Vancouver-made animations in Oscar hunt
‘There is certainly a buzz ... people want to come for the talent and to set up their businesses’
Vancouver-made animation is showcased in this year’s Oscar nominees.
Ralph Breaks the Internet features the work of Vancouver born-and-raised Benson Shum. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was produced at Sony Pictures Imageworks, whose head office is in Vancouver’s downtown core. Previous Oscar-winners Alison Snowden and David Fine are up in the Short Film (Animated) category for the National Film Board of Canada-produced Animal Behaviour.
The implications of this kind of recognition and box-office receipts for North America’s third-largest film and TV production centre are likely to be significant in the coming year.
In 2017, the film, TV, VFX and animation industry spent $3.8 billion and the Vancouver Economic Commission has targeted entertainment and interactive businesses as a key growth sector. Vancouver already is Canada’s largest and busiest production hub. International names such as Sony Pictures Imageworks and Industrial Light & Magic operate large offices alongside Canadian-owned studios such as Atomic Cartoons, DHX Media and others.
Prem Gill is the CEO of Creative B.C., the agency designated by the provincial government to grow creative industries, and she says there is no question that these nominations will make a difference.
“With large feature films like Spider-verse to short animated films like Animal Behaviour all being made by talent right here in British Columbia, it means people are finally seeing us as the global hub we are for the top talent in animation,” Gill said. “We are very fortunate to have that talent here and to have organizations that continue to fuel that talent. There is certainly a buzz after the nominations and this is where people want to come for the talent and to set up their businesses.”
Along with the recognition an Oscar nod brings for major studios is all the subsequent work that comes to the many other local studios, many of which are working at capacity. Gill says that is one more benefit of this attention shone on the local scene.
“Great work is happening at a lot of the independent Canadian studios like Atomic Cartoons, DHX, Animal Logic and others,” she said. “It makes for what we call a strong cluster for all levels from the most senior levels to the most junior artist or designer being able to be covered off by B.C. talent and that also makes people want to continue to bring their projects here.”
Jennifer Twiner McCarron, CEO of Atomic Cartoons (Beat Bugs) and Thunderbird Films (Blade Runner 2049, Kim’s Convenience), says that confusion about where animated work actually originates can blur the Vancouver connection, but it’s increasingly less of an issue as the local talent base becomes a globally recognized force.
“When head office might be in Culver City (Calif.), it’s not always clear to the common market that it was the people in Vancouver who did the work, although the industry certainly knows,” McCarron said. “These nominations validate the excellent work that’s happening here and the calibre of the crews. It’s sure to be a positive reinforcement of the Vancouver industry.”
With Black Panther best-picture nominee, the world of spinoff products for superhero shows might keep everyone working for ages. Comic adaptations are already a major component of the film and TV industry in Metro Vancouver with programs such as Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow, as well as the Deadpool feature films. That segment of the business is bound to expand with ever-increasing demand and new product offerings.
“At Atomic, we are doing Lego Spider-Man and Marvel Superheroes, which do so well with kids, and now they are even bridging into preschoolers,” McCarron said. “Spider-Man, Iron Man and Doc Octopus all look like toddlers and the stories on Marvel’s YouTube site have garnered over 60 million hits, making it their most popular show on that platform. It’s going to continue to spread and can’t be anything but great news for Vancouver.”
As an example of this positive outlook is the number of job openings. For instance, powerhouse Industrial Light & Magic has 18 jobs posted on its website for positions ranging from Creature Technical Director to Senior Animator.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse broke the entrenched conventions of CG animation being the only way to make superhero movies. Its innovative storytelling and box-office returns suggest that there may be more opportunities for feature-length animation in future. That B.C. talent will be involved is a given, it seems.
The 91st Academy Awards will be held Feb. 24.
People are finally seeing us as the global hub we are for the top talent in animation.” Prem Gill