Visual Effects Working Conditions Survey

Visual Effects Working Conditions Survey

[Update:  What follows is the details of the survey and then final summery at the end.  I'm adding some of summary results here for those who simply skim.

In New Zealand 38% of the workers had worked 100hrs a week during their heavy crunch time.
Keep in mind a regular work week for most countries is 40 hours. At 100 hours that's 2-1/2 times the number of hours per week as a regular person has to put in. That's over 14 hrs a day even if you work 7 day weeks. Equivalent to 20 hrs day if it were a 5 day work week. Also keep in mind most countries and fair trade organizations have a cap of 60hrs a week total.  Anyone putting in 100hrs in a week has exceeded the limit in most countries by a full weeks worth of labor on top of the maximum.

This also wasn't simply for 1 week for most of those working. In New Zealand 13% of the workers put in long weeks for over 10 weeks. 19% put in 8 weeks of heavy overtime. 10 weeks is 2-1/2 months or likely 70+ days non-stop without a day off.

While New Zealand was the highest, most countries far exceed regular labor limits. Details in the survey and end summary.

Globally 18% of visual effects workers had put in at least one 24+ hr day in the last 2 years. Almost 1 out of every 5 visual effects workers had not stopped to sleep during a 24 hour period. In one day these people put in over 1/2 of what most people take 5 days to do.]
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I conducted a simple survey of visual effects professionals and animators over the course of 2 weeks via twitter, Facebook and this blog and conducted on survey monkey. This is not a scientific survey, it's just a rough gauge of some of the issues for visual effects professionals around the world. Because no one monitors the visual effects industry there is a lack of any real data regarding companies and workers. The Croner survey is done for animation and visual effects companies so they know what the salary range is for different positions but otherwise wide spread information is severely lacking.

I posted this survey in the hopes of getting a sense for any consensus on some of the various issues visual effects professionals have to deal with. What are the priorities of vfx professionals? We talk about hours and other problems but how much of an issue are they? Do they vary by location?

I focused on issues that the visual effects companies have some control over and that are measurable. I've avoided asking about things such as respect or good projects. While important issues for individuals these are not something easily measured or controlled by the visual effects companies.

This data will be submitted and used by the VES Strategic Committee and I'm making it available here for reference.

Basics
In the end 663 people from around the world filled out the survey.
31 countries were represented.

Number of surveys done in the following countries:

• USA             303
• Canada         113
• UK                 87
• India               31
• France            17
• Australia         16
• New Zealand   16
• Germany          8
• Singapore         5
• Mexico             5
• Spain                5

The other countries had less than 5 people each.
China had 3 people report and I have included that in some of the following charts just to have a data point.
27 people did not provide location information so won't be used for the location info section.

Caution
663 people responding to the survey isn't bad but with thousands of people in the industry (unknown exactly how many are in any one region, let alone the world), the sample is only a rough sample and can only represent those that took the survey. The small number of sampling in some countries can greatly skew the results so don't extrapolate these into representing a majority of cases.

I've tried to double check the calculations but if you see something amiss go ahead and flag it.

Results
The next several charts are what the survey web site provided. After the charts are corresponding tables of the actual values. Note the values are averages. These are for all the survey results (global).

I ran numbers in Excel to get Median values, which I think are much more useful, as well as breakdown by country. These are posted at the end.

The first two questions have values of 1 to 5 in terms of no importance to highest for each topic.
Priority of 5 meant that it was a requirement or a big concern.
Company meets needs, a 5 indicated the company was doing very well at meeting the needs.

It was interesting that every topic received some 5's and some 1's, so something that was critical to some people was of very little concern to others. And that's why the averages shown in the first batch of data points is not as interesting as the median values that are listed later.

Global Medians

The following data was sorted in Excel and shows Median values in addition to Averages.

Priorities is the importance of what professionals placed on each issue.
Below is the global priority list sorted.

Country breakdowns

Here is the original list showing the comparison of different country responses.
Yellow represents values below the Global values.
Blue represents values above the Global values.




Companies shows how well the companies are dealing with the specific issues from the worker's perspective.

Yellow represents values below the Global values.
Blue represents values above the Global values.

Topics by country

Global includes all survey results, even if no location provided. All values in nearest %

Small sample sizes provide questionable results for many countries.

Summary of Results

I've just completed organizing the numbers so haven't analyzed them in detail. I will do a follow up post with comments from those taking the survey. [Comments from the survey are now up ] There are certainly some differences between locations. Some of the attitudes about priorities are likely to be relative to the perspective at that particular location.

