You and your network of mentors have a unique and critically important position with AM’s ability to influence young and new talent, and as your graduates join the industry there’s an opportunity for them to be a positive force for change.

They need mentoring and leadership to properly value their skills, to know their rights, their labour options and responsibilities, to know the honest truth of their industry. They need guidance from people like you to begin their careers not as naive, individual commodities at high risk of being traded and devalued in a globalized market, but as active, prepared, creative participants of a community.

I look forward to you sharing your continued thoughts!

Looking forward to hear about the conversations with the industry you had. Because this is a big subject at the moment and have been for a very long time.

I love animation, and will never stop pushing my skills and get better every day!

I have been reading many of the comments, blogs, posts and have had many a great conversations with other industry folks around the industry issue and I will be posting shortly about it.

I love making movies. I love even more helping people to reach their dream of doing this, too. Now, as we sit in a tipping point for our industry, I can’t help but think that there is something better out there for all of us. I’ll explain more shortly as I don’t think people fully grasp what I’m talking about and are misreading into my original post.

“Your focus on the positives is admirable, Bobby, but I question whether your message— ‘accept these changes as inevitable, the future is sunny, enroll today’ —is really appropriate. The VFX and animation industries, and the artists therein, are increasingly struggling; fiercely competitive with globalized work, race-to-the-bottom bidding on jobs, workers squeezed by unfavourable contracts, aggressive yet unstable tax subsidies and growing numbers of new graduates and out-of-work pros competing for work.

This environment might be ripe for attracting new students to AM with the promise of a ‘work from anywhere and be your own boss’ lifestyle, but I’m not sure that’s the reality new graduates will face.

Even at major studios there are layoffs between projects, underpaid artists lacking health and retirement benefits, unpaid overtime and excessive hours, and the threat of bankruptcy and sudden joblessness. What hope then do globalized freelancers have of bargaining for fair contracts with studios, negotiating a livable wage and reasonable deadlines and conditions, supporting their families, looking after their health and living somewhat stable lives.

Do we want to work in an industry of aggressive competition against each other, underbidding each other, only looking out for ourselves and our next project?

I worry a little about students with naive hopes, sold on a promise, who invest a lot of time and money only to become graduates facing the surprise of unpleasant reality. By all means, study animation or visual effects if that is your passion, but the future of the industry does not today appear to be a rosy picture with growing, attractive job opportunities.

And lastly, if this art is your passion and you’re hoping it might be your ‘career’, take an active role in knowing the industry, warts and unpleasantness and all. Stay informed, participate in the dialogue over improving it, don’t work for free, and when you have a chance to stand up and voice an opinion, look out not just for yourself and your next freelance paycheque, but for the wellbeing of your fellow students, graduates and artists.”

“Im not sure embracing what’s currently going on in the industry is

the answer, at all. Forming a trade union for VFX workers and Studios to
standardize practices within the industry is sorely needed. Doing away
with tax incentives so Production Companies stop chasing the dollar and
choose a VFX studio based on the quality of their work, not the tax
breaks they can get by sending the work elsewhere. Watching the US lose
jobs and good studios is not the answer.

We are in a race to the
bottom with the price competition between FX studios right now.
Underbidding to get work by the FX Studio and lots of hours put in by
artists, due to lack of preproduction and planning (“lets fix it in
post” mentality) is eating this industry away from the inside out. This
needs to be fixed before more good studios close their doors. More hands
on involvement by the director during post production. No more client
calls over webcam by directors viewing work once a week. They need to be
at that studio directing their effects like they were on set.

Furthermore if you have worked professionally you know about NDA’s (non disclosure agreements). Working remotely in this digital age will not happen any time soon. Large Production companies like, Warner, FOX, SONY, etc. will not allow their films and FX work to be done remotely where an artist can easily have access to (take) that work. Films being leaked early online and film piracy fears are at an all time high with Film Studios, they aren’t about to up that risk by letting their films leave the FX houses. I have worked and currently do work at a large VFX studio and according to our contracts with these big production companies the fx studios I have worked for cant even give us copies of our work for our demo reels. Further to this. working remotely kills the camaraderie that you build while working closely with other artists everyday. Half of why I love this job is getting to sit and work with fun like minded people everyday to bring these visual effects to life.

I am all for change, this industry sorely needs it. This change however is not driven by any need, its driven by greed. Accepting what is happening is not the answer.

Cheers
VFX Guy”