Offshore 3D.(Film)

Something in the latest TrendWatch report caught my eye recently, reminding me that only a few months ago in this column Phil Vischer, founder of Big Idea, which was acquired by Classic Media LLC, predicted that 3D work would begin moving offshore--out of the US, that is. The report noted that 25 percent of the managers of visual effects and animation studios cite competition from studios in other countries as a major challenge. "Overall, the data shows the number of US studios/ facilities worried about offshore competition has remained steady this year at 1 in 10," says TrendWatch partner Jim Whittington.

Cel animation work, particularly for broadcast and direct-to-video animated features, has been offshore for decades. So anyone doing that type of work has long been casting a wary eye across one pond or another. But it's no longer just cel animation that's taking the leap.

"2D has been offshore since the '60s," says Brad deGraf, a consultant and a pioneer in computer graphics and animation. "Everything that happened to 2D is happening to 3D. In the same way that the manufacture of shoes is moving overseas, 3D is going to move also. It's just a matter of time. Like any other outsourcing, there's probably a 10 to 1 salary gain in a developing country."

As a consultant for the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC), deGraf has taken a close look at studios around the world that are gearing up for 3D work. "The IFC's mission is to invest in sustainable businesses in developing countries that meet the World Bank's goal of reducing poverty, creating jobs, and raising the standard of living," he says. "I think outsourcing 3D is not super practical yet, but it's going to be, and so people are starting to do it. There are studios and training centers all over the place--Morocco, Southeast Asia, China ... and India is booming. The learning curve is still high, but it's coming down fast. In five years, it will be moot as far as the difference in skills."

Already, there are examples. In addition to producing its own animated feature Moebius, Global Digital Creations Limited in China offers 3D character animation and visual effects production services and training. GlassEgg in Vietnam shows examples from games and TV commercials on its Web site. Four years ago, the French-based animation and effects studio Sparx opened a 3D studio in Vietnam, and earlier this year, a teaser trailer for a live-action/animated feature being developed by Sparx and art director Dong Chiang won the prize for rendering at Imagina 03. Two years ago, Rhythm & Hues (R&H) established a small studio in India that got its first taste of visual effects work this year by doing wire removal for a few shots in Daredevil.

"Bandwidth and inexpensive equipment are beginning to make working remotely and collaboratively more viable than ever before," says Douglas Kay, who started the CGI group at LucasFilm in 1985 with George Johlove and is now chairman of Mondo Media, an animation and digital production studio and a leading syndicator of animated content on the Web. "It's not there yet. But at Mondo Games we have artists in different places. It works well for some projects."

One of the projects currently underway at Mondo Media is a CG animated feature. "We are working with Wes Craven on a horror/comedy film," Kay says. "We've done a number of test sequences to understand the look and feel and what it would take to do the project."