Combining their skills as a cabinetmaker and a biomedical engineer with a lot of imagination and experience, Jason Ehl and Di Brown have ventured out on their own to form Backbone Special Effects.

Located at the corner of Queen Street East and the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, Backbone will specialize in models and miniatures, prop construction, sculpting and casting, visual effects, architectural models, animatronics, and prototype design and fabrication.

Although the company will cover a broad spectrum of effects work, the owners admit their greatest interest lies in the area of science fiction: ‘It’s always the most fun.’

Cabinetmaker Brown and biomedical engineer Ehl got their special effects training at Toronto’s Brian Cole Models where they worked on several projects including a diorama for the new Alliance series Fast Track, a miniature ship for Atlantis/All American Entertainment series The Adventures of Sinbad and futuristic props for Empire Entertainment’s sci-fi adventure Deepwater Black.

While Toronto already boasts a number of established special effects shops, Ehl and Brown believe there is room for one more.

‘The way the industry is going it is definitely time for an expansion,’ says Brown. ‘They can’t handle all the work and have to farm out a lot of it ­ we hope to pick up some of that.’

Soon after opening its doors in mid-July, Backbone landed its first job ­ making a large plastic sci-fi gadget with colored lights and buttons for Protocol Entertainment’s Goosebumps series.

At their Queen Street headquarters they will be working with wood and plastic fabrication while machining and metal welding will be done at their fully equipped Brampton, Ont. facility.

‘Once we get those things tied together and up and running we will get into the cgi part,’ says Ehl.

While their main focus will be the film and television industry, Backbone will also make prototypes for toy companies.

‘We have the means and the skills to make things work the way they are supposed to with all of the mechanics inside,’ says Ehl.