From: August issue NZ Manufacturer www.nzmanufacturer.co.nz 

How are you finding current business conditions?

It’s been an interesting year. We have been fortunate enough to have been working on our largest project to date for the majority of the year (delivered at the start of July) which has meant that we have been unusually stable.

A large percentage of our work comes from the film industry (specifically American productions looking to shoot here) and we have certainly experienced more challenging years, working through Covid and the 2024 Hollywood Writers Strike.

Comparatively this year has been more reliable.

We have noticed a change in the type of screen work entering the country since the writer’s strike ended. The large genre blockbusters we were famous for hosting have been replaced by more medium sized contemporary productions which offer less work to a prop house than the former.

However, the volume of productions has certainly helped keep things from getting too concerning.

Interesting projects currently being worked on?

We are in the middle of a really fun project, building props and other elements for a New Zealand feature film.

It is a hilarious genre comedy by a very talented team that we are really excited to be a part of. We can’t give too much away but we will say it’s not every day we get to work on such wacky builds.

They’re the kinds of things that when we are discussing them in the workshop we sometimes have to just stop and wonder how what we are doing can be a real job.

Where do you see growth opportunities for Scale Studios?

We have just come off the back to back production of a large public sculpture for the Wellington Waterfront and several full size dinosaur sculptures for a museum in South Africa (the largest of which is 11 metres long and 4 metres tall).

We have managed to produce these by investing in large 3D printers (largest able to print 1200x1200x1600) and recently moving into a larger workshop to accommodate these builds.

We are hoping we can market these builds domestically and globally to land more work producing large sculptural pieces for promotional events or museum exhibitions.

Staff retention -how easy is it?

It has been very difficult to keep staff on this year. Due to a significantly larger number of film productions in Auckland than Wellington, we have, understandably, seen a lot of the talent move up the country.

This, coupled with the fact that the productions have needed to outsource less builds due to budget and genre, has meant that the work we take on has been smaller and less frequent resulting in shorter contracts and less job security for staff.

This has also meant we have less time with crew on the floor to upskill them before we have to let them go which we anticipate could have long term consequences for the future of the art department and their ability to find experienced technicians.

What are some of the unique problems you have solved?

In many ways a majority of the work we produce involves solving unique problems. We specialise in building bespoke items that normally haven’t existed beyond the digital design phase before we get involved.

Once we do, we like to point out that there are often several ways to produce any practical item and this can change based on the requirements of the piece, the time available to build it and the budget.

From there it’s just a matter of reaching an agreement with the client on the best approach. We like to say that the best and worst part of our job is that no two jobs are alike.

It makes every project feel fresh and exciting but it also means the pressure is on to get it right the first time!

Your creative staff must have met some interesting challenges?

One could argue that if something isn’t a challenge then it isn’t interesting. Again, we are lucky in that a lot of the creative work we do, specifically for the film industry, is wholly unique.

We have made chomping killer alligators for American horror films, muppet bird babies for Wellington Paranormal, oversized Marvel props, film festival trophies, bronze landscapes using geographical data, miniature forests, cities and mountains.

We have modelled and manufactured never before seen dinosaurs working alongside paleontologists, produced a snow leopard sculpture for Wellington Zoo and designed and manufactured stages for music festivals. 

Do you export?

We have found it particularly challenging to crack the international market but if the opportunity arises we will provide work for any country that is enquiring.

We have produced builds for Australia and South Africa and are currently in the process of making collectables for an artist in the United States. We were also recently involved with Studio Sabine Marcelis, a Dutch/Kiwi artist.

We facilitated the installation of several pieces of her work in Wellington, outside Te Papa at the start of the year.