As Montreal’s Le Bureau de Post Productions celebrates its 13th anniversary this summer, the video post house is making a major push into the 3D animation and special FX market, while formalizing its motion graphics and broadcast design department.

Bureau de Post has joined forces with established Montreal 3D-animation and FX specialist Fog Studio to form a new 3D entity. The yet-to-be named company will officially launch in mid-August. Fog Studio recently completed 3D animation and FX work on Wes Craven’s horror feature Cursed and Marc Foster’s dramatic thriller Stay.

Growing into 3D animation and FX allows Bureau de Post to expand the range of services offered to both its commercial and film and television clients.

‘It’s a question of getting closer to being a one-stop shop, which is something a lot of people in the commercial field need,’ says Bureau de Post president and editor Stephane Olivier, explaining that about half the company’s clients come from commercials and half from film and television projects.

‘Previously on feature films, the only thing we would do was content editing. The cut list and special FX would go away from us. It is our hope that on the next features we work on, we’ll be able do everything from editing to compositing and special FX.’

While the company is currently focused on its new 3D endeavors, Olivier says that is not at the expense of traditional 2D animation. In fact, Bureau de Post recently hired a new 2D animator and a senior artistic director in an attempt to formalize its broadcast design department.

When Bureau de Post opened 13 years ago, it was focused exclusively on offline post-production for film and television. However, spot work has been a key element of its business since 1998, when the company moved into its current downtown Montreal office, a move that Olivier says opened it up to new commercial clients. Commercial work allows the company to remain busy during slow periods such as the summer season, he says.

On the TV side, Bureau de Post has just finished offline and online editing on Station X, a new animated children’s series from Montreal’s Cité-Amérique. The series, which will be broadcast on Teletoon in both English and French in the new season, follows a group of teenage VJs dealing with youth issues.

Also completed this summer was the independent feature Arcanum, shot in HD. The first feature from Montreal director Sanjay Sharma was edited by Clayton McDonald, with special FX designed by Flame artist Sarah Picard. Bureau de Post also provided online and credit sequences on the project. Olivier says remaining active in the independent film world has been a key goal of his since he was made president in 1998.

Bureau de Post started offline and online on Ding et Dong, a new TV special from Avanti Cine Video, at the end of July. The two-hour Radio-Canada special features the popular Quebec stand-up comedy duo of the title. The company is also doing online and graphic design for the award-winning comedy show Infoman, as well as offline, online and graphic design for the children’s comedy series Une grenade avec ça?, both from Zone3.

-www.bureaudepost.com