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Posted Oct 6, 2009, 10:32 PM
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Hello World
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Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 1,536
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BC Film and CG Industry
Since this is a huge part of our province's economy, I thought I would start a thread about this industry and hope everybody can chime in the future. You know, have one big thread that is more specifically about this industry.
So there are some good news lately. First up, Digital Domain from Venice, California have decided to open up a new studio here in Vancouver. This is a major visual effects studio and I believe this is their first expansion whom, like Pixar, decided to choose Vancouver for a variety of reasons ! Ok, I lied, they want to come here for our tax incentive, but they're coming !
From the Vancouver Sun: Digital Domain to open Vancouver visual effects studio
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Digital Domain, the visual effects company behind Academy Award-winning films Titanic and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, will open a 20,000-square-foot studio in Vancouver in early 2010.
The company, based in Venice, California, will hire 50-60 digital artists, mostly Canadian, to get the operation running, with plans to staff the studio with 100 employees by the end of 2010.
First project slated for work in Vancouver is the locally shot Tron: Legacy, a Disney production.
The studio will come to Vancouver to take advantage of the British Columbia’s tax credits and to tap into the city’s world-renowned labour pool of digital artists.
“By expanding our talent and resources across multiple locations we are able to to offer solutions to production challenges, whether they’re economic, creative or technical,” said Digital Domain CEO Cliff Plumer.
Gloria Borders was named president of feature film operations Tuesday, and will oversee production both in Venice and in Vancouver.
Borders had previously worked for DreamWorks Animation, where she managed productions of Shrek the Third and Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.
Digital Domain, established in 1993 and owned by Wyndcrest Holdings, has done digital effects for 70 feature films, including GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Transformers, X-Men, Fight Club, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Gran Torino.
Among the company’s credits are several films made in B.C., including Tron: Legacy, 2012, the new futuristic feature from director Roland Emmerich, I Robot and Lake Placid.
The company is also known for its effects-filled television commercials for Nike, Lexus, Disney, Honda Accord, Michelin and video game Gears of War.
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Also, another recent news is a $10-million investment in an sound studio expansion by our local studio, Vancouver Film Studios. Despite the current economic recession, Vancouver's film and computer graphic industry are still growing, although being hurt by Ontario with their recent tax credit cut. The tone of this article suggests that the film association here will be making a decision about the future growth here within the month.
Studio makes $10-million sound stage investment
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Although the provincial film and television industry has hit a trough, one major player is making a $10 million investment in the future.
Vancouver Film Studios, celebrating its 10th year in existence, plans to build a 36,000-square-foot sound stage at its East Vancouver location. The new sound stage will be built in the centre of the 11-stage lot, replacing a 6,700-square-foot sound stage and a parking area. Construction will begin in July, 2010 for an early 2011 opening.
The expansion comes at a time when British Columbia has lost productions to Ontario which, along with Quebec, increased its tax credits early this summer to woo American producers. Even local companies have moved some productions from B.C. to Ontario, where out-of-province producers now receive a 25-per-cent tax credit on all expenses, not just labour costs. The latest to move was TV series The Troop, made by Vancouver production house No Equal Entertainment.
"One thing we've learned about this business over 10 years is it is characterized by volatility," said Jason McLean, president and COO of The McLean Group of Companies, which owns and operates Vancouver Film Studios. McLean cites the Writers' Guild of America strike, currency fluctuations, jurisdiction competition, and changes in tax laws as examples of that volatility.
"We are optimistic about the future, and we feel that the [federal and provincial] governments understand this is a valuable industry in Canada, and in British Columbia," says McLean. "We're confident they will do what it takes to maintain its competitiveness."
Currently, the largest Vancouver Film Studios sound stage is 18,040 square feet. The new sound stage would accommodate the large-scale productions which have regularly come to the Vancouver area: the X-Men, Night at the Museum and Fantastic Four franchises, Watchmen, Farewell Atlantis, 2012, and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus.
The new sound stage will still be smaller than the four at Mammoth Studios in Burnaby, which range from 36,487 to 123,993 square feet.
Pete Mitchell, executive vice president and COO of Vancouver Film Studios, says the trend is for studios to want to shoot more on sound stages than on location.
"If you look back at The X-Files, at the height [of the shooting] they used three stages, two 15s [15,000 square feet] and a 12 [12,000 square feet]," says Mitchell. "Today, a cable show like Eureka, which is nowhere near the scope of The X-Files, uses four stages, three 15s and a 12.
"It's cheaper to be on a stage than to be on location, and when you have a lot of visual effects you really want to control the environment," Mitchell says. "We see that as a trend continuing forward."
As for the migration of film work out of B.C., Mitchell says the big American studios are patiently tracking the tax credit situation in B.C., putting some locations in other jurisdictions but watching to see if B.C. will compete.
"Our customers are sitting on the sidelines right now waiting to see what happens," says Mitchell.
Meanwhile, film industry representatives continue to meet with the provincial government over the tax-credit issue.
"... we will be meeting with them in the next two weeks to discuss proposals for a long-term solution that works for both the industry and the province," said Peter Leitch, chair of the Motion Picture Production Industry Association of B.C., in an e-mail Friday.
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Last but not least, Rainmaker, previously known as Mainframe, just released a new teaser for their upcoming Reboot movie :O
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zscrv7OJ3TU
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