BC Gov News

SIGGRAPH 2014, the 41st International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, is being held Aug. 10-14, 2014, at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

• Over 15,000 artists, programmers, filmmakers, computer scientists, animators, game designers and other people involved in computer graphics, film making, video games and graphics hardware will come from 75 countries to attend the conference.
  
• Over 149 industry organizations exhibiting at the convention include Pixar Animation Studios, AMD INC., Oculus VR and Intel. Local B.C. exhibitors include Gener8 Digital Media, SIAT (Simon Fraser University, School of Interactive Arts and Technology), Rainmaker Entertainment, Nerd Corps Entertainment and the Sequence Group.
  
• SIGGRAPH was last held in Vancouver in 2011 and broke previous convention attendance records for the city, generating an estimated $38.5 million in direct spending for the local economy.
  
• SIGGRAPH 2011 had 15,872 attendees and was the first time in North America the conference was held outside the U.S.A.
  
• The 2013 SIGGRAPH conference was in Anaheim with 17,162 attendees. There were 1,354 speakers and contributors who participated in the conference through a variety of talks, sessions, panels, papers, presentations, tutorials, and screenings.
  
• 180 industry organizations exhibited at SIGGRAPH 2013 representing 4,074 square metres (43,850 square feet) of exhibit space. A total of 15 countries were represented on the show floor, and 38% of the show floor was used by exhibitors from countries other than the United States.
  

Digital media industry in B.C.

• B.C. is home to one of the oldest video games clusters in North America. With more than more than 1,300 companies, employing 22,000 people.
  
• Over 65 game development studios have 5,150 full-time highly paid employees and thousands more under contract.
  
• In 2012, the video game industry in B.C. was responsible for $568 million in gross expenditures, and 40% of companies reported they expected growth of more than 25% in 2014. 
  
• Over the past five years, B.C. has experienced significant growth in visual effects and digital animation production. Many international companies (Sony Imageworks, MPC, Industrial Light + Magic) have moved head offices or established Vancouver studios. Additionally, a number of domestic companies have grown significantly over this period (Nerdcorps, Atomic Cartoon, Image Engine).
  
• Visual effects companies set up shop in B.C. thanks to a highly experienced, capable and committed workforce with a reputation for consistently delivering a high-quality product on time, and on budget.
  
• Studios specializing in post-production, animation and special effects for motion pictures continue to flourish in British Columbia:
• In 2012, Sony Pictures Imageworks in Vancouver produced 75% of the animation in the movie The Amazing Spider-Man.
• In 2013, Image Engine in Vancouver produced 300 visual effects shots for the move Zero Dark Thirty.
• Currently, Industrial Light + Magic is in the process of setting up its work for the next Star Wars movie.

B.C.’s technology sector

• B.C.’s high-tech sector is one of the province’s top performers in terms of growth at 3.4% − double the rate of growth of the industrial aggregate (1.7%).
  
• Technology is the third-largest economic contributor to B.C.’s gross domestic product at 7.6%.
  
• B.C.’s technology sector produces $23.2 billion in annual revenue with exports totalling $994.3 million.
  
• In 2012, the number of tech companies in B.C. grew by 3% and there are over 9,000 established tech companies operating in B.C. today providing 84,070 jobs.
  
• High-technology wages and salaries rose 7.6% in 2012 to almost $6.3 billion - nearly double the 4.1% growth in total wages and salaries across all industries in B.C.

Media Contacts:

Melody Wey
Ministry of Technology, Innovation and Citizens’ Services
250 387-0172