Job Market in Montreal

[MauricioPC]

Hey guys ... I tried asking Luc-Eric but he said he's out of touch with the production studios and gave me idea of asking it here.

So ... how is the market of CG and VFX in Montreal? Is it more Maya based or there's good jobs for Softimage as well? I have a friend who's thinking of going to Montreal in late 2014 to study and I want to help him figure it out which software he should focus. He uses a lot of Cinema 4D (motion graphics market is big here), but he wants to work in the games/film/advertisement industries.

I would say Maya and Softimage, but I thought it's better to ask you guys.


Thanks.

[Falam]

Why are some of the studios opening up in Montreal is the government giving tax incentives ?

[EricTRocks]

Why are some of the studios opening up in Montreal is the government giving tax incentives ?

Please start another thread if you want to know this, you're derailing the initial purpose of the thread.

Back to the topic on hand, I'd say learn both. It's only going to increase their value and productivity. Depending on what area they want to focus in we could give better opinions and advice though.

[MauricioPC]

I guess generalist. When we are starting out, anything is good. I think you need to work in the industry before you say: "I only love doing particles/animation/rigging".

So I think the generalist approach would be the best option. And I want to limit to two major packages because if not, people go crazy!

[EricTRocks]

Definitely Softimage for generalist purposes. Maya can be good if you have enough plug-ins. I'm not railing on Maya but just being honest. Being fluent and useful in both and even being able to pass assets back and forth to do what you need to do is a plus too.

[Falam]

Why are some of the studios opening up in Montreal is the government giving tax incentives ?

Please start another thread if you want to know this, you're derailing the initial purpose of the thread.

Back to the topic on hand, I'd say learn both. It's only going to increase their value and productivity. Depending on what area they want to focus in we could give better opinions and advice though.

It's a simple question, it can easily be answered within the OP question. There is nothing derailing about the question.

[MauricioPC]

It's a simple question, it can easily be answered within the OP question. There is nothing derailing about the question.

I guess it's the tax incentives. MPC opened a studio, Technicolor also. So I think that's it.
And you have a lot of other great studios in Montreal.

Definitely Softimage for generalist purposes. Maya can be good if you have enough plug-ins. I'm not railing on Maya but just being honest. Being fluent and useful in both and even being able to pass assets back and forth to do what you need to do is a plus too.

Thanks for your input Eric. It's much appreciated.

[MauricioPC]

Anybody has any other input about the job market in Montreal?

3dsMax? Cinema 4D?

[FabricPaul]

Montreal is a hub for Softimage - I'm not sure that guarantees finding work, but if I was a Softie looking for work I'd be in Montreal or London.

Maya is in all of the big VFX shops that have opened up in Montreal, and they are scaling up aggressively. However, that also means they may scale down aggressively as well.

Ubisoft and Eidos are both Max studios (I think Eidos is a mix with Maya, but they might have switched back to all Max again). I think Warner is Maya.

There are tax incentives that have encouraged the big studios to open new sites in Montreal. There are also R&D tax credits that make it attractive if you can prove you do that kind of work. Technicolor owns MPC. Framestore also opened a new place recently, so maybe you were thinking of them...

[MauricioPC]

Montreal is a hub for Softimage - I'm not sure that guarantees finding work, but if I was a Softie looking for work I'd be in Montreal or London.

Maya is in all of the big VFX shops that have opened up in Montreal, and they are scaling up aggressively. However, that also means they may scale down aggressively as well.

Ubisoft and Eidos are both Max studios (I think Eidos is a mix with Maya, but they might have switched back to all Max again). I think Warner is Maya.

There are tax incentives that have encouraged the big studios to open new sites in Montreal. There are also R&D tax credits that make it attractive if you can prove you do that kind of work. Technicolor owns MPC. Framestore also opened a new place recently, so maybe you were thinking of them...

Hey Paul, thank you very much for your input.

That's exactly what I was searching for. Getting a job is not guaranteed, but knowing the top 2 applications of the area is a good indication that you may succeed. That's why I was asking. If Softimage was leveled with 3dsMax, I might suggest Max (as there's a lot of work for games in Max).

Now I feel more confident in indicating Maya and Softimage as opposed of Maya and Max or Maya and Houdini. The rest is up to him to learn and get good. ;)