TIFF from the Eyes of a VFX Executive
This article is written by Taylor Kephart, our new Director of Business Development. Prior to joining Scarecrow, Taylor was the President of Benaroya Pictures and has produced several films.
Six years ago, I attended TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) for the premiere of NEW YORK I LOVE YOU, a movie I executive produced in my capacity as President of Benaroya Pictures. Now older, wiser, and with considerably more gray hair, I made my way to TIFF once more but in a completely different capacity, as Director of Business Development at Scarecrow VFX. It’s interesting how one’s perception of the same thing changes depending on what they look for.
This time around, I couldn’t help but notice the increased usage of VFX in independent films. With the lowered costs of VFX from WAY back in 2008 to now, I saw films utilizing VFX in subtle but important ways. There were small indie films from Scandinavia, big budget dramas that the studios were pushing in anticipation of awards season, and effect-heavy horror films from Spain, all leaning on digital assets to assist in the storytelling process. It was exciting to see it all, and also eye-opening: the demand for VFX across all budget levels seems to have risen since the last time I attended the venerable Canadian market. On top of that, in my many conversations with people inside and outside of the industry, I perceived an information gap as far as how VFX companies can fit in to the overall puzzle of getting a movie produced. To put it simply, the VFX community needs to do a better job of informing and educating the overall film world of their place in the process, and how an efficient business plan and workflow can actually save productions money.
Networking is still an integral part of the festival experience. Regardless of the reason why you attend, an international film festival like TIFF offers the greatest array of opportunities to connect with all kinds of filmmakers, producers, and execs, who have travelled from all over the world in order to watch movies and connect to people of similar mindset and pursuits.
Ultimately, I came away from TIFF feeling energized and inspired by the essence of the movie industry: stories transformed into visuals and projected onto the big screen in more and more creative and sophisticated ways due to technology. VFX is an integral part of the technology that allows filmmakers to tell their stories and, as a film aficionado and the director of business for Scarecrow VFX, my challenge will be to contribute to the expansion of VFX use in the movie industry.
The next TIFF in 2015 will probably be a good way to start measuring the progress I’ve made in my new role. Until then…