New Zealand’s Weta Workshop visual effects studio brings the eerie to life for soon-to-release Ghost in the Shell movie.

Ghost in the Shell, despite controversy surrounding its “whitewashing” casting, will release in movie theaters this month. A live-action interpretation of the long –albeit intermittent — franchise following counter cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9 in the fictional neo-futuristic New Port City.

A handful of trailers so far have teased this strikingly stylized interpretation. And perhaps most distinctive with them, the porcelain-faced geisha automatons.

Taking a closer look at these geisha, he of Mythbusters fame, Adam Savage, took a trip to New Zealand to visit Weta Workshop. Weta contributed models and animatronics for the film.

Savage talks to Richard Taylor, CEO and Founder of the studio, about some of their work on Ghost in the Shell — more specifically, the beautifully creepy geisha. The resulting video — well worth a watch — is up on Savage’s Tested YouTube channel and embedded below.

Bringing Ghost in the Shell’s Geisha to Life

Weta Workshop are no strangers to practical effects for film. The studio found instant global recognition with the successful visualization of Peter Jackson’s monumental Lord of the Rings trilogy. Taylor explains Director Rupert Sanders’ ambition for the geisha: “The director wanted to do as much as possible physically, so big thumbs up there! These would have easily been tackled digitally, but he wanted physical geishas for the scenes where the geisha have been hacked.”

Beneath the petal-like face plates, Weta worked in a machine almost clockwork in nature. In the video, Taylor cites such inspiration as the eye maker from Ridley Scotts’ iconic film Blade Runner. A prime example of intricate hand-craftsmanship meeting technological aesthetics.

He goes on to explain that much of the fascia of the cyborgs was produced through a process of 3D printing and milling.

Data-Driven Innovation

No stranger to the fleeting, in-the-moment nature of technology. He explains:

“What we’re trying to do is iterate on top of the technology we’re using yesterday, to do something unique tomorrow. No audience wants to see tomorrow what they saw yesterday. So a movie like this, we would have struggled to make this movie in the time we had to make it, two years ago. Because neither was the technology around, nor was the chemistry of the technology around.”

He jokes, “You have to have this unabashed enthusiasm for data sheets, basically.”

In theaters this month, Ghost in the Shell is the latest step on the rocky road of westernized live action remakes of popular anime. Most die-hard fans will probably hate it. Everyone else? Well, the verdict remains out on that until it releases.

We can’t wait to see it. Looking for any excuse to watch the trailer, we’ve embedded it below for your viewing pleasure.

Source: io9