Double Negative, Britain's largest special effects company, will open an office here by March next year where animators and designers will work on upcoming movies like Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince, the newest film from the wildly popular boy wizard franchise.

Double Negative will start with over a dozen staff. It is the latest in a string of companies, including Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, that have established a base in Singapore.

Its recent credits include blockbusters like The Dark Knight, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Cloverfield and Quantum Of Solace.

Set up in 1998, Double Negative is now working on action film Kick-Ass and horror flick The Wolf Man.

Mr Ken McGaugh, co-head of 3-D at Double Negative, said the initial plan was for a handful of staff from the company's office in Britain to start up the Singapore branch. They would work with eight Singaporeans who interned with the company this year and worked on The Dark Knight and Hellboy II.

'By hiring locals, we bring the opportunity to work on high-profile Hollywood films. I think the spillover effects would be quite strong,' said Mr McGaugh.

The company said it was in talks with landlords about office space, but it declined to reveal how much money it is spending to set up shop here.

The Singapore arm will stick with Hollywood projects in the beginning but may work on Asian films in the future.

Double Negative had been looking to expand since 2006. The efforts of the Media Development Authority and other government bodies, together with the local infrastructure, convinced chief executive Matt Holben that Singapore is the right place for a new office.

'Singapore had an impressively clear strategy and direction in terms of its focus on becoming a digital media hub,' he said.

'Most importantly, we spent a lot of time visiting universities and schools, as well as businesses across the island, in this line of work and were truly impressed by the energy and quality of work we found.'

The new office would give those entering the industry an opportunity to work on top projects immediately instead of working their way up, said Mr Patrick Woo, 32, one of the eight interns-turned- full-time staff at Double Negative.

'Those interested in movies now have an option other than joining companies where you may end up working on other projects like commercials, games or television shows.'

At the Siggraph Asia 2008 exhibition and conference, which focused on computer graphics and interactive media and opened at Suntec City Convention Centre yesterday, several companies were hiring artists, animators and programmers.

Lucasfilm Animation Singapore said it would add 120 people to its current roster of 280 by the end of next year, while a recruiter for game studio Ubisoft, which opened an office here in July this year, said it was recruiting up to 2,000 more people for its offices worldwide in the next two years.