WANT TO WORK IN A VFX OR ANIMATION STUDIO BUT DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START? SOME OF THE WORLD’S BEST STUDIOS ARE LOCATED IN VANCOUVER. CHECK OUT THE LIST BELOW!
Vancouver’s animation and visual effects market is a growing industry. Year after year you will see more films being produced in Hollywood North, many of which feature VFX or digital animation. Vancouver is already home to some of the biggest animation studios in the film industry today and smaller ones continue popping up as demand increases, making career opportunities plentiful.
If you want to begin a career in Animation, 3D Animation, or Visual Effects, here are some Vancouver based companies you should look into.
SONY PICTURES IMAGEWORKS
Imageworks is one Vancouver’s largest VFX and animation studios. They are responsible for huge titles like Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse, Suicide Squad, Hotel Transylvania, the Smurfs, the Angry Birds Movie, Alice: Through the Looking Glass, and many more!
BARDEL
Aside from their work in 3D Animation, Bardel is a top contender for Vancouver’s classical animation market. They have worked with some of animation’s biggest names including Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney, Warner Bros, and Dreamworks. Credits include: Rick and Morty, Teen Titans Go! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Puss in Boots and more!
INDUSTRIAL LIGHT AND MAGIC
ILM is a visual effects studio with an expansive and impressive resume. Credits include Skyscraper, Ant Man and the Wasp, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Thor: Ragnarok, and many, many more! Aside from VFX, ILM also handles concept art and visual development.
METHOD STUDIOS
Method is an award-winning VFX studio that is making quite a name for themselves. They’ve taken on massive projects like John Wick 3, Jumanji: The Next Level, Ford v Ferrari, Top Gun: Maverick, Birds of Prey and a huge list of Marvel movies. With services like conceptual design, 3D animation, motion graphics, compositing and so much more, this studio is an impressive one-stop VFX shop.
DNEG
DNEG (Double Negative) has won a slew of awards for their amazing work including 5 Academy Awards, 5 BAFTA Awards and 11 Visual Effects Society Awards. With credits like Blade Runner 2049, Hobbs & Shaw, Men in Black: International, Bohemian Rhapsody, Venom and many, many more, it’s no surprise that DNEG has positioned themselves as one of Vancouver’s top VFX studios.
MAINFRAME STUDIOS
Mainframe is responsible for some of the most nostalgia inducing shows your mind can fathom. Running for a little over 20 years, Rainmaker developed shows such as the original Reboot, Beast Wars, as well as one of the many Spider-Man series. They also dipped their fingers in feature-film with the video-game based Ratchet & Clank, Escape from Planet Earth, and the WWE collaboration Surf’s Up 2: Wavemania.
IMAGE ENGINE
Imagine Engine is a world-class VFX studio whose portfolio features films like Deadpool, Jurassic Park: the Lost World, District 9 and Chappie. The company has been around since 1995 and is considered one of the top studios in Vancouver.
TITMOUSE
Titmouse is a full-service animation studio. Titmouse has worked with companies such as Adult Swim, Nike and Netflix. The studio makes lots of content for mature audiences, creating shows like Big Mouth, Metalocalypse, and Son Of Zorn. Titmouse has also made feature films, music videos, virtual reality, commercials, and even worked on some titles in the Guitar Hero video game series.
ZOIC
Zoic is a digital FX studio with locations in Vancouver, New York, and L.A.. They have great experience working in television, film and advertising. Films include Avenges: Age of Ultron, Mother! The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and more. Series credits include: Stargirl, Space Force, Ozark, The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones amongst many others. They also dabble in video gaming and virtual reality.
ATOMIC CARTOONS
Atomic Cartoons is a full service animation studio that has been around since 1999. They have worked on shows such as Atomic Betty, Counterfeit Cat, Johnny Test and World of Quest.
Related Links:
3D Animation + Visual Effects Program