve took on the sequel he promised a certain level of physical effects. He didn’t break that promise. The mix of practical effects, miniatures, and CG is amazing. Weta Workshop built miniature sets for the movie that look like they’d fit in nicely with Douglas Trumbull and Syd Mead’s work on the 1982 film. All of these photos and more can be found in The Heart and Soul of Blade Runner 2049 published by NECA, which is available now on Amazon and at your local bookshop.
Chris Menges working on a cityscape.
Lauren May adding details to a building.
Rob Chesney gluing some siding onto a skyscraper.
Zan Johnson makes sure a building is ready to be filmed.
Starting work on what would become the highly detailed Trash Mesa.
Oscar award-winning cinematographer Alex Funke takes a look at some of the shots Weta has lined up.
As a bit of a bonus: this is a great short doc from Vice that takes a look at some of the effects used in the film. It has set walkthroughs, a look at some of the props, and interviews with the cast and crew.
One of the things that I’m sure about when it comes to Dune is that the task of creating the physical spaces of the epic is in very capable hands and it’s going to be gorgeous. What we’ve seen so far – universe being created with costumes and large set pieces – and past work both add to my excitement about seeing this on a big screen (cross your fingers) this winter.
Dune arrives in theaters on December 18th.
