
January, 9th 2012
by Marc Bourbonnais
When we founded Modus FX in 2007, we knew that to succeed as an industry leader, we would have to extend our reach beyond the local market. We believed that, if we could get a piece of the Hollywood and international markets, we could compete with the best.
Visual effects is a tough business. Audience expectations grow every time a new film sets the bar higher, but the movie studio's budgets don't change much. In 1999, a classic VFX film like The Matrix had just over 400 CG shots. Today, a film like Tron has almost four times as many. We are constantly challenged to find efficient ways to produce more and better effects.
We currently employ between 80 and 100 skilled artists and technicians, depending on our workload. We have created CGI for such Hollywood movies as Source Code, The Immortals, Jane Eyre, Barney's Version, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 and many others. Every year we move a little bit closer to our goal of becoming one of the top ten visual effect studios in the world. The secret to our success so far has been careful business planning based on five key factors.
1. Think global
While we have certainly taken on big projects here at home, such as Canada's first 3D animated film, Sarila, most of our work has been on films from France, Great Britain, Asia, and, of course, Hollywood. We now run a full office in Los Angeles and recently won a spot on ICM, a major talent agency the first Canadian visual effects company to be represented by them.
2. Choose your niche
The high-end studios we work with appreciate our full visual effects capabilities, including concept development, on-set support, 3D modeling, animation, and compositing. But for most VFX facilities it is wise to specialize. At Modus FX, for example, we have developed expertise in surfaces, such as the trains in Source Code and the water plane in Barney's Version, as well as CG environments and invisible effects, such as when we changed the season from winter to summer for several scenes in Jane Eyre.
3. Find and keep talent
Visual effects artists are highly skilled and dedicated professionals. They are hard to come by. It is crucial to create an environment where they feel engaged and where their contributions are valued. To keep doing great work, we need to make sure we continue to attract, and develop, great artists.
We are now at an optimum size for a facility that serves the feature film industry. We have a stable core team of about 50 permanent staff. We typically have another 40 or 50 on a contract basis, usually hired for a specific project, and often rehired for the next one. Of course there are only so many artists to draw from in Montreal, so we also need to recruit from abroad.
Finding artists is an ongoing task. We are also becoming more involved in training new talent at home. Quebec has great training programs, such as the Centre NAD, and here at Modus we plan to extend that with in-house training for emerging artists.
4. Use tax incentives
Tax credits have been a stable part of the Canadian film production landscape for twenty years, offering local companies an advantage over their American competitors. Tax incentive programs in some states are far from stable and encourage producers to turn to dependable environments like Quebec and Canada.
In Montreal the tax credits for digital effects services can reach 35-40%. These credits are great for everyone: they support an industry that provides long-term high-tech jobs, and they infuse around $1.50 into the local economy for each dollar awarded as a tax credit.
5. Become an attractive investment
Although our business is not without risks, our size makes us attractive to local investors who want to get involved with large projects.
Expenditures on equipment and staff in this industry are high and it can be hard to get long-term advance agreements on projects. Cash flow is a challenge for almost everyone in this industry, but we benefit from having regular clients and a lot of repeat business. Our track record means our credit margin is good. Our bank has confidence in our stability and that's crucial to weathering the ups and downs. That stability works all the way down the line: from the film companies who keep coming back with new work, to the freelance and permanent staff who like to work here, to our investors and creditors who know that we're in business for the long run.
People say that the movies are a recession-proof industry. Even with the increase in the value of the Canadian dollar and the financial turmoil in the US, people want to be entertained. Digital effects are used in all films these days and increasingly for TV. This is a growing market.
Marc Bourbonnais is president and co-founder of Modus FX, a visual effects facility in Ste. Therese. He represents Modus FX at the Quebec Film and Television Commission and is an active conference speaker. Bourbonnais was recognized with the NAD Centre's Tribute Award in 2010.
Most recent headlines
13/03/2025
WASHINGTON FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced that the agency has launched a massive, new deregulatory initiative that could potentially subject virtually all ...
13/03/2025
SUNNYVALE, Calif. SDVI has announced that it has integrated its Rally media supply chain management platform with the Spectra Vail multi-cloud data management s...
13/03/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has announced that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted a waiver of its local ownership rules to permit Gray Media to acqu...
13/03/2025
TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?...
13/03/2025
Watch Student Naomi Soleils Folk Pop Performance on The Voice The songwriting major sang Stars by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals during the blind auditions.
...
12/03/2025
O Spotify acaba de lan ar o relat rio Loud & Clear deste ano, uma vis o transpar...
12/03/2025
Spotify acaba de presentar el informe Loud & Clear de este a o, una mirada trans...
12/03/2025
Ramadan, a period of profound spiritual significance for Muslims worldwide, is a time for fasting, prayer, reflection, and community. Enrich your experience thi...
12/03/2025
Spotify has just unveiled this year's Loud & Clear report, a transparent loo...
12/03/2025
More than 70% of FAST programming has been produced since 2010, according to new Gracenote report
NEW YORK March 12, 2025 Gracenote, the content data busin...
12/03/2025
GEONA, Nev. Independent digital and linear advertising rep firm Viamedia will adopt cloud-based ShowSeeker Pilot as its primary ad campaign and order management...
