‘There are Canadians all over the place,’ is one ex-pat’s chilling description of the current u.s. landscape, referring in particular to places like ilm, Pixar, Disney and DreamWorks. It’s not a conspiracy; this country’s animation aspirants have had the benefit of two powerful facilitators, a rich body of animated work to inspire awe, and, once inspiration has occurred, a place to study the craft that is as good as any in the world.

These are among the factors which have created for Canadian animators opportunities in many aspects of the field and have made Canadians dot the major u.s. studios like pimples on the chin of a Sheridan freshman.

Currently somewhere in the middle of production on its first fully animated feature film, Palo Alto, California-based Pacific Data Images is one of the shops with a high quotient of Canadians in every facet of its operation. The 17-year-old company is a leader in digital animation and effects for commercials, tv and feature films, and last year signed a feature coproduction deal with DreamWorks.

Antz, the tale of one insect’s struggle against mediocrity and conformity, is the first film. The huge project required an infusion of talent, and Canadians figured prominently in the mix.

Marilyn Friedman, pdi director of recruiting, says out of 100 animation jobs at the shop, 16 are filled by Canadians, who typically have the right education and experience mix desired by high-end facilities.

The Canadian pdi contingent represents talent in most areas of the business, including character animation, effects animation, lighting animation, storyboarding and software development, a major part of the pdi process which employs mainly proprietary software.

There are also production management and supervisor types, says Friedman, including senior producer Cindy Cosenzo who recently joined pdi on the commercial side from an extensive background north of the border.

Friedman says the primary guideline in picking up staff is the quality of work. ‘It just so happens there are a lot of good Canadian animators,’ says Friedman. ‘That is the result of a good educational foundation and some great production houses where they get their initial training.’

Animation programs like those offered at Sheridan College are consistent sources of talent and Friedman says pdi also maintains a presence at shows like the Student Animation Festival of Ottawa. (With this being the first student festival, pdi will have representation on the festival’s panels).

Friedman also says eyes are turned toward Vancouver for the promising work emerging from programs like that at the city’s film school.

In addition to gene-given, school-honed talent, Friedman says a large consideration for potential pdites is the ability to work in a team context.

‘This is a very collaborative team environment,’ says Friedman. ‘It’s not about one person’s vision. It’s very critical people can work with others, give and take criticism and help one another, not hoard information. We have a very low ego factor here and we’re trying to keep it that way.’

Friedman says the facility also supports animators in independent projects including proof of concept work and short films like Tim Cheung’s Gabola the Great, which was shown at siggraph this summer.

pdi senior animator Sean Curran and supervising animator Rex Grignon, both Canadian-born and Sheridan-educated, are key members of the Antz animation team and both brought a traditional animation background and computer animation experience to the job.

An animation enthusiast from a young age, Curran – who shares the Oakville, Ont. hometown of Sheridan – learned about the college’s animation program after watching a Nelvana Christmas special one year, circa Grade 6. ‘All of a sudden it became close to home, something that was a possibility,’ he says.

After graduation, Curran went to the New York Institute of Technology and gathered computer graphics experience, after which he did freelance stints in Canada and the u.s. in both traditional and computer animation.

Curran joined pdi two years ago, compelled by jobs like The Simpsons and Warner Bros.’s Marvin the Martian feature.

Grignon also attended the New York Institute, followed up by a stint in Europe doing computer animation and art direction. Grignon was one of those responsible for founding pdi’s character animation group and he went to Pixar in 1995 to work on Toy Story, returning to pdi last year.

Grignon works on pdi’s proprietary e_motion animation software, which has been evolving for the past 15 years into what Grignon calls an ‘unbelievably powerful system’ capable of handling the enormous amounts and varieties of work involved in a feature.

Both Curran and Grignon point to the scope and quantity of u.s. work as the major drawing card for young Canadian talent. ‘Most of my friends from college are all down here,’ says Curran. ‘There’s a lot of good work back home but if you want feature work it’s here.’

The Antz project is expected to be completed mid-1999 and the shop is now looking for a pair of film effects projects – next summer’s ‘big movies.’ The facility is undergoing expansion, recently adding another 15,000 square feet to its space, and is currently making plans for its next fully animated feature.