Wētā FX has won an Emmy Award for their work on the final season of Netflix’s Stranger Things.
Senior Visual Effects Supervisor Martin Hill attended the ceremony in Los Angeles today to accept the award, representing more than 450 crew across Wētā FX’s Wellington and Vancouver hubs.
“I'm delighted for all our immensely talented Wētā FX Stranger Things team to be awarded this honour by the Television Academy. This epic final season was created by a dedicated team of amazing artists and I’m proud of every single person that contributed to it,” says Hill.
“It was a pleasure to collaborate with our friends at Netflix, the Duffer Brothers, Betsy Paterson, and Michael Maher. Congratulations to all my fellow award winners and thank you!” adds Hill.
Wētā FX was responsible for the majority of the visual effects in the fifth season of the iconic franchise, with more than 1,185 shots across eight episodes.
Their work ranged from digitally de-aging Will Byers to reintroducing the series’ protagonist, Vecna, with a new heavily-destructed look, the immersive Abyss environment, and bringing the gargantuan Mind Flayer creature to life for the final battle that helps conclude the series.
Matt Aitken, Head of VFX at Wētā FX says “We are all so proud of our Stranger Things crew, so congratulations to everyone on this wonderful achievement. It always means the world when our people and their creativity are recognised by our peers in the industry.”
“Thank you to our friends at Netflix, the Duffer Brothers, Betsy Patterson, and the wider Television Academy, we are deeply honoured by this award,” he adds.
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards were held across two days on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September PT at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. The Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will also be held at the Peacock Theatre on Monday 14 September PT (Tuesday 15 September in New Zealand).