Over the past decade, Compagnie Générale des Effets Visuels (CGEV) has established a rock-solid reputation.

Pierre Billet, Chief Technology Officer at CGEV, says that the studio’s impressive productivity is possible thanks to the company’s unrelenting focus on efficiency – something that comes with the territory in France. “France is very dedicated to cinema,” says Pierre. “There is a portion of public money dedicated to the arts, which enables many projects to exist, which is wonderful, but it also means a good amount of those projects come with very tight budgets. To fit into such a market, studios like CGEV must be cautious about how they use resources and budget – and that means meticulous organization around human resources planning, project tracking, and delivering on quality within schedule.”

It’s not just the small-budget projects that require next-level efficiency. Pierre adds that there are also larger international and platform-produced projects that come with more resources, but such projects require a “premium” pipeline, more quality control, and more hands-on attention. “If you’re working on a huge project with more budget,” he says, “it still amounts to the same thing: efficiency is paramount.”