Hasta La Motion!

It’s been a while since I posted here. It is nice to see some familiar names around, as well as lots of newer members!

A bit of back story.. I’ve been an online editor (VFX and design for commercials with clients sitting behind me) for the past 5 years in Sydney. I’m feeling like a change of scenery and would love to get a year in abroad before my wife and I get serious about making babies. Vancouver works well for both our careers, plus it has the added bonus of being a city we’ve always wanted to visit. (We LOVED Seattle so if its anything like it I’m sure we’d have a great time there.) I’ve just got a few questions about the industry I’m hoping I can oblige the forum with.

• Firstly, am I correct in understanding I can work for 12 months on a work visa as long as I’m 30 or under at the time of applying for the visa?
• After 30 I think I need to be sponsored to work. Is that a common occurrence? I’m guessing not in a field as transitory as post-production.
• I have 5 years commercial VFX experience with a bunch of offline editing mixed in but no features. Is that going to be a major drawback, or does it just depend on the reel?
• How is the state of the industry in Vancouver? Is it still suffering from the GFC or on the bounce back?
• Can anyone recommend companies in particular where a foreigner like me would have a better chance of scoring work? Happy to accept recommendations via PM – any shop tips or bitching will be kept confidential 🙂
• What would be a totally ballpark salary for a mid level compositor or editor?

Thanks for reading. I’d love to hear from anyone with any experience on the ground in Vancouver. I’ve had secure full time salaried jobs my whole working life, so uprooting everything for an uncertain year certainly seems very daunting!