The Canadian dollar is not going as far as it used to, but that hasn’t stopped L.A.-based compositing and visual effects boutique Gray Matter FX from opening an office in Vancouver.

‘The U.S. dollar is so weak against every currency right now. We used to offer the currency break in costing but we don’t anymore, it’s too scary. We don’t know what it’s going to do,’ says CEO and exec producer Margaux Mackay, who cofounded Gray Matter 10 years ago with Gray Marshall. The shop’s credits include the features Dreamgirls, Secret Window and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

No doubt, B.C.’s tax credits and incentives were a draw. ‘The rebates, certainly for studios, are attractive,’ she says. ‘If they didn’t go to Canada, they’d go to Australia or England. L.A. is losing work because of it. I think Vancouver has the opportunity to be a big hub, like England. England does good work, but the U.S. dollar is [particularly] weak against the Euro.’

A combo of provincial and federal tax credits means U.S. producers can save up to 40% of their labor costs by contracting and producing the visual effects in B.C. But Mackay says that wasn’t the only reason the shop opted to come to Vancouver.

‘I’d been looking to set up there for quite awhile. I had a choice of Montreal and Toronto, but I like Vancouver,’ she says. ‘It’s a good place for L.A. people to go. It’s within the same time zone.’ And equally important, she adds, ‘Vancouver is like London’s Soho. It’s not back-biting – it’s a community, and that attracted me. People work together.’

In fact, it was Winston Helgason, president of The Embassy Visual Effects, a Vancouver-based 3D house, who called up Mackay to let her know that space was available in his building. The two companies now share a location minutes from downtown Vancouver.

‘We both value each other’s work,’ Mackay says. ‘They do a lot of 3D and we do a lot of 2D. We did some work together on Dreamgirls, and they’re working on another project for us now.’ The two are currently working on the superhero flick Iron Man, with Robert Downey Jr. as the Marvel comics character.

Since opening in January, Gray Matter has completed Universal’s American Gangster, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe and Cuba Gooding Jr., and the Pierce Brosnan starrer Married Life for Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.

Current projects also include 21, starring Kevin Spacey in the true story of a group of MIT students who take on Las Vegas and win.

While Vancouver might be the new Soho, Mackay notes that there’s plenty of competition on the horizon.

‘China, especially, is competing for animation,’ she notes. ‘And the next wave is companies hooking up with India. Budgets are getting lower and lower, and I can’t compete with China and India. But they are getting what they pay for. On the other hand, over time, they could build the talent and infrastructure, just like Vancouver did.’

www.graymatterfx.com