3-D Film Co. Expanding in TC

by Ross Boissoneau

Governor Snyder’s new budget proposal virtually eliminates the state’s film incentives, but one company is moving ahead with its expansion plans locally.

I.E. Effects, a Los Angeles-based company that specializes in 3-D effects, is hiring for its Traverse City office, located at 315 N. Division. The company’s executive producer, David Kenneth, says he initially expects to field a staff of about 25 in Traverse City, expanding to 50 by the end of the year.

“We hope to have 100 by the end of next year, and 250-plus within five years,” Kenneth said from the company’s offices in southern California’s Culver City.

That’s a pretty ambitious plan – especially in light of the looming dissolution of the state’s film incentives – but Kenneth isn’t dissuaded. He says his company isn’t simply a film company, but a tech company as well.

“We’re creating 21st-century jobs,” Kenneth said. He points out that the film industry isn’t the only industry using 3-D technology; the gaming industry, the military, medicine, even oil and gas exploration companies use it too. (3-D sonograms help determine the depth and size of oil and gas fields underground.)

Of course, the film industry is Kenneth’s primary niche for 3-D, and since working here on effects for the film Gulliver’s Travels, starring Jack Black, he’s eager to establish a permanent presence.

To do so, I.E. Effects is bringing in staff from the region as well as from downstate and outside of Michigan. “We’ve hired 15 local people, as well as from Los Angeles, even London – [Traverse City] is a pretty easy sell,” he said.

I.E. Effects reputation can’t hurt much either. The company has an extensive resume that includes work on 3-D imagery for Motorola, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, commercials for the Honda Accord, the horror film Drag Me To Hell, and even a 3-D version of The Nutcracker.

Kenneth says the company’s long-standing presence in the heart of the country’s film industry has given it a direct connection to Hollywood movers and shakers that will benefit the Traverse City location.

“We have a direct pipeline to Hollywood. Studio executives can see us here, and then we have the people in Michigan to facilitate it. That’s crucial for our business,” he says.

Kenneth is bullish on Michigan. Not only does he appreciate this area’s natural beauty, he points to the state’s long-standing tradition of engineering excellence as a reason the company is interested in expanding its operations here.

“We’re very excited about this. Before Silicon Valley, there was Michigan. It was an engineering mecca. You have the education level, the technological drive, as well as the artistic.”

Kenneth said the company is working with Sony and IMAX on their upcoming 3-D channel. He said it also has a couple high-profile gigs lined up, though he declined to name them yet. He says he hopes to have things “completely ramped up” in Traverse City by the end of March; I.E. Effects has a shoot scheduled to start here March 21.