Visual Effects Artist's Strike?

[Casual Shinji]

Following an article in the paper a few days ago and this video...


...I recently found out that visual effects artists really don't get payed all too well. They're not unionized, meaning there's nobody really looking after their rights as a work force (not that I'm an expert on the subject of unions), and they make ridiculous overtime for which studios are hesitant to pay.

Life of Pi deservedly won the oscar for best visual effects, but the company that provided these visuals has filed for bankruptcy.

In the wake of the writer's strike, and the blockbusters' dependency on CGI in the face of Hollywood's apparent mistreatment of the people crafting their worlds, do you think a visual effects artist's strike could be looming on the horizon?

 

[MPerce]

Wow, how had I not heard about any of this? The protest definitely did not get much media visibility. Either that or I'm just oblivious.

If the VFX artists got organized and pulled off a strike on the level of the writers guild, things could get very interesting.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Wow, how had I not heard about any of this? The protest definitely did not get much media visibility. Either that or I'm just oblivious.

It doesn't seem to get much of any coverage. Like I said, I saw an article and this video. That's all the exposure I've seen as of yet.

I always knew VFX artists worked there ass off, but I was unaware of the amount of hot water many of these companies seem to be in.

 

[MPerce]

I always knew VFX artists worked there ass off, but I was unaware of the amount of hot water many of these companies seem to be in.

Same here. It seems counter-intuitive for Hollywood to take these guys for granted when so much of the success of modern blockbusters relies on visual effects. If a VFX strike were to result in a noticeable dip in film quality, things would probably change real fast.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm not sure if there will be a strike or not, but it would slow down Hollywood film production far more than the Writer's Guild of America strike did.

Which is somewhat embarrassing.

I think it would also show how little Hollywood respects the work which they depend on so heavily.

Speaking of Guilds, is there such a thing for VFX artists? Or is this occupation not seen as respectable enough to warrent a Guild? Which in turn could be a part of this whole issue.

 

[HardkorSB]

Well that's... Industrial Lights and Tragic.
Anyone, no?

Seriously though, computer animation is an area which is expanding very rapidly. These days, you don't have to be rich to acquire hardware and software capable of creating quality CGI. After that, all you need is to practice until you get good at it.
That means that there's is more and more competition in the field with each passing year and you can find a good animator anywhere these days, so it's only natural that they'remaking less than before.
My solution? Better get used to it.

 

[Albino Boo]

I'm not sure if there will be a strike or not, but it would slow down Hollywood film production far more than the Writer's Guild of America strike did.

Which is somewhat embarrassing.

I doubt it, they are easily replaceable. Weta digital, which did all of Peter Jackson Tolkien films and Avatar, are in New Zealand, how is a strike in the US going to effect them? To put it bluntly there is nothing that US based artists can do that can't be done by someone in South Korea.

 

[Dangit2019]

In the words of HotDiggedyDemon:

"H&R Block must be all like 'Wow I never realized we had so many facebook fans! Thanks for the support guys!'"

Anyway, I do feel that if they aren't getting payed enough, than they have every right to strike. Guys like Michael Bay would be nothing if it weren't for the tech guys setting up his pyro and adding everything else through computer layers in post.

I would have to see some actual figures as to what they're getting payed before I take a side, because I've seen career groups demand payment where they didn't need it before. Depending on the scale, a strike in that area could set many films back at least 6 months.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

It's funnny this movie won Best Cinematography, seeing as there was no cinematography in its production, just these poor sods slaving away at CGI FX.

 

[Casual Shinji]

That was possibly insanely boring, and I do apologise.

No, actually I learned a lot. I know bupkis about unions and guilds and whatnot.

It does seem these VFX studios need to start banding together if they want to turn things around.

 

[Gennaroc]

It's funnny this movie won Best Cinematography, seeing as there was no cinematography in its production, just these poor sods slaving away at CGI FX.

Cinematography is the construction of a shot, framing, angles, camera movement, lighting, etc. Anything visual has cinematography, even solidly animated film and tv.