Compensation for OT, minimizing OT, and avoiding moving are the top in most countries.

Low on the list is credit placement. Doesn't mean it's not an issue but other more pressing matters.

And to be clear anything marked as compensation pertains to being paid for Overtime when it is worked. 'Compensation for all hours worked' is just what it says. This is not to imply higher wages but simply being paid for work done.

Almost 39% receive no OverTime compensation on a global average.

Almost 36% don't know the overtime laws in their location.

14.46% get regular pay(or comp time) instead of overtime pay.

Those who had to put in 24hrs or more in a continuous day were 2nd only to those who had put in 14hrs a day.

50hr work week is most standard 'normal' week and 70hr more likely heavy week.

[Updated 6/18/2013 Added a couple more paragraphs because I want to make sure the numbers sink in and don't just appear as numbers on a chart.

In New Zealand 38% of the workers had worked 100hrs a week during their heavy crunch time.
Keep in mind a regular work week for most countries is 40 hours. At 100 hours that's 2-1/2 times the number of hours per week as a regular person has to put in. That's over 14 hrs a day even if you work 7 day weeks. Equivalent to 20 hrs day if it were a 5 day work week. Also keep in mind most countries and fair trade organizations have a cap of 60hrs a week total.  Anyone putting in 100hrs in a week has exceeded the limit in most countries by a full weeks worth of labor on top of the maximum.

This also wasn't simply for 1 week for most of those working. In New Zealand 13% of the workers put in long weeks for over 10 weeks. 19% put in 8 weeks of heavy overtime. 10 weeks is 2-1/2 months or likely 70+ days non-stop without a day off.

Globally 18% of visual effects workers had put in at least one 24+ hr day in the last 2 years. Almost 1 out of every 5 visual effects workers had not stopped to sleep during a 24 hour period. In one day these people put in over 1/2 of what most people take 5 days to do.

Those who don't work in visual effects tend to have a hard time to grasp this concept. ]

The bottom line is visual effects professionals are putting in a lot of hours, frequently beyond limits set by both countries and some industries. And many of the hours are not compensated so a majority of these workers are being exploited unless their pay is correctly calculated to cover heavy overtime.

[Update 6-20-2013 Overtime links
Overtime post
Why Crunch Mode Doesn't Work: 6 Lessons

The death march: the problem of crunch time in game development

More Productivity Myths, Debunked by Science (and Common Sense)
Myth #1: More Hours Equals More Work  ]

Summary
First, thank you to everyone who took the survey.

Hopefully this will shed some light on issues for visual effects workers around the world and help to show similarities and disparities between areas.

There have been other surveys done in the last year by VFX Solidarity, the UK VFX group and others. I'll try to post links to those here.

Updated 5/22/2013 BECTU UK survey results

This information could at least be the start of research for both guilds and trade association. More surveys will be likely coming from a number of groups including the Visual Effects Society.

I'm still pushing for workers to come up with a Code of Conduct addressing these issues.
More info in these posts:
VFX Professionals United
Global VFX Workers

If you wish to have a voice in the future of visual effects you will have to speak up and make yourself heard. Participate in surveys, post comments, post you own blog, get involved with forums, etc.

If you have other issues or solutions please go ahead and post them in the comments. Last week someone wrote a comment to a post I had, that I did not cover issues and solutions in non-LA areas. For the same effort they could have listed their specific issues and solutions in the comments.

And again, very little I've posted has been LA specific. See VFX World Wide PI talk which lists issues and solutions. With the exception of health care, ALL of the issues were world wide. Subsidies have a huge influence, good or bad, no matter where you work. We are not working locally for local markets. The visual effects industry is global with work being done around the world and with many professionals having to move around the world. Any change in any area will affect you.

Massive Overtime and unpaid work hours are problems all around the world. See the survey results.

The solutions included a global trade association and guilds among other things. For those who think guilds are LA centric, many guilds cover the entire US. Also note that most countries of the world have guilds and many have specific film related guilds, including Canada and the UK among others.  And yet there is an amazing amount of ignorance or denial regarding all of these things. See Visual Effects Guilds to learn more about guilds.

For those who wish to see improvements to this industry, have courage to stand up and be heard. It's in your hands. The time for finger pointing or waiting for someone else to solve all the problems is over.

If you have thoughts or insights based on the survey results please leave them in the comments below. If you have suggestions for future survey questions you think are important go ahead and leave those in the comments section as well.

