French VFX sector growth fueled by incentives, expertise
➔ The growth of France’s VFX sector cannot be overstated, as the implementation of a comprehensive 10% bonus for international productions that spend more than $2.1 million with local companies (and the fact that the full 40% tax rebate can be earned off digital expenditures alone) has supercharged the postproduction ecosystem, funneling first financial and then human capital.
On paper, the equation is self-evident: Where investment goes, talent soon follows. In practice, this cause-and-effect has fueled a wide repatriation, as skilled graduates of the country’s top training programs return from outposts abroad for the opportunity to work on projects at home.
Studios like Paris- and Montpellier-based the Yard have reaped the benefits of this inverse brain-drain, building on commissions from recent projects like “Halo,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” to bulk up a workforce well-versed in international pipelines and methods — a staffing asset that further facilitates partnerships with bigger commissioners.
“Our entire working model is similar to those of studios in Canada, the United States and England,” says the Yard founder and senior VFX supervisor Laurens Ehrmann. “As a vendor, it’s important to mirror those formats and to work in the same systems. That facilitates coordination” down the line.
To that end, the Yard has made a series of recent hires, bringing on project managers from studios such as Framestore and DNEG, who have recently overseen titles such as “Rebel Moon” and “Dune,” among many more. Such pedigree reflects Ehrmann’s own vision for a company able to compete on an expanded scale.
“We want to continue working on huge projects, and to do so with similar passion,” Ehrmann says. “Of course, we’re not ILM, we don’t have a staff of 3,000, and we could never do ‘Dune’ all by ourselves. But if we can do 200 or 300 shots on this or that show, we’ll be thrilled to do so. That’s what drives us.”
And as the workload increases — with studios like the Yard now looking at contracts much higher than the minimum $2.1 million spend for projects that never shot a frame in France — the local industry continues to mature as well.
Big projects like AMC’S “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” — which both shot and did 100% of its VFX work locally — have created a new class of independent VFX supervisors able to coordinate and administer a hefty workload split across a number of local outfits, all while acting as a single point of reference for the overseas producers.
“We act as intermediaries, finding the right studios, making the right deals and accompanying the project from start to finish,” says independent VFX producer and supervisor Justine Paynat-sautivet. “That’s becoming all the more important, because we create a bridge linking international titles into an ecosystem that’s working extremely well.”
While AMC looked to one-stop-shop facilitator Excuse My French for Season 1 of the zombie spinoff, it has used six studios and a hand-picked team of independents for the follow-up, now in post-production. Paynat-sautivet has been present for both.
“The two models represent two ways of adapting to our clients and their needs,” she says. “We can offer either an all-inclusive package where the studio doesn’t need to worry about anything, or a more tailored relationship, overseen by freelancers who are always on-call and who can integrate into a wider team in some way, even if they’re not on the same continent. And I think both are very positive, as both offer customer service really adapted to demand.”
Indeed, that AMC’S experience on Season 1 led the broadcaster to strengthen ties with the VFX sector is a point of pride for Paynat-sautivet.
“Plenty of other countries have financial incentives,” she says. “But we’re getting repeat customers because we’ve built relationships of trust. Whenever a client returns, they’re not just looking for a tax rebate — they’re looking for French expertise.”
“Plenty of other countries have financial incentives. But we’re getting repeat customers because we’ve built relationships of trust.”
Justine Paynat-Sautivet