The year Australia stood still?
In this guest posting, Ausfilm’s Tracey Vieira warns that 2010 may be another drought year for international production in Australia.
With Warner’s Green Lantern departed due to the rising dollar and other slated productions choosing alternative locations, the Australian industry has been hit hard while it was already down.
Warner Roadshow Studios' water tank in Queensland.
That no US feature was shot in the country in 2008-2009 is startling and while two productions have since shot here, it is unlikely that any further productions will head our way in the next 12 months.
The location offset is an excellent incentive when the dollar sits around U$0.75 or lower, but at its current rate and with expectations it may surpass the greenback, Australia has become an expensive offshore production destination. Added to that is the ever-increasing competing incentives from locations that understand the benefits of attracting production.
The offset was introduced to encourage large productions to locate in Australia to provide greater opportunities. It has done this successfully, but with international production at a standstill, the benefits have halted.
Sanctum, an Australian film produced by Andrew Wight, is currently filming on the Gold Coast’s Warner Roadshow Studios (WRC). The US-financed project was creatively developed in Australia and will be shot under the producer offset. The film about cave diving can be made in Australia because of the largest purpose-built film water tank in the country, a legacy of 2007’s Fool’s Gold. The investment by Warner Bros and supported by WRC and PFTC has provided a facility that productions have now been able to utilise.
According to Lynne Benzie, president of WRS, soundstages 7 and 8, three offices, one construction workshop and four lock ups were also built for a Warner film some years ago (The Fountain, which was ultimately shot in Canada). This year, the WRS also upgraded its fibre network system for Narnia.
“Over $13 million have been spent on new infrastructure at WRS, which would not have been possible without the international contribution. Domestic productions can’t pay for such a large capital outlay, but they ultimately benefit when this type of infrastructure is left behind by overseas projects,” said Benzie.
It is also Warner’s. long investment in making American feature films in Australia that led to their confidence in facilities and filmmakers such as Zareh Nalbandian from Animal Logic (AL), with whom they have signed a deal to develop animated films. The deal follows the companies’ collaborations on Happy Feet, 300 and The Matrix. The growth of the VFX industry has created skilled jobs, and with artists in demand around the world, the success in attracting both physical and post/VFX work has enabled the facilities to grow the skill base and invest in the latest technology.
These resources are then available to local filmmakers whose budgets would not normally extend to support bringing in such expensive equipment.
Caroline Pitcher, director of marketing and business development at VFX house Iloura recognises how the incentives, when competitive, have helped grow their facility.
“Iloura has been successful in undertaking significant work on US productions (Charlotte’s Web, The Pacific and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark) which have benefited from federal and state government
incentives,” said Pitcher.
“It should be noted that all these projects filmed in Australia and that large packages of ‘VFX only’ work
attracted has been minimal. This would indicate that the Post Digital and Visual Effects (PDV) Offset has
been undersubscribed and has not stimulated enough work opportunities. When the lack of uptake of the PDV incentives is combined with the current USD/AUD exchange rate, it would appear that the sector has real challenges ahead.”
Tracey Vieira – Ausfilm