Survey comments are covered in the Survey Comments Post

VES Board Member thoughts

Van Ling, a visual effects artists for many years and a fellow board member at the VES has asked me to publish his open letter.  I've never had a guest blogger post here before but I thought I should make an exception

 -Scott Squires

To my colleagues in the VFX industry:

I wanted to make some observations regarding the recent VES Open Letter, with the understanding that these are solely my opinions as a long-time member of the VFX community who also happens to be a VES Board member, and that I am not speaking on behalf of the Visual Effects Society in any official or unofficial capacity.

I think we as a Society should follow up and clarify, publicly and definitively, a few points that seem to get lost in the initial reactions we see in many articles and posted comments:

1) As a global organization, any push we make for subsidies in California should and must be made IN THE CONTEXT of promoting local incentives for ALL states and nations, and we encourage ALL of our Sections and global members to do the same in their territories by encouraging the hiring of local talent.  What we'd like to try differently is to COMMUNICATE with each other about the process so that we can reach as balanced a system as we can for all.

2) The VES will remain first and foremost THE professional honorary society for the visual effects artform and industry, championing what brings us together, rather than feeding what tears us apart. 

3) The VES will NEVER turn into a union or a trade organization, as it goes against our charter and mandate, but we DO support efforts to create either or both of these entities and would work with them for the betterment of our industry.

4) The VES should be and is dedicated to taking a proactive stance on the business side of VFX moving forward, not only because everyone can clearly see that the artform and its creatives are materially affected by the way the business works (or doesn't work), but because we ARE our membership and our members want us to help them find ways to solve the issues that have a significant impact on their lives and livelihoods.

The VFX community and the VES membership itself are microcosms of the entire entertainment industry, and are comprised of artists and practitioners from every corner, and there are too many entities who try to benefit from pitting us against one another, either on a single production or on a global level; we have to find the common ground if we are going to find solutions, and the strongest commonality we have is our dedication to making stunning visuals that help tell stories and create wonder.  From that shared foundation, we can foster discussion between all levels, from artists to facilities to studios.

To those who consider leaving the Society because it does not serve your needs: doing so is certainly your right, but why not try to get more involved with the Society and help us become an organization that DOES serve your needs as well as the needs of the VFX community as a whole?  I may not agree with everything my fellow members choose to do or espouse, but I believe in the mission of the Society and I think we are better off engaged, listening and talking honestly with one another with respect rather than sniping at each other (online or otherwise) and walking away.  And I know of hundreds of VES members and the three dozen dedicated members of the VES Board, from all corners of the industry, who feel the same way.

So I'd encourage everyone in the VFX community to bring your ideas, your passion, your creativity and your dedication --the same qualities you use to create amazing images-- to bear on finding solutions that can work for all of us, around the world.  We are some of the best problem-solving minds in the entertainment industry, and it's time we apply those minds to the challenges at hand. 

Hope to see you all at the VFX Congress.

Van Ling

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PS: my thanks to Scott Squires for giving me a space to say my piece.

Visual Effects Innovation

David Cohen made some interesting observations in his article 'Deadly dull vfx undermine the biz'.

It does seem odd for visual effects to be considered as a secondary player by Hollywood yet at the same time the entire success of movies is supposedly resting on our shoulders to innovate.

Visual Effects artists have always been innovators no matter what the technology. Crude cameras didn't stop Melies from creating incredible imagery. Visual effects artists were the first in the film business to embrace digital technologies and we've been working with them for over 25 years now.

As with any change in technology the first phase highlights the most visible advances. Visual effects artists continue to innovate, refine and develop their skills and tools. Visual effects are now more than capable of creating anything. The impossible is now possible.

It is said that 'necessity is the mother of invention'.  In the film world a great story with the need for compelling visuals is the mother of visual effects invention. Most of the 'Wow' visual effects that have been seen were driven by this need on specific projects. Great stories well told make the best use of visual effects and it is the thing that drives the wow factor. Technology and visual effects innovations alone can not carry a film.

We have removed the visual barriers to stories that can be told. Now the only limit for directors, writers, producers and the key creatives is their imaginations. Visual effects have incredible potential that has yet to be fully tapped. Visual effects artists, with their active imaginations and their knowledge, look forward to being creative collaborators with all filmmakers to help them bring their stories to the screen in the most powerful way possible.



I do agree with David regarding what's wrong with U.S. Businesses.

Here's another response:
Van Ling and Colin Campbell comment on Variety article

[Update: Had meant to include this link as well:
Mike Seymour wrote an Open letter response to David Cohen, Variety  ]

There have been a few other key postings the last couple of weeks on the internet that are based on ignorance of what we as visual effects artists do and what we achieve. I'll try to write up notes when time permits.

