Model Maker David Tremont answers your questions

Last week, we gave you the opportunity to ask questions - whatever you wanted to ask from our senior model maker David Tremont, who's been with Weta "since 9/11 happened" as he puts it.

We had a record number of questions and Dave has spent five days of his own time answering them. Dave is very passionate about his trade and he has taken NO shortcuts in giving you the best and most honest answers.

Without further ado - here's what Dave has to say:

Dave: I hope that I cover all questions. I have to be a little vague, at times, as current jobs are still confidential and some of the questions would be better served if I could reveal them..... but no. Some of the questions get repeated so I will refer back to the earlier ones, if I remember where I left it, and try to add a little more so if you are one of the earlier ones you may get more information with later questions and answers so read on.... or you could turn off the computer and go for a nice walk.

It takes a while to understand the intent of some of the questions so my answers may waffle a little as I gather my thoughts.... I tend to nibble around the pies crusty edges before taking a big bite of the meaty goodness... unless you are a vegetarian but it is OK as cows are also vegetarians so it's fine to eat them.

I never mind answering questions but, remember, these are my views and should not be taken as absolute... make your own choices and observations, create your own experiences by doing it. But above all use the internet, do the research. We have an amazing and very powerful tool and access to vast amounts of knowledge right at our finger tips. What I write here is only scraping the surface as space and my time is limited.... do the research, you will find vastly more information and alternatives on what I am writing.

We are too used to, or complacent with, the internet. It is there as a tool to use and the best advice I can give is learn to use it and it will become one of the best tools in your tool box in the search for knowledge and potential employment. There is also a vast amount of information from people, like me, that is there to read.

1 Mischa McLachlan : What is the most challenging, and technical model you've worked on, and why was it so hard?

Dave: This one is not as ‘straight up' as it could seem as there are many challenging and technical problems with what we do. Size is not necessarily the most difficult. All our collectibles are fairly technical because they are not just a one off but have to go into production so there is a great deal of planning on how many pieces, how to solve moulding problems, how to prevent fine detail breaking, and many more.

The larger pieces are a technical challenge. As a personal technical challenge, the latest piece (Barad Dur) would be high on the challenge list because it is all very tiny detail and took 1500 hours to build. I often build very tiny details, for our collectibles, and they sit on a 2" square piece of wood with detail so tiny I can barely see it even with magnifying glasses so these details would be amongst the most challenging and technical because they still have to be straight and square and accurate.

It is impossible to hold something that is as small as a pin head so I would lightly super glue it to the end of my figure so I can shape it. I have to be a little vague with this as most of what I am working on, to better illustrate this question, is still confidential.... but stay tuned.... soon.

2 Mailekalani Lum : Can someone post a pic of Arwen's buckle from her Chase coat and what her hair combs look like from the bridge scene.

Dave: I know nothing of this one and Weta may not have had anything to do with it.

3 James Stokes : Have you guys made any scale warbirds at all? I'd love to see any! :D

Dave: Sorry, but no. With the company that builds full size ones, just down the road, it is unlikely we ever will but we did get involved in their model kits right at the start.

4 Chris Nixon : What does the sign behind his head say?

Dave: He, being me... it is my old company logo - The Model Smiths. ‘Smith' coming from the old description of occupation such as Blacksmith or Metalsmith. My grandfather was a Blacksmith, for a time, and so was my father in his younger days. And now, I am a Modelsmith. The space freighter was the design on the business card and that came from loving spaceships and the freighter was a little different from the usual.... I just built a model of it.... but was a little impractical as a business card so I hung it on the wall.

5 Brett Steinbrink : What model are you most proud of, and why? How did you get your start in modeling?

Dave: Thunderbirds and Doctor Who. Both these shows were, and still are, a major inspiration. Thunderbirds more so with all of it being miniatures and Doctor Who with the magic of adventure. I was young when these shows started and was totally captivated by them and would always try to replicate what I saw with Lego. This was all the gunpowder but what really lit the blue touch paper was my father. He was a brilliant carpenter (as a hobby) and built us kids simple toys out of wood and when I watched him build something from nothing... well..... bang!

In the picture at the top of the facebook page I am holding the wooden Thunderbird 2 dad built for me when I was 8 or 9. As far as getting my start.... I have always built models, from a very early age, starting with Lego and working my way up. All through my school years and on, I trained myself. Model making was what I wanted to do... to make models the same as what was on Thunderbirds. Back then I had no idea of freelance... it was school then a career working for a company.... tried it but was not happy. All this time I built models and continued to learn and build experience. Opportunities started to come up as people would ask me to build them things.

