Ben Leong and Mike Varley heard it throughout their young careers: If you want to work in the digital animation and special effects world, you have to move to the Mainland, because there are no jobs in Hawai'i.

When the two Hawai'i high school graduates got out of college, they realized this was true. There were very few opportunities here in their profession.

Rather than packing their laptops and heading to the Mainland, they decided to stay at home and launch their own business, Blue Water Multimedia Inc. in October 2006. The company struggled at first as Leong and Varley worked to get their names and reputations out there to attract clients.

But in less than two years, Blue Water Multimedia has become one of the top 3-D animation and digital effects companies in the state. Their portfolio includes commercials for Hawaiian Electric Co., AIG Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific Health and Bank of Hawaii. A project they did for Taco Bell recently won them a Pele Award, Hawai'i's version of the American Advertising Federation's ADDY Awards.

BREAKING INTO THE BUSINESS

Film producer Chris Lee, founder and director of the Academy for Creative Media at the University of Hawai'i, said Leong and Varley are changing the way local companies approach their advertising campaigns. The two were among the first students in Lee's ACM program.

"They're basically the only effects game in town," Lee said. "I've heard from vendors, the commercial guys, that because of them they're able to reconceive the kinds of commercials they're doing for people. If you watched the Olympics, everything from AIG to all those Bryan Clay commercials for Straub, their stuff is everywhere and I'm so excited for them. They are game-changers here in Hawai'i."

Although they have established themselves as leaders in the local computer animation industry, getting there hasn't been easy. When the two were enrolled in the ACM program, they were told there was no future for them in Hawai'i.

"When I got into the program, I was asking around, 'Where do people go after?' " said Leong, 31. "A lot of people gave me the runaround."

Not wanting to leave the Islands, the Moanalua High School graduate got together with Varley, a graduate of Lutheran High School, to form their own company. Neither one had a business background, but they knew they could survive if people became familiar with their work.

"I pounded the pavement and contacted every director on this island," Leong said. "I sent tons of e-mail saying what we do and showing what we do. I started vouching my services as free work. I would be on a set and say, 'You don't have to pay me. I just want to be on set to have a feel of what's going on.' "

Leong's persistence paid off when Hawaii Pacific Health hired his firm to create the computer effects for a Bryan Clay commercial. The Straub Clinic & Hospital spot featured the Olympic gold medalist and Blue Water Multimedia animation of a surgery that was performed on him.

That project was followed by commercials for HECO, which feature Jade Moon. Slowly, word began to spread that the young company does innovative work and businesses began to seek out Leong and Varley.

A soon-to-be-released public service announcement for the state that features a talking fish was written with Blue Water Multimedia in mind.

"Some people have seen the commercials out there and word gets around pretty quickly," said Varley, 30. "The community is fairly small."

BUILDING A REPUTATION

Leong said the keys to the company's success so far are high-quality work, reasonable rates, and the trust of the clients. He said he often won't show a project to a client until he has evaluated it pixel by pixel.

"By no means are we making a lot of money right now, but at the same time we want to do good work first and the money will come. I'm not worried about that," said Leong, who declined to release the company's revenue. "But if we do bad work and we get too cocky and we spend all of our money, we're dead."

The amount of work that Blue Water Multimedia accepts also is limited by the company's size. Besides Leong and Varley, the "staff" consists of one employee, 3-D artist Quest Kennelly, and the three work out of a one-room office in Kaka'ako.

Leong said they can do two to three jobs a month, maybe as many as five, "but we might not sleep." He said the three of them can turn around a project within two weeks.

Leong said he hopes to continue to grow the company, but doesn't want it to get so big that he can't manage it. He and Varley said one thing is certain: They will never move their company to the Mainland.

"Companies love the interpersonal action. That's what I learned and that's how our company started," Leong said. "We're not going to move anywhere because I don't want to be 'that Mainland company.' "

SPREADING THE WORD

Leong said he also wants to help inspire other local students to dream big and realize that in the high-tech computerized world, a business can thrive in Hawai'i. He said he speaks to students at the Academy for Creative Media and also to anyone who wants to meet with him.

"I would give anybody five minutes of my time because when we started I used to e-mail or call, but nobody would call back," he said.

One of the goals of Leong and Varley is to be part of a major feature film. Film producer Lee, whose latest movie is "Valkyrie" starring Tom Cruise, is helping the two reach this goal and believes they will.

"The next thing for them is to start bidding for international jobs and there's no reason why they can't," Lee said. "There's nothing that can hold them back, except the experience, and they're building that now.

"I do what I can to give them outside advice or introduce them to people, but they have done this on their own," Lee added. "I knew these kids would, because the thing about kids from Hawai'i is when they go to the Mainland, they always do well. The only difference is there's more opportunity on the Mainland. As long as we can provide that opportunity here, we're going to be just fine."