On the occasion of the end-of-year releases, French trade publication Ecran Total spoke with Laurens Ehrmann, founder of The Yard VFX, about the studio’s latest developments and its growing international footprint. 

With four shows releasing at the end of last year across both cinemas and on streaming platforms, The Yard has steadily established itself as one of France’s most respected VFX studios, combining technical excellence with international mindset. French trade publication Ecran Total recently interviewed Laurens Ehrmann, founder of The Yard VFX, about the studio’s key milestones, strategic choices, and creative ambitions that continue to shape The Yard’s success in France and on the global stage.

Here are the key highlights of the interview :

A strategic expansion across France and the UK

Since its founding in 2014, The Yard has pursued a clear international ambition while remaining firmly anchored in France. The post-Covid period proved to be a decisive moment for the studio’s territorial strategy. As many experienced VFX artists chose to settle outside Paris, The Yard established its main French base in Montpellier, a city offering both strong creative talent and an attractive quality of life. This move allowed the studio to attract seasoned professionals, including French artists returning from abroad.

To support long-term growth, The Yard also developed a close partnership with ArtFX, a leading French higher-education school specializing in visual effects, animation, and video games. This collaboration plays a key role in nurturing emerging talent while reinforcing the studio’s production capacity. At the same time, broader industry shifts—such as Brexit and changes to Canadian tax incentives—have encouraged international talent to relocate to France, enabling The Yard to build a diverse, high-level pool of artists capable of handling large-scale productions.

In early 2025, The Yard took another strategic step by opening offices in London. Designed to attract even more ambitious international projects, the UK presence will begin leading its own productions in 2026, while maintaining strong operational links with the French teams. This dual-territory model allows The Yard to combine the creative and technical strengths of France with the market proximity and production expectations of the Anglo-Saxon industry.

A strong line-up of international projects 

The studio’s strategic positioning is reflected in an exceptionally busy slate of projects. In 2025, The Yard contributed to several high-profile international productions, including Predator: Badlands for 20th Century Studios, season five of Stranger Things for Netflix, and The Family Plan 2 for Skydance and Apple TV+. These collaborations further reinforce the studio’s reputation as a reliable partner for premium VFX work on major franchises, following the studio’s past work on The Rings of Power Season 2.

While international tax incentives remain an important support mechanism, Laurens Ehrmann underlines that they are not the sole explanation for the studio’s success. The Yard’s strength lies in the consistency of its teams, the quality of its output, and a production structure inspired by Anglo-Saxon models. Each project is managed by a dedicated producer supported by a team structure that mirrors the client’s production setup, ensuring clear communication, efficiency, and trust throughout the creative process.

At peak activity, the studio is capable of running up to four major productions in parallel. During the summer, The Yard reached a high point with nearly 180 artists working simultaneously across multiple projects—an illustration of both its scalability and operational maturity.

A technical and creative challenge on Predator Badlands 

Among its recent achievements, The Yard’s work on Predator : Badlands stands out as a defining milestone. The studio was entrusted with the first five minutes of the movie, a crucial sequence that sets the tone for the entire film. The assignment included the creation of fully digital creatures and had to be delivered within a tight four-month timeframe.

This project represented a double challenge for the studio: it was The Yard’s first major experience working extensively on creature effects, and the opening sequence carried particularly high expectations from the executives at 20th Century Studios. Despite the complexity and pressure, the team successfully delivered the sequence, demonstrating its ability to meet demanding creative and technical requirements on a major Hollywood franchise.

Looking ahead, The Yard enters 2026 with strong momentum and several high-profile projects already in development. As a new generation of filmmakers increasingly embraces visual effects as a creative tool, including in France, the studio continues to position itself at the intersection of artistic ambition, technical excellence, and international production standards.

Read the full Ecran Total article by clicking here (in French only).

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