12/03/2025
BRUSSELS Mediagenix has announced that Wael Yasin has joined the company as sales director Central Europe....
12/03/2025
LONDON A new study highlights opportunities for shoppable TV and the massive impact online consumer spending is having on the economy, with Omdia predicting tha...
12/03/2025
CUPERTINO, Calif. Interra Systems has announced that Comcast Technology Solutions has integrated recent updates to BATON Version 9 into its operations....
12/03/2025
Nevion announces new 400G addition to its eMerge SDN media fabric offering
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
High-capacity switch enhances existi...
12/03/2025
DaVinci Resolve Studio Delivers Cinematic Sound for Adam Bol
Brie Clayton March 12, 2025
0 Comments
Feature film relies on DaVinci Resolve Studio for ...
12/03/2025
SVT Leverages Ateliere Live to Pioneer 100% Software-Defined Production at Rally...
12/03/2025
Berklee Awards Fenway Neighborhood Improvement Grant to Four Organizations A total of $17,000 will be distributed among the Boston-based nonprofits.
By
Madd...
12/03/2025
TVBEuropes Jenny Priestley sits down with new SMPTE president Richard Welsh to discuss his aims for the organisation going forward, its efforts to attract a you...
12/03/2025
The new process has significantly enhanced operational efficiencies, with automation freeing up creators to concentrate on higher value tasks
By Matthew Corrig...
12/03/2025
Jellyfish Pictures, which has offices in London and Sheffield, said it has been battling hard in the face of strong headwinds over the last 12 months
By Jenny ...
12/03/2025
Visit Booth #W2213 to Experience the Latest in AI-Driven Content Discovery and Workflow Automation
Bitcentral, a leader in media workflow solutions, is set to ...
12/03/2025
CHICAGO Jeff Lilly has been named WGN-TV director of technology effective March 17, 2025, according to Ric Harris, WGN-TV vice president and general manager....
12/03/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. A new study from LG Ad Solutions indicates that consumers want more features that would allow them to shop for products on the connected T...
12/03/2025
BOTHELL, Wash. The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and the Video Services Forum (VSF) will once again present...
12/03/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcast announced that it has upgraded Xfinity Internet speeds for more than 20 million customers for no additional cost....
12/03/2025
Create with Maxon: Cinema 4D Fundamentals Workshop - March 12-14
Brie Clayton March 11, 2025
0 Comments
Makin' Waffles with Elly Wade
During Marc...
12/03/2025
Ottawa, Canada - March 12, 2025 - Ross Video is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Tunnell as Business Development Director, Cloud Solutions, reinforc...
12/03/2025
12 Mar 2025
VEON to release 4Q 2024 trading update on 20 March 2025 Dubai, 12 March 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms ...
12/03/2025
Getting set for the Winter Olympics: Inside SVT's ongoing software-based pro...
12/03/2025
THE PLAYERS Championship 2025: AI Commentary, Shared-Reality Viewing at COSM, La...
12/03/2025
Seamless SMPTE 2110: A Discussion on Making the Move to IP Less Painful Leaders from Netflix, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, LinkedI, and Megapixel address ...
12/03/2025
Opening Doors of Perception: Meta's Ajit Ninan on Rethinking AR/MR Perceptua...
12/03/2025
With the 2025 Formula 1 season set to begin in Melbourne on March 16, Sky Sports is gearing up to deliver its most comprehensive F1 coverage yet. Following a th...
12/03/2025
Unicanal and Trece TV revolutionize Digital TV in Paraguay with Rohde & Schwarz ...
12/03/2025
Honoring Service, Celebrating Sport: Rohde & Schwarz UK Sponsors NavyFit Rugby D...
12/03/2025
New HVS-Q12 Represents a Quantum Leap in Switcher Design...
12/03/2025
Telespazio and ABS Expand Partnership to Deliver Tailored C-Band Connectivity So...
12/03/2025
ABC conducts independent audits across the TAG programs. In the March 2025 TAG s...
12/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Moonlight: ESA program to create a satellite con...
12/03/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
In 2025, Thales ranks among the top 0.01% of the...
12/03/2025
Consumer show back following hugely successful first series
10 March 2025 Following a hugely successful first series, The Complaints Bureau returns to RT ...
11/03/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
11/03/2025
Salsa is making a comeback, captivating new listeners with its infectious energy...
11/03/2025
For many people, music can serve as a reflection of their roots and upbringing. ...
11/03/2025
The solution delivers reliable, scalable and secure connectivity for critical pu...
11/03/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Harmonic has announced that Weigel Broadcasting has deployed Harmonics VOS Media Software, which offers playout-to-delivery capabilities, inclu...
11/03/2025
NEW BERN, N.C. Wheatstone will introduce a Linux audio driver for its WheatNet IP audio network during the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, at the Las Vegas Convention...
11/03/2025
NEW YORK A new study finds that as TV viewership for women's sports surged by 131% in 2024, the programming also saw a 56% year-over-year increase in ad im...
11/03/2025
Powerful switcher for news studio
FOR-A, a cutting-edge video broadcast technology company backed by more than 50 years experience, has installed its HVS-1200 ...