On Weta(Digital?)

The Weta Workshop family is made up of some of the most passionate, creative, tenacious and outright excellent people imaginable.

It’s not easy to get a job here. We hand pick 5-10 new people every year and we already have thousands of portfolios to choose from.

Unless you have skills or experience that we cannot find in New Zealand, New Zealand immigration rules state you have to be a resident.

But if you possess the passion, tenacity and residence status to be considered, and have a skill we employ we do encourage you to follow your dream and apply.

“Some departments are more likely to hire graduates than others. These jobs will not necessarily be the most glamorous but you have to see them as a stepping stone,” he said.

He told students that Weta Digital was always on the look out for new talent and said the company offered scope of projects and a career in visual animation.

“It is likely you [recent graduates] will progress through the company if you have the talent, drive and energy for the work. We are always hungry for people’s talent. If we see it we will make the most of it.”

He urged students not to be discouraged if their application was unsuccessful on the first attempt, applications received through the online form at wetafx.co.nz/jobs were carefully tracked.

“We like to see multiple applications and we will monitor your progress and you gain more experience.

“More and more we are seeing graduates go off to work in the smaller studios and gain 1-2 years experience then reapply to us successfully.”

He explained that Weta Digital was made up for 27 different departments including previs (previsualisation), concept art, compositing,  layout, motion edit, creatures, onset, crowds, iO, shaders, matt painting, colour grading, rotoscoping, paint, R&D, IT, pipeline, editorial and production.

In the last couple of years, the departments that have hired graduates include layout, camera tracking, models, motion edit, FX, lighting, photoscoping, paint, compositing, IT and facilities.

Which basically boils down to Weta likes people who are:

Somewhat experienced 

Driven as hell

Keen to learn

Talented