In the 1980s, a new economy emerged in Vancouver.
It was a dramatic change to the primary resource-based industries that had long been the staple of the British Colombia economy.
These knowledge-based industries – software and graphic designers, music producers, filmmakers, animators and video gamer programmers – were seeded by innovative and determined entrepreneurs.
Today the creative sector in British Columbia accounts for Can$4bn (£2.2bn) of economic muscle, and employs over 80,000 workers.
In one of those creative industries, the animation sector, early entrepreneurs at Studio B Productions, Mainframe, International Rocketship and Bardel persevered and have directly led to a second generation of established studios like Atomic Cartoons, Nerdcorps and DHX Vancouver.
In the film and TV industry, animation is gaining increasing depth, from 4.5 percent of total Film & Television volume in 1998 (Can$36.6m), rising to 10 percent in 2008 (Can$122.2m). Over 80% of US film productions with animation content have been at least partly produced in British Columbia.
And while the current success owes a great deal to those entrepreneurs, it didn’t happen by accident.
A helping hand
Critical to the nurturing of those fragile early companies were three elemental factors; supportive Canadian broadcasters, thoughtful and long-term public policy initiatives and credible education programs to develop a local supply of talent.
Supportive indigenous broadcasters came in the form of both private (Teletoon, YTV and Family Channel) as well as public broadcasters (CBC, TVO and Knowledge Network).
Clearly, these broadcasters had regulatory mandates to air Canadian Content, but what really provided the needed impetus was an environment of sincere support for independent Canadian animation companies.
In the public policy arena, in addition to the national regulatory requirement for Canadian Content noted above, British Columbia set the stage for growth in the industry with sustainable labour-based tax credits, as well as specific supplementary tax credits aimed at the animation and visual effects industries.
The care in the design of these tax credits cannot be understated; they are specifically designed to support projects that fulfil the mandate of local production that creates local jobs.
Finally, BC established Creative BC, a dedicated entity that is intimately familiar with the film and TV industry and acts, in many ways, as the conduit between government policy and private enterprise.
From the ground up
Last, in the all important requirement for talent, multiple animation programs have developed in BC, at both private and public institutions. The broadcaster support, public policy and entrepreneurial spark would be admirable – but useless – without a robust supply of world-class talent.
From a distance, the UK, animation sector has been facing harsh headwinds since the elimination of sale and leaseback tax breaks a number of years ago. Even production of the iconic Thomas the Tank Engine came to British Columbia in the aftermath of that decision, illuminating the necessity of talent, entrepreneurs and supportive broadcasters (which the UK clearly has in abundance).
Absent from the scene was the public policy support, now present and accounted for again with the tax credit introduced by UK Chancellor George Osborne that came into effect last year, covering 20% of production costs.
It’s undeniably a game changer, and in my mind the impetus for the BC animation industry delegation that is visiting the UK, with Atomic Cartoons as an eager participant.
My hope for the success of both UK and BC participants is to establish lasting partnerships in the UK. I am looking forward to meeting UK commissioners and UK animation companies who survived those dark years; surely the determination needed to survive is reflective of the talent embodied within!
Rob Simmons is VP of Finance & Business Affairs at Atomic Cartoons Inc, producers of Atomic Betty and Pirate Express. He is visiting London and Manchester with a delegation of animation executives from British Colombia from Feb 25-27, supported by trade body Creative BC and trade association CMPA-BC.