From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs

August 14 2026, 11:50 am | BY Ricki Green | No Comments

Speaking on Reel Factory’s spotlight series Reel Good Yarns, which sees the people behind the camera share their stories, Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins traces the line from a North Shore kid obsessed with sports films to founder of what he calls the only fully integrated production hub in Australasia.

 

The turning point came on the set of Peter Jackon’s The Hobbit. Reel Factory was tasked with shooting behind the scenes for Tourism New Zealand, and Watkins got an inside look at what an end-to-end setup can be.

“He had everything at his fingertips. The facilities were just next level. That was a big turning point for us. If we’re going to build this business, let’s just go all in and build something that doesn’t exist here.”

From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs

Nine years into business, an old boat-building factory came up for grabs. It was, in his words, an absolute rundown hole. That was the appeal. Gut the whole thing, and start from scratch to build the ultimate production playground.

Two sound stages out the back, one built around the Volume Wall, the other a smaller cyc studio for robotic tabletop work. A production office seating 35 so multiple teams can run at once. Post lives downstairs, offline through online and colour, mastering kept in house and a cinema to watch it all back.

From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs

Says Watkins: “It’s the perfect flow. Prep, shoot, post. You don’t have to leave at all. With all this, I would have to say my favourite rooms in the whole place are the bar and the driving range.”

The kit list reads like a wish list. A fleet of RED cameras. One of the only Phantoms in the country, shooting up to 2000 frames a second. The fastest cinebot in the world. Drones from full-size cinema rigs down to FPV units that fit in your palm. Custom-built tracking vehicles that let the team shoot where they want without road permits or traffic management plans, gimbals, custom camera rigs and more. Along with the recent addition of the only commercial Volume Wall in New Zealand.

None of which happens on its own. Reel Factory now runs multiple production teams out of the building, with crew employed full-time across post production, camera, studio and more. Rather than pulled together job by job, Watkins is quick to point out that the roof is only worth what’s underneath it.

Adds Watkins: “This business wouldn’t be what it is without all the amazing humans we get to work with. And the same goes for everyone behind the agencies, the brands and the networks that are backing us.

“I’m forever grateful for the amount of trust that gets put into us.”

For enquires please contact Danelle Mouat – [email protected]

From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs From The Hobbit’s set to his own: how Reel Factory’s Dan Watkins built one of Australasia’s fully integrated production hubs

 

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