https://www.melissaspicerartdept.com/home daily 1.0 2026-01-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/1625641302310-LZ2AN7T8CF3SHUOGWLY1/film-avatar2.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/1625706222814-CFZ9M8BI95KDVBHCWY0E/WellingtonParanormal.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/1730f0f3-673b-4f80-8dfa-81b1a906bec7/Screen+Shot+2021-07-07+at+3.26.34+PM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department THE BFG (2016) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/866ce178-3775-4efd-a3b8-def586f0b380/Tintin+Lounge.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department TINTIN, THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN (2011) TINTIN'S LOUNGE INT https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/8ae22c60-35ac-47e6-aaab-8079cde63413/Oin+Hearing+Horn.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department THE HOBBIT - OIN's HEARING HORN https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/9751f324-63c9-4746-b9fe-ab1844c829c0/Eagle+Vs+Shark.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department EAGLE VS SHARK (2007) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/653269fe-c786-4208-98f2-78d66711e546/Avatar+1+Lab+Prep.JPG Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department Final Touches on Avatar Set (Gill West-Walker, Eliza Meldrum, Melissa Spicer) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/0d69eb0b-d4f2-48bb-8ca0-3f91720d9adc/King_Kong_Anniversary3.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department KING KONG (2005) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/4a94c338-f5b5-4507-bc8e-bcbf21fabb91/Without+a+Paddle.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department WITHOUT A PADDLE (2004) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/f151a621-d211-43b8-bbcb-df8f5b866c5e/Screen+Shot+2021-07-07+at+3.27.09+PM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department THE GIANT'S PLAYGROUND EXT https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/3421107f-013a-47db-9f99-3f0dfacd7866/Tintin+-+Study.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department TINTIN'S OFFICE INT https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/f2d7cc46-3263-445e-9a74-387c88df57a5/Screen+Shot+2021-07-07+at+4.24.52+PM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department THE HOBBIT (2012-2015) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/bd90144e-28fa-4076-aee3-ffd2a0c7d7ad/The+Water+Horse.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department THE WATER HORSE (2007) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/4d64534b-d5f1-4ed9-895d-251e8ae31397/Avatar+Locker.jpg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department AVATAR (2009) (M Spicer locker) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/8c25ca99-4391-40e1-899a-4dc4083ce5fa/King_Kong.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department KING KONG (2005) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/d16a6689-4af2-4bd2-b8be-8d44c3b8b965/STICKMEN1.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department STICKMEN (2001) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/e79bf9c6-20ac-4d36-8b18-aca4d6aa5241/Screen+Shot+2021-07-07+at+3.23.32+PM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department DREAM JARS https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/2a81693e-02a0-464f-96df-c4b638a1d17a/Spartacus-Training+Sword.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department SPARTACUS - BLOOD AND SAND (2009) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/2c97a214-75f6-4b36-8cf9-7eedd4afb895/Screenshot+2025-03-11+at+9.55.24%E2%80%AFAM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Picture: Liz Cadogan / Facebook https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/ed266329-9134-41d2-a88b-71f1fa5d6ca0/Screenshot+2025-03-24+at+8.00.14%E2%80%AFAM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Jake’s AR which was manufactured for prop insert shots https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/a5af486e-051d-4ba8-a264-c1a000616441/The-Rule-Of-Jenny-Penn-poster.jpg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/9032a86c-6760-460e-9cf3-20743dcdd3c8/424ce6b8-a27c-4bc2-9b4f-ff47bc9891e0.jpg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/0fe99ac0-137e-4ec2-a9ea-26d59bde0c8e/Screenshot+2025-03-24+at+7.55.57%E2%80%AFAM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/2a792a53-cd9a-4f58-9392-c951ba63e8cb/ATP_Social+Media+Square+Crop_Quote+1.2.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Dean O’Gorman as Simon and Robyn Malcom as Penny https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/135d7fae-fe42-479a-8bdd-ccb2bc4c97be/Screenshot+2025-03-11+at+12.54.02%E2%80%AFPM.png Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/dc5ed9db-f0b2-4585-a4b3-88045970efa4/IMG_8027.JPG Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - Make it stand out Loren Taylor as Briar https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/1625638526892-6WUWWJBP3GN6UOW595TU/BFG_22_workshop_Steven_3.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department - THE BFG + TINTIN Working first with Kim Sinclair on Tintin (2012), and then Rick Carter on The BFG (2015) was great fun. On Tintin, we took the live action ethos into the digital domain, which was a first at that time for Wēta Digital. An understanding of the digital pipeline, specialised terminology, and each depts’ individual requirements was critical. Our small team (led by Kim Sinclair) sourced props and set dressed environments, such as Cabin Haddock’s cabin on the Karaboujan or the Souk markets, to provide the VFX artists with appropriate physical scanned reference, on which to base their digital builds. We provided this reference for multiple depts, such as models, textures, layout, VAD (virtual art dept), FX, and animation. This was required on productions such as Tintin and The BFG, where it is of particular importance to select props + set dressing which are culturally and historically appropriate, and remaining true to the soul of these beloved books and characters. For Tintin, there was no live action shoot with actors using camera ready props or sets, only a motion capture shoot with greyscale proxies. Conversely, The BFG had a significant live action shoot component, consisting of sets such as Buckingham Palace and Sophie’s Orphanage, which were the under the umbrella of Set Decorator Elizabeth Wilcox. My work at Wēta Digital as the Digital Set Decorator, was under Production Designer Rick Carter (Back to the Future, Forrest Gump, Lincoln, Munich..), and consisted of the digital environments - BFG’s Lair, the Dream Chamber and the Giants Playground. For these sets and props, my job was to select real world digital reference for the VFX artists to recreate digitally. Some of these digital set elements and props were then replicated for the live action shoot with Sophie - for example the Dream Mixing table top and some dressing, elements of the BFG’s Lair and dream jars. This provided the young actor who played Sophie camera-ready set elements, that then became the plates for the VFX team to integrate into the final shots seen onscreen, https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60e13ad876f62a003b08c49e/1625634728595-ZCUNXQ79R8G93RM2LAPM/Thorin%27s+Map.jpeg Home - Melissa Spicer Art Department the HOBBIT I spent 5 years in Middle Earth on The Hobbit trilogy feature films - 2 years onset as the Assistant Prop Master, and a further 3 years at Weta Digital in post production. The logistics of prop management during principal photography was a challenge, as we had multiple shooting units in various locations across New Zealand, who were filming simultaneously. The Company - consisting of Gandalf, Bilbo and the 13 Dwarves - owned multiple individual props, in two scales and some in various stages. For example, the single prop ‘Oin’s Hearing Horn’ consisted of 13 different versions. We were responsible for design, fabrication and tracking of the onscreen props that were interacted with by the actors. The exception being weapons/armoury (excluding knives, these are props) which were manufactured by Weta Workshop. These props included the Bilbo and Gandalf’s pipes, *Bilbo’s contract, *Thorin’s Map, Thorin’s key, Gandalf and Radagast’s Staffs, Galadriel’s Vial ‘The Light of Eärendil’, The Dwarves Backpacks and personal props (such as the hearing horn), pony saddles and tack, Smaug’s treasure/coins and many many more items.