Written by on Sep 24, 2014. Posted in On Location

Atomic Fiction becomes latest visual effects company to open Montreal office

Atomic Fiction has become the latest visual effects company to open an office in Montreal, Quebec. The company’s recent projects include the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Need for Speed.

The firm will retain its California base but plans to expand its Canadian presence in the coming years. It recently operated from a temporary space while working on Robert Zemeckis’ new feature The Walk (right), which also shot in Montreal to tell the story of an infamous high-wire walk between the towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.

Atomic Fiction is just the latest visual effects company to open a Montreal office, with Technicolor and Cinesite having made similar announcements over the past year. Sony Pictures Imageworks is shifting its headquarters from California to Vancouver.

Montreal is an increasingly popular filming location for big-budget productions that require high-end visual effects services. The city recently hosted superhero sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past, which built 40 separate sets at Mel’s Cité du Cinema before going on to become a huge international hit. Follow-up movie X-Men: Apocalypse will also film in the city.

Quebec offers a 25% base filming incentive, plus a separate 20% programme for visual effects work done in the province, making it a fertile market for companies looking to expand.

Canada will face increased competition when California’s general filming incentive is boosted from next year. However, the California changes will centre on a massively increased film fund and expanded support for big-budget features and TV dramas, and will not yet extend to visual effects.

(The Walk image: Sony Pictures Entertainment; Need for Speed image: DreamWorks)