-

I'm really happy that this is getting more attention, and that so far its been positive. I'm still gritting my teeth for the inevitable 'good, now we'l have movies with real stories and none of this special effects nonsense', which will more than likely push me into internet murder spree territory...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

It's funnny this movie won Best Cinematography, seeing as there was no cinematography in its production, just these poor sods slaving away at CGI FX.

Cinematography is the construction of a shot, framing, angles, camera movement, lighting, etc. Anything visual has cinematography, even solidly animated film and tv.

-

I'm really happy that this is getting more attention, and that so far its been positive. I'm still gritting my teeth for the inevitable 'good, now we'l have movies with real stories and none of this special effects nonsense', which will more than likely push me into internet murder spree territory...

I meant CGI camerawork is something of a cop out when compared to actual film lightning. I was also relating cinematography to the presence of a cinematograph, i.e. a camera.

 

[II2]

At one point I thought I might be interested in doing VFX... 3D animation, specifically.. This was early - mid 90s.. kinda hazy recollection, but I remember using one of the earliest incarnations of what would become 3D Studio MAX in motherfucking DOS and seeing Maya run on proprietary $14,000 Unix towers...

Amusing recollections aside, I found it was not for me, but gained respect for and insight into it, talking to friends and colleagues who were working animators and looking at programs offered at technical schools. Since it was so cutting edge, good freelance animators then were getting incredibly lucrative contracts due to having so few individuals capable of working at that level. Even then, though, it was a grind few could withstand with punishing hours and deadlines in a constant crunch time schedule.

I haven't been close enough to see the 'situation on the ground' with the current state of the VFX industry, but all the animators I knew suffered massive artistic and career burnout from the 90s to early 00s. The fortunate ones had a lot of money to show for it. I think wave after wave of new talent popping up made the competition harder and harder while the wages of what was a specialized service dropped as it became a more 'normal' staff position. The grind stayed, but the money thinned out.

I do feel bad for the VFX people. Generally they're good people with talent, ambition and are really hard workers who are not being valued in the industrial scale commercial media studios. It's easy to say 'well, just do something else', but most of these poor bastards put YEARS of tuition and education and dedication to get where they are.

 

[Nouw]

I think it's a serious issue that needs to be addressed before it goes even more out of hand. I never knew things had become so dire and the articles I've read from io9 and Empire have been really eye-opening.

Well that's... Industrial Lights and Tragic.
Anyone, no?

Seriously though, computer animation is an area which is expanding very rapidly. These days, you don't have to be rich to acquire hardware and software capable of creating quality CGI. After that, all you need is to practice until you get good at it.
That means that there's is more and more competition in the field with each passing year and you can find a good animator anywhere these days, so it's only natural that they'remaking less than before.
My solution? Better get used to it.

I don't think the issue is competition. According to an interview from Empire [http://www.empireonline.com/interviews/interview.asp?IID=1650], part of the issue is that they're being over-worked. Apparently too many errors are being filmed which leaves the VFX guys to fix it. There really shouldn't be any errors anyway unless they absolutely can't have a re-take due to budget constraints but you could argue in that case that the VFX guys shouldn't get the short-end of the stick.

Anyhow, they're being hired but over-worked and under-paid.

 

[Vault101]

I read about the FVX industry being in trouble...which strike me as odd since its so important to films thease days

like most things its due to a number of factors

EDIT: in the end its always artists who get screwed over....if youre not breaking your back to get into your desired feild your breaking your back just to work in it

[small/]somtimes I wonder whats the point of trying.....[sub]now I'm depressed[/sub][/small]

 

[Starik20X6]

I'm currently doing a course in VFX, and our teachers have been talking about this all week.

Conditions for VFX artist are getting worse and worse, with studios expecting higher and higher amounts of work done in smaller and smaller amounts of time. Frankly, it's insane that it can get to this stage- surely some Hollywood bigwigs must realise that squeezing the VFX industry is a short-sighted and harmful- pffft sorry, I couldn't finish that with a straight face.

Good thing my course can also get me into games, looks like that's where I'll be looking to go...