Alex Funke
Visual Effects
Known For

As armies mass for a final battle that will decide the fate of the world--and powerful, ancient forces of Light and Dark compete to determine the outcome--one member of the Fellowship of the Ring is revealed as the noble heir to the throne of the Kings of Men. Yet, the sole hope for triumph over evil lies with a brave hobbit, Frodo, who, accompanied by his loyal friend Sam and the hideous, wretched Gollum, ventures deep into the very dark heart of Mordor on his seemingly impossible quest to destroy the Ring of Power.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer and make sure that the ring arrives at its final destination: Mt. Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Frodo Baggins and the other members of the Fellowship continue on their sacred quest to destroy the One Ring--but on separate paths. Their destinies lie at two towers--Orthanc Tower in Isengard, where the corrupt wizard Saruman awaits, and Sauron's fortress at Barad-dur, deep within the dark lands of Mordor. Frodo and Sam are trekking to Mordor to destroy the One Ring of Power while Gimli, Legolas and Aragorn search for the orc-captured Merry and Pippin. All along, nefarious wizard Saruman awaits the Fellowship members at the Orthanc Tower in Isengard.
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with the leading lady.
King Kong

An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
The Oscars

Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."
Starship Troopers

A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of 2001's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Created by filmmaker Costa Botes, personally selected by director Peter Jackson, this documentary uses raw footage to reveal the inside story on how the greatest adventure film franchise was born.
The Making of 'The Fellowship of the Ring'

A scientific film essay, narrated by Phil Morrison. A set of pictures of two picnickers in a park, with the area of each frame one-tenth the size of the one before. Starting from a view of the entire known universe, the camera gradually zooms in until we are viewing the subatomic particles on a man's hand.
Powers of Ten

The astonishing story of the genesis, production, worldwide success, and legacy of King Kong (1933), directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, a landmark of cinema, one of the most influential motion pictures in history.
RKO Production 601: The Making of “Kong, the Eighth Wonder of the World”

6 documentaries chronicling the adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work and the creation of Middle-earth.
The Lord of the Rings - The Appendices Part 1: From Book to Vision

Eleven documentaries offering an inside look at the making of the film, from the casting process to digital color grading, revealing the secrets of the shoot and the various stages of post-production leading up to the film's release.
The Lord of the Rings - The Appendices Part 2: From Vision to Reality

Recounting of the long process of adapting the text of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring for film, a project that had begun in 1997. This involved countless adjustments of scenes, about a hundred screenplay revisions, and constant reordering of key moments from the story to fit the brevity of a film.
The Fellowship of the Ring: From Book to Script

A disturbed boy kills his father with his farm tractor and his arm is mangled in the process. He's taken to a mental hospital where he's outfitted with a hook to replace his lost hand and, years later, he's eventually released from the asylum. He returns home to find his mother has remarried, which sets him off on a murderous rampage.
Scream Bloody Murder

This documentary introduces Wētā Workshop (and its design crew of sculptors and set-designers), renowned artists Alan Lee and John Howe who were brought on to join them in conceptual design, and costume designer Ngila Dickson. Topics covered include the design of Middle-earth cultures portrayed in the film, the making of props and settings for Hobbiton, Rivendell, the Orthanc interior, and Caras Galadhon, and the complexity of prosthetics.
The Fellowship of the Ring: Designing and Building Middle-earth + Weta Workshop

The movie "Clown Face" offers a very rare glimpse into the backstage private world of Circus Clowns. Here, you can look behind the curtain. You will see the clowns in their backstage habitat, Clown Alley, preparing for a circus performance
Clown Face!

This documentary covers the early storyboard, pre-visualization, and screening processes in the production. Christian Rivers, a Wētā Workshop art director in the production team, drew most of the storyboards of the plot of the movie. After scene design was finalized, Peter Jackson used toy-sized miniatures of setting and characters, to review and decide on camera movements for each scene. The computer graphics program PreViz was then used to visualize the scenes with basic 3D models.
The Fellowship of the Ring: Visualizing the Story

"Based on the exhibition "Photography and the city", designed by the Eames Office for the Smithsonian Institute". A primer on the modern problems of and future solutions to growing cities.
The Image of the City

Behind-the-scenes documentary of the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring