The South Australian State Government today announced they will provide support to the film post production and visual effects industry in South Australia, by introducing a State based Visual Effects, Digital and Post Production [PDV] rebate. The rebate will be calculated at 10% of gross spend, which combined with the 30% Federal Post, Digital and Visual Effects [PDV] offset creates one of the largest and reliable rebates worldwide. The combination will enable film-makers to take advantage of a 40% rebate when working with South Australia’s Rising Sun Pictures [RSP] or other South Australian based PDV vendors.

“We welcome the rebate offered by the South Australian Government, and commend the Premier The Honourable, Jay Weatherill and the Minister for Investment and Trade, The Honourable Martin Hamilton-Smith, for their foresight. The rebate will help grow South Australia as a digital production hub and promote local innovation. It will underpin jobs growth in our sector, and ultimately, the biggest beneficiary will be South Australia’s economy”, says RSP’s Co-Founder and Managing Director, Tony Clark.

The rebate can be used in conjunction with either the Australian PDV, Location or Producer offsets, and the guidelines align with the current Australian Federal PDV offset.  Guidelines will be available on the South Australian Film Corporation website from today.

Part of recent South Australian history, RSP was founded in 1995 and was named after the historic Rising Sun Hotel in Kensington, where the idea of the business was conceived. 22 years later, RSP employs over 200 staff and will significantly expand off the back of this announcement. “We’re confidant that over the next year RSP will see 100 new jobs created, and more into the future”, says Clark. “We are fortunate that we’re in a position to quickly take on new work, as we have been systematically investing in our human and technical resources over the past three years”.

RSP is a long-term employer in the state; its permanent employee median service is 10 years, and is celebrating its first employee reaching a pinnacle 20 year mark this year.  “People are key - without quality, consistent talent, we’re nothing” says Clark “now and into the future, they will remain our priority alongside delivering great value to our clients”.

RSP has a strategic partnership with the University of South Australia to provide accredited training to the next generation of visual effects artists, with over 80 graduates to date since its inception and plans for 100 students in the coming year.

RSP’s talented team boasts an impressive collective resume; Clark was the recipient of an Academy Scientific and Technical® Award for the creation of remote collaboration tool cineSync; VFX Supervisor, Tim Crosbie, was nominated for Academy® and BAFTA® Awards for RSP’s work on X-Men: Days of Future Past; and Creative Director Tom Wood, was nominated for Academy® and BAFTA® Awards for Best Visual Effects on Mad Max: Fury Road.

RSP has recently contributed groundbreaking work on Thor: Ragnarok, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Gravity, and its current projects include Tomb Raider, Peter Rabbit, X-Men: Dark Phoenix and Animal World.