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VFX Legion, the full-service Burbank-based visual effect company, has launched a studio in British Columbia, Canada. The new division accesses the province’s substantial tax rebates, while its diverse roster of senior artists provides the skills needed to craft the high-quality photo-realistic visual effects that feature films and episodic television shows demand.

Although the expansion to B.C. marks the first time that VFX Legion has established a presence outside of LA, it has been a global company since Founder, and Creative Director James David Hattin opened its doors in 2013. Launched with a next-generation pipeline at its core, Legion’s ability to renders an artist’s location irrelevant establishes its Kelowna, B.C. studio as a powerful creative hub.

The company kicks off the new venture with a skilled roster of in-house talent, along with a scalable collective of specialized visual effects artists based beyond commuting distance to its studio. Hattin is currently finalizing the signing of a head of production/senior VFX supervisor to helm the B.C. operation as Legion continues to solidify new relationships with top-tier talent based throughout the province.

“British Columbia’s dense pool of experienced artists makes it an ideal location for VFX Legion’s first foray into a tax haven,” says Hattin, the architect of the company’s pipeline. “It enables us to take optimum advantage of our infrastructure’s capabilities and bring some of B.C.’s most creative and experienced visual effects artists into our fold.”

“The impetus behind VFX Legion was the need for a new generation of visual effects companies with state-of-the-art capabilities, ensuring that establishing a presence in B.C., or any region offering tax incentives, doesn’t come at the cost of limited access to top-tier talent," says Hattin.

Legion builds on Hattin’s 20+ years of experience as a tech-savvy lead talent helming visual effects teams for Hollywood’s episodic television shows and blockbuster films. The hands-on creative supervises and collaborates with the company’s LA and B.C.-based artists, as well as its worldwide network of talent, working in real time as a single unit through every phase of production.

Legion’s pipeline breaks with the traditional visual effects business model, untethering artists from the company's brick and mortar studios. It enables Hattin and his LA facility’s veteran management team to guide a select pool of geographically diverse senior visual effects artist with the efficiency of a company that houses its entire team under its roof.

Right out of the gate, Legion attracted a mix of US and internationally-based episodic television shows and feature films that rely on its experienced team and efficient end-to-end approach to consistently deliver large shot-counts of high-quality photo-realistic visual effects on tight deadlines. The expansion into B.C. sweetens the pot, meeting the budgets of a broader range of projects.

The company’s recent television credits include ‘Scandal’ (ABC) which relied on Legion to handle all its visual effects needs for three seasons, through last year’s finale. Currently, ‘How to Get Away with Murder’ (ABC), ‘Madam Secretary’(CBS), and ‘DC’s Legends of Tomorrow’ (CW), are a few of the shows that return to work with VFX Legion season after season. ‘Hardcore Henry,’ ‘Sinister 2,’ ‘Insidious 3’, ‘Asura,’ ’12 Strong,’ and ‘Superfly’ are among its feature film credits.

“Our LA company is fortunate to be called on by a steady flow of films and episodic television shows,” says VFX Legion’s Head of Production, Nate Smalley. “We’ve also had great meetings with a long list of producers who were wowed by the quality of our work. However, for many of them, the impact of tax incentives and exchange rates on the bottom line has been a deciding factor. The addition of our B.C. studio positions Legion competitively in the visual effects arena, leveling the playing field.”

Legion provides a full pallet of visual effects, from photorealistic environments, set extensions, compositing, look development, lighting, matte painting, and dynamics to cleanups and any other services projects may require.

“Whether our B.C. studio steps in during the pre-production, production or editorial phase of a project, Legion provides feature films and TV show with a unique new creative resource,” says Hattin. “Our managers’ shared LA aesthetic and standard and quality guide our talented team of B.C.-based artists, enhancing every visual story with VFX that consistently exceed our clients’ expectations.”

British Columbia is the first of a series of regions offering tax incentives where VFX Legion plans to put down stakes. Hattin is in the process of assembling a core team of artists in New York, with future expansion plans including the launch of a division in the state.