WIFT NZ Events

Thursday

Jun

2024

Auckland Auckland

How to Make Heads Explode: Imaging for VFX

Posted Tuesday 17 Feb 2026

Whether you’re a seasoned filmmaker, an aspiring creator, or simply curious about cutting-edge technology and VFX join Tristan Simpson, Post Operations at The Rebel Fleet, in conversation with Aliesha Staples, founder and director of StaplesVR, and Tim Capper, Senior VFX Supervisor to explore the power of photogrammetry and cyber scanning processes.

What is cyber scanning and how is it impacting the screen industry?

How can photogrammetry be used in the creative process and how has this changed over time? What IS photogrammetry?

How does this technology help with the production process?

What are some of the different usages of the scans?

Why use it?

How does the rig work?

What type of projects have you worked on and how do we help the local sector access and use the technology?

SEE THE TECHNOLOGY IN ACTION!

Presenters:
Aliesha Staples – Aliesha is the founder and CEO of StaplesVR, The company specialises in augmented, virtual and mixed reality technology, and has also produced immersive experiences for the likes of Warner Brothers, Paramount and Disney. Aliesha is also the co-founder of CLICK Studios and the recipient of the 2022 WIFT Awards Imagezone Entrepreneurship Award.

Tim Capper is Senior VFX supervisor at Cause and FX, Auckland’s largest VFX studio. With a focus on TV and Film projects, Cause and FX has a client base both locally and for studio’s based around the globe. The scanning rig was a build project that Tim has led over the last 8 years and is now a joint venture with Staples VR.

POSTPONED !

Time: 6:00 PM – 8:30 pm *Doors open at 6pm, event starts at 6:30 pm*
Venue: WIFT Auckland Office, 525 Rosebank Road, Avondale, Auckland
Members: FREE. Non-members: $20. Students: $10.

Date: Thursday 13 Jun 2024
Location: Click Studios, 525 Rosebank Rd, Avondale
Time: 6pm drinks for a 6:30pm start

Thursday

Jun

2024

Upcoming events...

Wednesday 22 Apr 2026

Boost Your Work: Running A Successful Boosted Campaign (Wellington)

Crowdfunding a film is one thing. Keeping a campaign alive, building momentum, finding your audience, and turning strangers into supporters is something else entirely. This panel brings together filmmakers for an honest conversation about what it actually takes to run a successful creative crowdfunding campaign in Aotearoa.

We will have Flynn Robson from Boosted, New Zealand's dedicated arts crowdfunding platform discuss how the platform works. He will be joined by Gwen Isaac (Ms. Information) and Maddy Hakaraia de Young (Māoriland).

This session goes beyond the basics. Expect practical insights on platform optimisation, lateral thinking around outreach, and a frank discussion about what nobody tells you before you launch.

Whether you're mid-campaign, planning your first, or just crowdfunding-curious, this panel is your chance to learn from the people who've been through it, and come away with ideas you can use straight away.

We thank The Arts Foundation for collaborating with us on this event, as well as Kōawa Studios for hosting it. We are excited to be the first event held at the new theatre!

Drinks and nibbles from 6pm, workshop from 6:30pm-8:00pm

Free for WIFT members, $20 for non-members, $10 for non-member students.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR TICKET VIA HUMANITIX

Wellington

Crowdfunding

Boosted

Find out more >

Wednesday 22 Apr 2026

Cosy Crime (Auckland)

Some of the most successful TV shows in New Zealand over the last 5 years have been procedural/cosy-adjacent crime shows. What makes a cosy crime series thrive in the New Zealand screen landscape?

This panel brings together WIFT members Kate McDermott (co-creator and writer, Blue Murder Motel, and script producer and writer, My Life is Murder), Kathleen Anderson (Head of Drama GSTV, Blue Murder Motel), and Rachel Antony (Chief Executive Greenstone TV, My Life is Murder) to unpack the creative and commercial mechanics of the genre.

From defining the core elements of successful cosy crime and crafting distinctive protagonists that sustain multiple seasons, to positioning locally made series for both domestic broadcasters and international markets, the discussion will examine how tone, character, audience, and market intersect.

This session will be moderated by Marina Alofagia McCartney.

WIFT Members free, non-members $20. Drinks & nibbles from 6pm, panel from 6:30 - 8pm

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR TICKET VIA HUMANITIX

Auckland

Monday 11 May 2026

WIFT Special Screening: Caterpillar

We are delighted to host a special WIFT Screening of Chelsie Preson Crayford's debut feature film Caterpillar. We will have the bubbles flowing to celebrate! There will also be a Q&A with Chelsie Preston Crayford (Director) Georgina Condor (Producer) Lisa Harrow & Anais Shand (Lead Actors) and Maria Ines Manchego (DOP).

In an early-2000s Wellington household, three generations of women navigate love, ambition and change. Single mother Maxine (Marta Dusseldorp) struggles to fund her filmmaking dreams, and teenage daughter Cassie (Anais Shand) faces the pressures of growing up. All while grandmother Huia (Lisa Harrow) quietly confronts a dementia diagnosis, retreating into her fascination with monarch butterflies as her mind begins to falter. When the family’s needs clash, they must learn to adapt together.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK A TICKET VIA HUMANITIX

$20 for WIFT members, $25 for non-members

See film trailer here:

Auckland