Bright lights
Allan Magled’s visual effects company rocks Hollywood from the comforts of Toronto.
We realized L.A. wasn’t the easiest place in the world to set up a business, and they didn’t have the tax credits we had. It turned out it was easier to pass the work through Toronto — Allan Magled, co-founder, Soho VFX
When Allan Magled decided to get into the visual effects (VFX) game in 2002, it was an inauspicious start. The team of four people worked out of an old elevator shaft once used to transport horses and carriages, says the cofounder of Soho VFX in Toronto. But he believed the company would have opportunities to grow. “I always knew there was a strong film market in Canada that would have need of visual effects expertise.”
His instincts were right. Just over 10 years later, the company has considerably more elbow room in a 12,000-sq.-ft space where 100 employees have worked on visual effects for such Hollywood films as Jack the Giant Slayer, Breaking Dawn, Wolverine and The Incredible Hulk.
Soho VFX is one of a number of companies in Canada meeting the demand for digital art. From movies and television to interactive gam- ing, Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are serious global contenders in the entertainment and gaming space. Governments have played their part in supporting the industry, providing attractive tax incentives that have encouraged home grown operations like Soho VFX, as well as big international players.
“The tax credits in Ontario were a big factor for this industry,” says Magled. Tax credits aside however, the talent pool in Canada is also a significant competitive plus. “One of the best schools in the world for supplying students is Sheridan College.”
There was a point where the volume of work led Soho VFX to try out a second location in Los Angeles. “We realized L.A. wasn’t the easiest place in the world to set up a business, and they didn’t have the tax credits we had,” Magled says. “It turned out it was easier to pass the work through Toronto. Being here doesn’t work against us in any way because we’re all just transferring knowledge. I believe we’re in the best place to do this.”
Canada has a lot to offer the film and gaming industries, says Martin Lundie, partner and Canadian media, technology and telecommunications leader at Ernst & Young in Toronto. “We’ve got the studio capacity, the talent and the tax structure that are conducive to movies and gaming. B.C. is continuing to show strength in visual effects and gaming; Ontario is very strong in movie production; Quebec is investing in all types of digital media and created a good regime for interactive gaming. We’re even seeing growth on the interactive gaming side on the east coast.”
What’s driving this progress is the commitment on the part of government and industry to build ecosystems that can deliver the economies of scale needed to sustain it. The most critical elements of building that ecosystem are talent and financing, Lundie says. “You need both of those to create critical mass.”
An underlying strength that not only keeps Canadian incumbents in the race, but also attracts the likes of Ubisoft, ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) and Sony Pictures Imageworks, is the depth of industry talent.
“Canada has more and more universities and educational centres producing a younger population of talented professionals,” Lundie notes.
That was one reason why Keywords International, a European based provider of translation services for the gaming industry, chose Montreal as its home base for North
American expansion. “It’s a well-established university city that produces a lot of talent,” says chief executive officer Andrew Day, based in Dublin.
He says his company’s initial strategy was to set up shop in California to be near the gaming industry there.
“But Montreal had a lot of major gaming companies, well-qualified graduates, attractive tax incentives and a multicultural community. In fact, it has created such a great ecosphere centered on the gaming industry, we don’t even have to bring talent in.”
The entertainment and gaming epicentres are filling up with more players over time. Visual effects provider Artifex Studios Ltd. began operations in Vancouver in 1997 serving the television and film industries and the landscape has certainly changed since then, says Adam Stern, president and visual effects supervisor.
“A number of American and other international firms now have interests in Vancouver.”
Tax incentives, the labour pool and the stability that are attracting them, he says.
It also helps that there is a growing number of graduates from regional institutions such as Vancouver Film School and the Art Institute of Vancouver, as well as newer players such as CG Masters Academy and Lost Boys Studios.
He says that even through Artifex works for international customers, it has always been strongly committed to the Canadian market.
“There are plenty of opportunities as the Canadian television and film industry grows. I love that we can work on Canadian shows in Canada.”
Stern now considers Vancouver to be an “absolutely global centre for visual effects, along with L.A. and London. It definitely holds its own. And it’s a great city where people love to come to work and live. In fact, we’ve just had an artist move here from New York.
“All in all, we have a lot to offer.”