I took a leap of faith (in myself), left the ‘real job' and pursued model making as a profession. A very scary time as I knew how to build models but no idea how to run a business and earn from it. I stubbornly pushed forward.... never looked back and gradually gained work with model making and special effects companies as well as setting up my own workshop to do freelance work.

6 Mischa McLachlan : What new skills, or techniques have you picked up recently? What things would you like to learn more about?

Dave: As I get older my eyesight gradually fails me and I need to wear glasses to work and read so one would think that I should do more larger things but I do more and more smaller things and this also relates to your earlier question. So new skills and techniques would relate to being able to build very tiny details and keep them precise. But it is not just building it, we also have to be able to mould it and reproduce it so I have to make sure there are no gaps and other issues that would be a problem for very small silicone moulds.

I very rarely sculpt and so am not very good at it other than basic shapes so would love to gain better skills with it. Weta have some of the most skilled sculptors there are so, normally sculpting would go to them and I do envy their abilities.

7 Jeremiah Kuehne : How did you get started with making models, and when did you decide to make it your profession?

Dave: Refer to (5). I always wanted to do it, just didn't understand what ‘profession' was. The realization really came to me when I worked as a TV Technician and Model Maker as a hobby.... I was miserable with my job and longed for the model making... this would have been my late teens.

8 Jo The Clown Kenyon : How did you start out model making? Was it like the rest of us plebs, making our own dioramas, or warhammer scenery? :)

Dave: Refer to (7 and 5) and yes, adding to this, I started out making my own stuff. I saw something on TV and could not buy it as a toy so made my own version. As a younger child it would have been Lego and bits of wood or general building blocks.... may not have been brilliant pieces of art but was a start and the first step in a very long journey of learning and discovery as to what I can do when I want to. That was also enhanced by what my father built.

9 Jared LeClaire : How does one get into model building as a profession?

Dave: A lot of hard work and an absolute belief that it will happen. The first thing is to be able to build models and have basic experience and understanding of model making and then a great deal of time going to, or writing to every model making company you can find to get an interview and find out if they are hiring and what are their requirements and if they take on people to train.

If you are experienced and have the knowledge then it is as simple as setting up a workshop, understanding how to run a business then start advertising your business and going to every company that may require models and props etc. It is a long and often sole destroying experience and why so few get there but it comes down to you and your determination.

For me it was all of the above and then a gradual, year after year, gaining of experience and getting known by people in the industry. It is funny but, the film industry, at its worst, can be a very cruel and nasty place and will destroy people if they let it but is the only venue for the type of model making I love to do so it was a natural progression that I would end up in it.

10 Anita Morvant : What is the biggest model you've ever made and how long did it take?

Dave: The unfortunate thing about professional model making is that there is never long enough time to build something.... there is always a budget and schedule to work to. With this there are two categories - hobby and profession.... the first one is down to you and however much time you want to spend on it.... the second follows time and budget and there is never enough of each so answering this is never going to match a time someone would spend on it if it is their own time.

This is a job outside of Weta as I am only a tiny part, of this place, and one of many people so will not claim to be responsible for the work here (collectibles aside) but long ago I did a wharf and part of a town that must have been about 40 sq meters ???? at 1/10 scale. That could have been the largest single model and, being in the film industry, there would not have been enough time and, from memory, would have probably been 3 or so weeks to do with a small team of people. It was blown to pieces and was a pile of smoking rubble at the end of it.

11 Johnny Rodriguez : What should I study to do model making as a job? Did u go to school?

Dave: I have never had any ‘training' as such to be a model maker. It has all been an absolute passion and self taught simply by doing it. I have built models from a very early age so by the time I was able to do it as a profession I had a lot of experience and things to show to clients and employers. There are many helpful skills to learn such as wood work, metal work, art (design, life drawing, technical drawing etc), sculpting.

Some universities have associated studies such as architectural model making or engineering model making and some have basic model making. The best thing to do is research universities and polytechs in your local area but the greatest school is the one you create yourself by doing it. Go to your local book and magazine store and look for publications on hobby model making and start reading them. Most give a very good insight into modelling techniques across a large range of building but you have to build things and remember that even the mistakes are a good learning curve so never be afraid of making them.

12 Dave King : Can I have that model of Thunderbird 2, please...? ;-)

Dave: NO!

