• click here to return to the homepage •
Home > Categories > Books > Pictorial > The Art of District 9 review
Under the supervision of multi Academy Award winner Richard Taylor, Weta Workshop was responsible for the design of the creatures and technology for director Neill Blomkamp's 2009 feature film, District 9.
Weta Workshop's artists created the physical creature and special make-up effects elements, the alien weapons and special props, armour, custom vehicles and developed the graphic language that defined the film's distinctive alien aesthetic.
This book illuminates the creative design process, detailing two years of interaction between Weta's artists and District 9 director Neill Blomkamp, including hundreds of images of concept art from both the designers and director, museum quality photographs of the props and sculptures, and insights in the form of quotes directly from the artists.
Many of the images included have never been made public before, including some that were cut or barely glimpsed in the finished film. Written by designer Daniel Falconer, with a foreword by Neill Blomkamp and introduction by Richard Taylor, The Art of District 9 offers an unrivalled glimpse behind the scenes at the creative processes that shaped all of Weta Workshop's contributions to this amazing film.
District 9
Want To Play?
The Pleasure of Finding Things Out
The Roses of Roazon
Conspiracy 365 : 8 : August
Discworld : Snuff
One Dog and his Boy
Spirit Animals #1: Wild Born
The Blood Guard
Mad About Minibeasts!
Bye-Bye Grumpy Fly
My Meerkat Mum
Everyday StrengthProduct reviews...
Members are welcome to post a review. You will need to log in to post yours.
Review by: tucker (Karl)
Dated: 26th of December, 2010
Though I wasn't exactly a great fan of the movie, I have to admit that the 'behind the scenes' aspects intrigue and impress me far more. Seeing and understanding how much goes into the background - the setting of scenes and those tiny details that our eyes pass over in the movie, but without which the scenery would be glaringly fake - captivates me.
Capturing the entire story of District 9, from how the creatures themselves evolved from large, ponderous creatures to the lean insectoid 'shrimps' we saw in the final movie... how the weapons and technology evolved... the 'back story' on the alien language and culture, right down the smallest details, such as the small signs on and around the various characters in the movie... this book basically gives you the insider's view of the movie as no cinematic viewer could imagine. For those of us who value the 'who and why' just as, if not more than, the 'what', this book is going to be a small mountain of inspiration in a large-format hardcover.
Overall, I was very impressed by this book, and very glad to have had the opportunity to read it. I am a frustrated creatre-creator without the resources to take the images from my head and into the real world... so I enjoy it vicariously through publications such as these. They help me to keep my inspiraction high, give me ideas towards unorthodox solutions of other design problems, and just remind me that nothing is impossible if you have the right tools and some imagination. An excellent book indeed - typical of Weta. 
Random listing from 'Books'...
Lionwolf - son to both god and mortal, his destiny must be death or power everlasting.
Born into a world of eternal winter, where once thrived hot climates and exquisite luxury, Saphay, the daughter of a sub-King in the civilized west, is sent off to marry a leader of the barbaric Jafn... not realising that her own father has arranged for her adbuction on this perilous journey.
Escaping her pursuers only to be dragged into ... more...
All trademarks, images and copyrights on this site are owned by their respective companies.
KIWIreviews is an independent entity, part of the Knock Out News Group. This is a free public forum presenting user opinions on selected products, and as such the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinion of kiwireviews.nz and are protected under New Zealand law by the "Honest Opinion" clause of the Defamation Act of 1992. KIWIreviews accepts no liability for statements made on this site, on the premise that they have been submitted as the true and honest opinions of the individual posters. In most cases, prices and dates stated are approximate and should be considered as only guidelines.
"A seminar on Time Travel will be held two weeks ago."
anonymous
