Boutique Talent

As much of the visual effects work on projects owned and distributed by our fine, entertainment conglomerates head for bastions of state socialism -- Vancouver, Albuquerque and the like -- some bits of it have remained in the eastern reaches of the San Fernando Valley.

... Film studios like to save money — who knew? — and have trouble resisting the 30% savings incentives offered seemingly everywhere but here. ... Yet despite this grim outlook, a pair of VFX production houses right here in Burbank happen to be thriving — bucking the trend by doing it leaner, meaner, smarter and, well, better. ...

Shant Jordan formed the effects boutique Synaptic VFX along with brother Shahen Jordan and partner Ken Gust. All three had deep experience in different areas of the business. Shant specialized in 3D art and compositing, Shahen in matte painting and concept art, and Gust in post-production and finishing. ...

Synaptic is about to staff up to about 25 employees and is doing well enough that it's poised to open a second branch in New Orleans, a hub of the celebrated 30% tax discount. But that doesn't mean the company will be abandoning Burbank any time soon, Shant assures.

“Oh, no way,” he says. “It's our home base. It's where the greatest and most talent lives.” ...

That local pool of professionals has been a key in fellow Burbank operation FuseFX's ability to stay competitive since its founding two years ago. Its clients have included FX's “American Horror Story,” CBS's “Criminal Minds” and Fox's “Glee,” and the company just doubled its footprint by purchasing the building next door, adding 3,000 square feet to make for 7,000 total. And it has a staff of about 40. ...

Southern California has a deep pool of artists and technicians that continues to exert a gravitational pull on where projects come to get work done.

I've thought for a long time that the wide array of college training programs and the thousands of computer specialists living in working in the Southland would keep work in town, but there's no question that tax and wage subsidies have made big dents in the amounts of work that flow through local studios.

It's not enough to offer top talent. You need to offer government tax and wage subsidies. Otherwise the only work that stays local is the work boutique facilities like those detailed above, and jobs with steep wage discounts that match subsidies in Canada and other states.