Production Uncovers Secrets of Terracotta Warriors

Media Release
NHNZ
July 29, 2010

Production Uncovers Secrets of Terracotta Warriors

Dunedin based NHNZ became the first television production company ever to gain access to the Terracotta Warrior Museum Conservation lab in Xian, China and one of only a few production companies ever allowed to film inside the museum pits.

NHNZ has just completed filming Secrets of the Ghost Army -- a production that will explore the deepest and least understood mysteries of this extraordinary army of clay.

Producer/director Steve Talley describes the experience as “a privilege and a rare opportunity to get up close and personal to some of the estimated 8,000 men of clay buried by China’s First Emperor over 2,000 years ago.”

The NHNZ crew recorded scientists poring over the terracotta remains to find clues to help solve an ancient riddle. When China’s first emperor commanded the production of a clay army for his tomb, no one in China had ever attempted to make 8, 000 life-size human figures of clay. How was this massive army built and what were the unprecedented challenges the warrior-makers faced?

Among the secrets of the Terracotta Army is the warriors’ original paint job. “Viewers will get a rare glimpse of what the original army really looked like. Seeing even traces of the original colors radically challenges our familiar image of the dust-colored warriors. When they were placed in their pits more than 2,000 years ago they were a riot of color – purples, greens, reds and blues,” says Steve Talley.

The NHNZ crew spent a day filming with archaeologist Yuan Zhongyi, arguably the man who knows most about the Terracotta Warriors and their construction techniques. Yuan was one of the original archaeologists who uncovered the Terracotta Warriors in 1974, after peasant farmers accidentally stumbled upon a warrior’s head while digging a well. Yuan’s intimate knowledge of this UNESCO World Heritage Site will give audiences a unique insight into the construction of China’s greatest national treasure.

NHNZ managing director Michael Stedman says the unprecedented access obtained by NHNZ to film the burial pits and conservation lab reflects the position of trust and respect NHNZ occupies in China. “NHNZ has been making programmes about China for more than a decade now. Our willingness to build lasting relationships means we have gone on to become the largest western producer of documentaries about China for the international market,” he says.

Filming for the production also took place in the US, Germany and New Zealand. In Germany conservation specialists have been working closely with the Terracotta Warrior Museum to indentify and preserve the original colors used to paint the clay warriors. And in the United States, physicists have subjected samples of one color to some of the world’s most powerful magnetic and X-ray technologies in attempts to investigate the mysterious origins and properties.

Secrets of the Ghost Army is a co-production between NHNZ, National Geographic Channels International and Thirteen WNET.

www.nhnz.tv

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