12 December 2006

AnimFXNZ, a meeting of the world’s leading animation and visual effects experts in Wellington, New Zealand in early November, has put the New Zealand animation industry firmly on the international map.

That was the consensus from the attendees who spoke to Adam McElroy, sector manager digital content at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE). NZTE incorporates Investment New Zealand.

“The organisers did a terrific job of attracting a ‘dream-team’ line-up”, says McElroy. “There was great feedback from both international and local delegates.”

Influential figures from top overseas studios such as DreamWorks SKG, Warner Bros and Blue Sky Studios Inc took part in the symposium, alongside representatives from the United Kingdom, Singapore, Argentina, Australia and Malaysia, who all met with key players in New Zealand’s animation and visual effects industry.

Attendees included Los Angeles-Based Visual Effects Society (VES) – an industry organisation that represents the full breadth of visual effects practitioners in all areas of entertainment, from film, television and commercials to music videos and gaming worldwide.

VES executive director Eric Roth says AnimFXNZ gave the international animation and visual effects community a chance to learn from New Zealand’s experience.

“New Zealand has made enormous strides in being able to tell powerful stories across all platforms, including film, TV, animation and video games.

“This symposium offered a mixture of awe-inspiring, state-of-the-art effects and down-to-earth, pragmatic ways of solving problems – and the chance to meet the people who create the magic.”

New Zealand companies networked with executives from Hollywood studios, and had the opportunity to ask detailed questions in the workshops that formed part of the symposium programme, says NZTE’s McElroy.

“The chance to build relationships is likely to lead to more collaborations between local and overseas companies working in the area in future, but more immediately, the symposium let people meet and share knowledge and experiences – and that’s always very valuable,” says McElroy.

“The people who came to the symposium are from the world’s top animation and visual effects companies,” says Marie-Claire Andrews, business development consultant in ICT for Investment New Zealand.

“Sander Schwartz, for example, is the head of animation at Warner Bros, and Tim Johnson recently directed the hit computer-animated comedy Over the Hedge.”

Positively Wellington Business conceived and organised the event and other sponsors included the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology, IBM, NZTE and VES.

International and local delegates were hugely impressed by what Positively Wellington Business managed to achieve with the symposium, according to Andrews.

“We have a huge depth of creative talent here, and all of the feedback from the international delegates confirmed that New Zealand is seen as right up there alongside the very best in the field. We’re on the map.”

The presence of such an impressive line-up of talent shows the high regard experts worldwide have for our creativity, technical skills and ability to use effects to tell powerful stories, she says.

“There were invitations made for New Zealand executives to visit DreamWorks in Los Angeles – you just can’t buy that sort of relationship.”

Both Andrews and McElroy hope it will become an annual event.

“This year’s event was such a success, it would be great to continue to build on that,” says McElroy.

For more information, please contact:

adam.mcelroy@nzte.govt.nz

+64 9 919 9108