Massey University College of Creative Arts

Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts operates as the art and design faculty of Massey University, situated on the Pukeahu campus in Wellington, New Zealand. Formed in 1999 following the merger of Wellington Polytechnic and Massey University, the college integrates its creative and technical programs within Wellington's established film and entertainment ecosystem. Academic disciplines are organized across three primary schools: the School of Art (Whiti o Rehua), the School of Music and Screen Arts (Te Rewa o Puanga), and the Wellington School of Design (Ngā Pae Māhutonga).

Curricula across screen arts and digital design mirror commercial studio pipelines, encouraging cross-disciplinary collaboration among students in visual effects, animation, game development, and concept design. Practical assignments span asset creation, digital sculpting, character performance, virtual production, and post-production compositing. The institution also incorporates Indigenous knowledge systems through the Mātauranga Toi Māori pathway, which can be integrated into screen arts and design study to explore cultural frameworks in world-building, aesthetic design, and visual narrative.

Undergraduate Screen Pathways

Undergraduate study centers on the Bachelor of Screen Arts and the Bachelor of Design with Honours, combining foundational traditional artistic training in anatomy and gesture with industry software toolsets.

• Visual Effects: Focuses on procedural particle simulations, dynamic fluids, digital compositing, and motion capture integration. Students train in tools including Houdini, Nuke, Maya, ZBrush, Substance, and RenderMan to integrate computer-generated assets into live-action footage.
• Animation: Covers 2D and 3D character acting, timing, texturing, rigging, and lighting. Practical coursework employs Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, Toon Boom Harmony, and Moho Pro, culminating in collaborative short films and narrative character reels.
• Concept Design: Emphasizes world-building, prop design, and environment rendering for feature films and AAA games. Students build production pitch bibles and pre-production visual assets using Photoshop, ZBrush, and 3D blocking techniques.

Honours students undertake self-directed capstone projects alongside mentoring from active practitioners in the Wellington screen industry, completing a major showreel or short film.

Weta Workshop Partnership

At the postgraduate level, the college delivers the Master of Design in Entertainment Design in partnership with Weta Workshop. Designed for concept designers targeting careers in film and games, this 12-to-18-month program begins with Grad Camp, an intensive world-building incubator simulating a studio art department. Students receive direct guidance and critique from senior Weta Workshop art directors and concept artists, refining pre-visualization workflows, creature design, and cinematic storytelling methods.

Production Facilities and Studio Spaces

The National Academy of Screen Arts is located in the renovated Dominion Museum Building, housing specialized infrastructure to support real-time workflows and physical prototyping:

• Virtual Production Volume: A 750-square-meter soundstage featuring a 16m x 6m high-resolution LED wall configured for in-camera visual effects with Unreal Engine.
• Motion Capture Stage: A 24-camera Vicon optical tracking setup utilized for character performance capture and game development projects.
• Fab Lab Wellington: An MIT-affiliated digital fabrication laboratory equipped with CNC mills, 3D printers, and laser cutters, supporting physical prop making, prosthetics, and concept maquettes.
• Post-Production and Rendering: Dedicated color grading suites, VR/AR development labs, and a 42-node render farm for computationally intensive simulations and final rendering.

Distance and Flexible Study

Building on Massey University's distance-learning framework, select postgraduate degrees—including the Master of Screen Arts and the Postgraduate Diploma in Screen Arts—are available via fully online study, allowing remote students and working practitioners to conduct creative research and project development from abroad.