13 Annelies Berends : How did you come to work at Weta?

Dave: Mutual friends told Richard about me and he and Tania sought me out and talked me into joining them which was a big deal as I had a workshop and a business in Australia which had to be closed and packed up when I decided to make the move.

14 Doug Bradbury : What are the best stages for an aspiring modelmaker to take in rider to get into it as a profession ?

Dave: Also refer to (7). Again, by doing and never stop doing it. The greater the experience and variety of skills the better chance there is of getting professional work. There is no real easy answer to this as some can be lucky while others struggle and never make it. It all comes down to the individual person and how hard they work at achieving their goal.... no one else will do it for you. There is no easy answer and always comes back to ‘the future is what you make yourself'...... I heard that in a movie somewhere.

When I started out there was no one to talk to and very few companies to get work with and those ones did not want to talk to a kid. I had to create everything for myself and build a collection of models that I could start showing people before finally getting a chance. It is not easy to be taken seriously, when you are very young and starting out, but you have to persist and earn the respect. Keep building stuff and build a folio of experience. Another important point to make, while I think about it, is to never exaggerate on what your experience and skill levels are... exaggerating may get you work but you will be caught out when you don't deliver and that would be an end to the career.... it is a small world and most effects companies know each other and often ask each other about people so word does get around.

And in saying that, good work and ethics also gets around and really does help in getting known and more work potentials but don't just rely on that.... still do the footwork and internet research.

15 Asher J. Klassen : How do you see the model's role in the telling of a story? And in what ways does this affect your focus and fuel your passion as a modelmaker?

Dave: Models are just one of many tools in telling stories and not an absolute requirement. Well made big miniatures will greatly enhance the story and show us worlds that could never exist... but these days..... so can digital builds. When I was young a miniature or matt painting was the only way to show impossible things then digital came along and, after a few hiccups, helped to enhance those miniatures but now digital is completely replacing the need for any model work and yet the stories are amazing. It used to be a way of saving money, for example, the story has a big aircraft crashing... well, you could do that with a real one if you had the money but not usually the case so it would be done with a big model.

But the physical model has now been mostly replaced with digital models but either works very well in any storytelling and will always be....it is just that the artists have now changed. My focus will always remain the same as in a passion for model making. Sometimes we, as model makers, can have an input into what is built because we have an understanding of what works with models and this greatly enhances focus and passion with the greater involvement.

16 Andrew McColl : How does it feel to know items you helped design for LotR may soon be turned into Lego sets?

Dave: WAY FRIGGIN COOL!

17 Graeme Martin : Apart from creating monsters and frictional characters for movies, do you have a particular passion in model making. i.e. warships, fighter planes, race cars?

Dave: Making something very small look and move as if it were real is a particular passion and so does not matter if it is a car or plane etc. As an actual model making exercise, things with interesting textures and surface detail such as military models are a fun challenge.

On the creative side, science fiction such as spaceships and robots etc are way cool as I can let my imagination have a go. As you can gather from this, there is no one answer... it is an overall passion for me. One particular hobby side for me is to build replicas of Thunderbirds and other Gerry Anderson shows as this was my original inspiration.

18 Brad Ross : How do you feel about the progressive dominance of computer models over physical effects in modern filmmaking? Do you think this has added or detracted from the art, now that the possibilities are seemingly limitless?

Dave: Also refer to (15). I started B.C. (before computers) and everything had to be built by a large group of skilled people. Scenes had to be painted on sheets of glass to enhance a shot, creatures had to be animated by hand, mattes had to be hand drawn and shot one frame at a time etc.

Then the early days of digital came along and we saw very simple and impossibly smooth test shots which took weeks to render. Film makers threw themselves at this and we were told that we should look for other careers..... they very quickly realised how impossibly slow and difficult and awful these new effects looked.... miniatures came back with a vengeance and much bigger and better than ever and never looked so good.

Arts such as matte painting and rotoscope rapidly diminished and soon disappeared to be now seen as a lost art. It has been several decades and digital technology has become an overwhelming powerful tool and we are now on the cusp of becoming extinct artists just like the rest of them. Model making will be a quaint artistic choice for a film maker as with shooting black and white or a hand animated stop motion films. Technology changes and we have to change with it.

As far as being a model maker there is less and less in the film industry but a great deal yet in collectibles, architectural, engineering etc. The possibilities are limitless but a good film maker will utilise all available tools and I believe that well build miniature still have a place and are greatly enhanced with the use of digital technology.

