After several years of servicing film projects from the U.S., animation and FX house Satellite Animation Studios, newly settled in Calgary, is looking to make a name for itself in local circles and also show off its creative range.

So say Satellite partners Raelene and Trevor Harder. After a busy year of working on such feature projects as Sin City and Underworld: Evolution, Satellite is in preproduction on its own animated short, tentatively called Monster, which will be submitted for film festival consideration upon completion. Trevor Harder will direct.

"We're excited to get that going on a bigger scale," says Raelene Harder. "Our goal in the company is not to just work on other people's creative ideas, but also put some effort and time into our own."

Although also developing a children's TV series, the current focus of Satellite is its service work. The company has a strong working relationship with FX shop Café F/X in Southern California, for which Trevor Harder freelanced before opening Satellite in 1998. Café has farmed out work on titles such as Sin City, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Gothika and others to the company. Satellite reports it is currently working on a "major" U.S. feature, performing compositing, 3D animation and camera tracking work entirely in-house.

The company moved from Saskatoon to Calgary in late 2004 in anticipation of growth in Alberta's service industry. According to Trevor Harder, there are few shops in Alberta that do what Satellite does.

"At the moment it isn't really that competitive," he says. "Our clientele is mostly abroad, so we haven't let our specific location drive us too much."

Satellite is hoping to drum up some interest locally as well. Offering services in NewTek LightWave 3D, Alias' Maya, messiah:studio, eyeon's Digital Fusion and more, the Harders are pitching Alberta producers.

"The visual effects side of things is fairly new to a lot of producers here," says Raelene Harder. "This is something we can offer that they haven't had access to. We're meeting some of those producers and becoming a part of projects happening here."

www.satellitestudios.com