NZ animators having special effect on world's screens

SIDHE INTERACTIVE

GROWING MARKET: In Hollywood and Bollywood, visual effects moguls are taking note of Kiwi talent. Sidhe interactive has created its own market foothold and says that, with the gaming market growing rapidly, it has as much potential as in the movie business. Seen here is some of their work from the Speed Racer game.

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Disney, Star Wars, Doom, Electronic Arts. The names and brands hit home to a visual effects professional like a jackhammer list of industry legends, and among others they lined up at the recent Animfx conference in Wellington.

Wellington's visual effects industry was born off the back of Peter Jackson's stunning success and the creation of his post production mini-empire in Miramar.

His headquarters, Park Road Post, has created movie magic in numerous Hollywood mega-busters and become a magnet for animation and post-production heavyweights around the world.

That fascination has grown as more and more world-class work comes out of Wellington.

Showcasing the animation, visual effects, games and digital film industries, the Animfx conference is three years old and starred a formidable lineup of speakers, including Park Road Post general manager Aimee McCammon, international leaders in 3D animation, gaming gurus and media artists.

While intensely fascinating to New Zealand businesses forging a path in the multibillion-dollar visual effects industry, most speakers volunteered because they were curious. Steve Schklair, chief executive of 3ality Digital, says he wanted to know what the New Zealand visual effects scene looked like. "The mere fact [New Zealand] has an industry, I've been very curious about that."

Last weekend Schklair won the Visual Awards Society award for outstanding visual effects in the production of U2 3D, the first live 3D movie produced. He has worked on movies like the Fifth Element, Terminator and Titanic, and based on what he saw at the conference, he wants to work in Wellington. A meeting with Peter Jackson for several hours was a highlight, but the mix of what New Zealand had to offer was convincing.

"The exchange rate makes it very interesting and conducive to shooting there and certainly posting there. In the movie business we tend to shoot projects in places we want to spend time in, as long as we can justify it financially, and through the quality of work. On that basis I would say let's go to Wellington."

On a Hollywood time scale that could be any time in the next decade, he says.

Jos Ruffell, business development executive for Wellington gaming company Sidhe Interactive, says Schklair's loose intention to do something in New Zealand is typically as good a result as you get.

"What you find is that you form a relationship, get introduced to someone, it isn't a direct fit for that person, he refers them to someone else and there might be another person he sends them off to; it could be a number of months before something happens."

A meeting with a Warner Bros executive at the first Animfx conference in 2006 turned into a reminder that turned into a thought that coincidentally linked into another meeting the following year, and ended up as a job for Sidhe.

"Had we never had that first meeting they would not have known about us. That's how it works, it's a series of conversations, large projects, large timeframes," Mr Ruffell says.

Animfx organiser Kim Lavery knows there were at least four deals put on the table at last year's conference. As a Hollywood domicile and personally acquainted with many of the presenters, Ms Lavery can see the potential in spending the $200,000 it cost to put the conference on.

The likes of Schklair and fellow presenters at last year's conference, such as Disney's vice-president of animation Carolyn Soper, and Henry LaBounta, art director for giant gaming firm Electronic Arts, are the "forefathers" of the visual effects industry.

That's why they are intrigued enough to take time out and visit New Zealand, Ms Lavery says. "They are busy making films, but they are in a position to find new ways to expand their business. It is serious business."

She said Jackson's work put the spotlight on New Zealand and the smaller companies growing their own niche businesses are helping justify the attention.

"Those are the folks I really got it from. Their passion for their creativity seems to be their greatest motivator as opposed to what it feels like in Hollywood."

The chance of a small Kiwi company successfully cold-calling Disney or any of the big players in Hollywood is next to none, which is the value in a small, intimate conference like Animfx. The size and tone of the show endeared it to all the presenters, who were used to multitudes of people in mass commercial conventions.

Ms Lavery says it was a considered approach to keep it informal and low key, and it worked.

Patrick von Sychowski, chief operating officer of Indian film service company Adlabs Digital, says Animfx and New Zealand's reputation around the visual effects world is growing, but the Wellington conference exceeded his expectations. "The fact it is not in LA or Singapore, some sort of huge city, it just helps bring the presenters and the audience closer together and allows for better interaction. By being small, ironically, it becomes deeper, and more interesting and rewarding."

Meeting with "grassroots" companies during his visit was an example of that. While Park Road Post and Weta achieved amazing things, it is the "ecosystem" of companies that makes New Zealand industry viable long-term.

Sidhe Interactive is a classic example of a company creating its own market foothold and growing it, but with the United States gaming market growing from US$8 billion to US$21b (NZ$41b) in eight years, there was at least as much potential as in the movie business.

The enthusiasm expressed by the industry leaders for what they see during a visit is far more than what the industry gets from the Government.

As a pure export industry they get the same grants and assistance as other exporters, Mr Ruffell admits, but the lack of access to local capital is a handbrake on what could be a massive foreign exchange earner.

"To really seize on the opportunities we need support, we are not looking for handouts, but it is about staying ahead of what other countries are putting into their industries. Singapore is putting a billion dollars into their games industry over the next five years, and they are the size of New Zealand," Mr Ruffell says.

"[The industry] needs its Lord of the Rings moment."

With a long-term focus it is hard to put a number on direct return on investment. The Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Grow Wellington add to sponsorship from the likes of Sidhe and Weta, among others.

Ms Lavery says the goal of Animfx is to build an ongoing relationship with the wider industry, and leverage opportunities for New Zealand through that.

There are significant strengths in the local industry, but there are limitations, particularly in the available technology, she says.

"With all due respect, except for Peter [Jackson], there is still a learning curve. Having this kind of talent and experience come into New Zealand is a goldmine of information. That's why we need to keep it going."

- © Fairfax NZ News