A model will have the random chaos that nature has and a model tank, for instance, will move like a real one because all the same rules of nature apply to both but in the digital realm all nature and its chaos has to be programmed in and if the digital artist does not have the real world experience the sequence will look fake and fail.

We humans are very sensitive to what looks real and what does not even if we do not know why. The greatest digital artists are the ones that have worked in the real world for many years so model making and real visual effects are a vital part of a production and should be retained by film makers.

Digital does, though, give a greater freedom to film makers and also allows them to be lazy as ‘ they can fix it later' and allows them to change shots right up to the end. Large miniatures are very expensive to build and even more expensive to film and once the filming is done.... that is it... it is committed and to change anything requires a very expensive reshoot.

Digital eliminates all of this and allows complete freedom. It is still an expensive process but the freedom is a very powerful draw card for the film maker. Miniatures require a great deal of very specific planning months ahead.

19 Jaymz Harris Jaymz Harris from Hastings,NZ. -to be honest i would like to ask can i work for you. -seriously id love to no what works you have for the future .

Dave: The best way to know what future work we do is to look at the news letter.... anything not in there.... can't talk about or we don't know what it is, yet. As for work, we have enough people right now but if you are interested in working at Weta and believe you have skills Weta can use then the best way is to fill out the online profile on the web site. They all get looked at and discussed.

20 Mailekalani Lum : 'KNOW' and 'NO' are not interchangeable

Dave: I know!

21 Paul Wiggy : Almost 40, been an industrial designer all my life and loved building scale models since I can remember. Well my dad usually built them and I watched as a wee boy. So my question is, what would a guy like me have to do in order to change career? I still make models in my job, of the products I design but I'd love to that in the film industry. Thanks

Dave: You have an advantage of long term hands on experience. It is never too late to change career and as I have written earlier.... it all depends on how much you believe in it and how much effort you put in to achieve it. You have to start now and do the research. We now have an amazing advantage over what I had when starting out... the internet.

Everyone wants to be noticed and so are on the internet making it a lot easier to do research. Set up a note book next to your computer and start making notes on model making companies and which ones work in the film industry. If you are prepared to travel you have a better chance. Research the film credits and find out what companies they used to do the effects, build up profiles and start contacting those companies to find out if they hire and what they want then start applying. But, there is something I should point out to anyone seeking work in this business.... never exaggerate or overstate what your abilities or experiences are, we see it all too often and those people will not be seen, by us, again.

Most companies, at least the ones worth talking to, are OK with a lack of experience and will help and guide people. The greatest thing anyone can have is honesty, passion, enthusiasm, a desire to work, determination, work well with others (and a lot more of these slightly bigger and tricky words). Actual skills is often a little down the requirements list with companies looking for people and it is all the ethics stuff they like to see first. Skills can be taught but, sadly, ethics all too often can't.

22 Liam Grey : What do you build the models with?

Dave: I use a great variety of materials and it all depends on what the job is. If it is to be the finished product then it has to be more sturdy, if it is a pattern to be moulded then it can be anything as strength is not as important. With film models, say, a building, it will be a one off and has to stand up to the rigors of filming which can be transport and handling, very hot studio lights and the occasional camera running into it. The heat is the biggest problem and I have seen acrylic melt under the studio lights.

A good sturdy wooden structure works well here and stronger acrylic detail is best. When other weaker materials such as model kit parts are used then fans are needed to cool the model. When building collectibles theses are ‘patterns' and will be moulded allowing a greater range of materials and don't need to be as strong and most are fairly small. My most used material is styrene plastic and can be bought in a variety of strips from a company called ‘Evergreen' (available in hobby stores).

The next most used is wood, usually MDF and then aluminium, brass and for organic shapes filler putties or plastacine. With experience you will get used to different materials and find favourites that you will use more than others. When it comes to tiny detail the materials have to be strong to hold up to being worked with. The detail on the Orthanc Tower collectible was shaped in styrene plastic strip (evergreen).

23 Angela Grijalva : what is the most rewarding part of your job?

Dave: There are many rewards... I get to do what I love to do, it is amazing to see my work up on the screen, right now I am working in a great environment and I do enjoy being able to advise or help others... when time allows.

Let me set a scene - raining outside, I am warm and dry inside sitting at my bench in a quiet workshop, the radio is on or music playing or listening to one of the Big Finish audio plays and I spend the day making models... that is rewarding, need I say more.