Special Effects & Other Video Post-Production Services Industry Profile

Companies in this industry provide specialized motion picture or video post-production services, such as editing, film/tape transfers, subtitling, credits, closed captioning, and animation and special effects. Major companies include Deluxe, Disney's Industrial Light & Magic, and Rhythm & Hues (all based in the US), as well as Animal Logic (Australia), Cinesite (the UK), Reliance MediaWorks (India), Sony Pictures Imageworks (Canada), and Technicolor (France).

The industry is experiencing an outflow of work from the US to other countries. Many animation, visual effects, and other post-production jobs are outsourced to India and China, where labor is cheaper. Canada, New Zealand, and the UK are attracting companies with specific tax credits for visual effects production.

The US post-production services and other motion picture and video industries includes about 2,600 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $5 billion.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Demand is driven by the film and video industry, which depends on consumer spending and leisure time. The profitability of individual companies depends on creative and technical expertise, accurate bidding, and a steady volume of work. Large companies have advantages in breadth of services and timely delivery of complex projects. Small companies can compete effectively by providing specialized services and focusing on local markets and lower-cost projects.

The US industry is concentrated: the top 50 companies account for about 60% of revenue.

PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

Major services include video editing, visual effects, ...