‘Avatar’ — a technological revolution
James Cameron’s film ‘Avatar’ — the highest-grossing of all time — was largely created in Wellington’s world-class facilities.
Matt was a boat builder in a previous life. His career highlight was building SL33’s multihull catamarans for the America’s Cup from his Wellington base. Now working as production manager and prop maker at Wellington creative firm Human Dynamo, Matt put his boat-building skills to work for ‘Avatar: The Way of the Water’.
Building for ‘Avatar’
He and a team of 15 built ‘science fiction-type’ consoles for the human base on Pandora that features in the James Cameron-directed film.
“We worked to specs under very tight timeframes, we did 12 different consoles, one or more a month, and the detail was quite extreme. Everything had to look perfect,” says Matt.
“We were making things out of MDF, then painting them up so they looked like a car-quality paint job. Colours had to be very exact and the finishes high quality.”
I wasn’t really looking for a movie job, I kind of fell into it, but the movie industry seems to like boat builders because they’re good at making weird stuff and odd-shaped things.
Attention to detail
Matt’s team was among more than 300 people contracted in art and construction departments behind the scenes.
“There was a real high attention to detail on things you wouldn’t even imagine would be a detail,” says Matt.
“Things like switches on consoles, little lights with little labels that light up behind them, electronics and lights in behind panels so that they glow, little pipes that come out of one place and go into somewhere else…
“On the actual set, you might not even see that kind of detail, because the shot might be of someone walking past and it’ll just be a blur.”
“But these things had to be perfectly painted and perfectly appointed because of the quality of camera work.”
Then there was the MDF-constructed and painted console featuring large screens that sat inside a bulldozer cab driven like a drone.
“There were lots of consoles, lots of wild, weird stuff which was super fun to work on,” says Matt.
From workshop to the big screen
Now the work is done, Matt has enjoyed sitting back and seeing his work on the big screen alongside audiences worldwide.
“After all the hours you pour into something, it’s really cool seeing the end result and getting some recognition for it.”
Human Dynamo, which has three decades of fabrication and model-making experience from museum installation to film work, prides itself on making unusual things.
Unusual is a word Matt thrives on. As a prop maker and former boat builder, he’s used to making odd-shaped things.
“It’s a good fit, the industries cross over nicely, and they both involve working with weird angles.”
Other projects
‘Avatar’ aside, Matt’s other projects have included a time machine for a Whittaker’s Chocolate campaign and a stalagmite display for a national park in Perth. He has also built props for Taika Waititi’s ‘Time Bandits’.
Initially, Matt was a contractor at Human Dynamo making composite panels for sci-fi vehicles featured in the film ‘Ghost in the Shell’.
At that stage, he’d moved on from boat building, a career that began after he followed a mate working on a vintage boat on Wellington’s waterfront. At the time he was a barista at a local café.
From classic boats, he relocated to Auckland to focus on big timber and fibreglass launches before eventually working on the SL33 catamarans and Open 60s, single-handed ocean racing boats made of carbon fibre.
That morphed into making multirotor drones out of carbon fibre composites before his interaction with Human Dynamo.
For Matt, it’s like being a big kid.
“Growing up on a dairy farm in Dannevirke I loved to make things, and now I get to play at work. If you see what we make there are a lot of fantastic and imaginative things, just look at the chocolate time machine!”
Looking for more?
At start of items
‘Mortal Engines’: Made in Wellington
You’d never suspect that a film of the epic scale of post-apocalyptic adventure ‘Mortal Engines’ was filmed and produced entirely in Wellington, New Zealand.
Dreams become reality for young Wellington animator
Charlie Faulks is a self-taught Wellington animator and has received $500,000 in funding to produce his own web series.
Screen siren – in front of and behind the camera
The lure of film has been strong since childhood for Awa Puna. Whether editing, directing, or acting it feeds her need to tell stories. One such story is showing at the 2024 Māoriland Film Festival.
Screen project launches producer onto international stage
As part of Wellington’s Screen Accelerator Project, ‘Extreme Cake Sports’ producer Bevin Linkhorn has interest from a Hollywood producer.
Wellington celebrates creative screen talent
Wellington is living up to its coveted title as a UNESCO City of Film hosting a celebration of creative screen talent at the New Zealand Youth Film Festival awards.
Wellington impresses ‘After the Party’ producer
New Zealand’s latest drama ‘After The Party’ is the very first series leading Australian producer Helen Bowden has made in Wellington.
‘Lord of the Rings’ — creating the impossible
Sir Peter Jackson’s blockbuster trilogy ‘The Lord of the Rings’ put Wellington on the map as a major film-making destination.
The Hobbit — the middle of Middle-earth
With easy access to dramatic locations and home to world-leading special effects, and the acclaimed producer of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, Peter Jackson. Where else would you make ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy but Wellington?
‘King Kong’: Where versatility is key
From 1930s New York to Skull Island, Wellington stood in for virtually every location in ‘King Kong’. The range and versatility of the region’s locations, plus the world-class special effects facilities made Wellington an ideal base for the production.