VES feedback

VES Visual Effects Handbook feedback
We are having meetings and starting to work on the revised VES handbook. Most of the feedback we have received has been very general. If you want to see additional information, improvements, changes, etc to the handbook please post here or email to the VES. Is it working for you? Is there anything lacking? How is the Kindle or other eBook version for you?  Get in your feedback in NOW.


Townhall meetings
Today there was a VES townhall on the web where members and others were able to ask questions and hear Jeff Okun and Eric Roth discuss VES 2.0

There will be additional townhall meetings.

VES 2.0 feedback
As requested if anyone has something to say regarding VES 2.0, especially solutions and suggestions contact Jeff Okun at: jeffokun at aol.com
You can also contact: leadership at visualeffectssociety.com

VES Forums
The VES has expanded their online site with a beta version of VES Forums. Check your VES emails to get the info on it and some upcoming VES events.

VES and VFX trade organization

There's a LinkedIn discussion going on regarding Vfx trade organizations and the Vfx foundation.

LinkedIn discussion

This also includes some potshots at the VES. I wrote up a response but thought it best to post here as a reference.


I'm on the board of the VES but I don't speak for the Ves so these are simply my personal views. Bob and Colin have brought up some points but I'd like to clarify a few things.

I don't see what's to be gained by bashing the VES. The Ves was formed 15 years ago to be an honorary society, similar in many ways to the ASC and the Academy of Motion Pictures. To honor professionals, to provide education and to advance the art of visual effects where possible with standards and research. And to that end, it's accomplished that. Educational programs are frequently held around the world. A couple of weeks ago there was an event covering the latest on performance capture. Many of these event videos are online at the website (upgrades in progress) The Ves created the Ves handbook and is looking to do more in this area in the future.

I pay dues to the Ves because I do this for a living. I'm a professional and the Ves is the largest group of visual effects professionals. Just as I buy books and magazines and pay to attend events related to my professional. It's a business expense.

I don't begrudge paying dues to the Academy and wouldn't begrudge paying into the ASC if I was a member. If you don't want to join the Ves then don't. If you're a Ves member and wish to see improvements then join a committee. Most of the Ves is volunteer based and that's how the Ves handbook came to be.

There are those that want the Ves to be a trade organization or a union. But that ship sailed when the Ves was founded. It may sound like an easy thing to change the structure and intent of the Ves (or other existing non profit) but it is not. To totally switch to a different type of organization would likely require dissolving the Ves and creating a totally new and different organization. The current members wouldn't be members under a trade organization and the same might apply as a union. The US government treats unions differently than standard non-union groups regarding legal issues. The same likely applies to a trade organization. There are also tax issues that would change. If a cinematographer has an issue getting paid he/she doesn't go to the ASC and tell them to change their entire focus and structure to accommodate the cinematographers needs. If a studio has an issue they don't go to the Academy and demand they become something totally different because the studio has a new need.

The Ves has tried a few times to get companies together to discuss a trade organization but many visual effects companies are very competitive and fiercely independent and didn't want to even consider such a thing. The Ves has also been in talks with the union.
Since none of these things happened (as of yet) the Ves decided to do what it could do to fill some of these gaps and still be true to the type of organization it is. The Ves is proceeding with doing what it can. Is there still room for a trade group or union? Yes, but at this point those aren't formed. So once again, what's the point of bashing the Ves?

Scott Ross has his work cut out for him to try to come up with a plan and sell it to all the major companies. Just as the union has to create a plan and sell to workers.

Trade organizations are typically made up of similar companies with similar needs. They don't tend to be made up of individuals. A Vfx trade organization would likely be based to some extend on the AICP and be about trying to standardize the billing and client relationship part of business. That's a different need than most workers.

Outsourcing
Here in the US we've been hurting because of the amount of tax incentives and outsourcing going on elsewhere. Some of the thinking is that the trade org or the foundation would be able to solve this problem. However both the proposed trade org and vfxfoundation are international, same as the Ves. You'll notice most unions and trade groups are regional (state, country, etc) Part of the reason for that is so they are all on the same page and can advocate their government to do things that would benefit them. (It's also cleaner from a legal perspective as well.) Being international means you can't hurt one subgroup while aiding another. I don't think London Vfx companies would be thrilled about the trade group they pay money into using that money to lobby California for more tax incentives. And we're now to the point many companies have satellite companies in other areas of the world and what were once local companies are now owned by large companies elsewhere. All of which makes it difficult to try to reduce or balance outsourcing.

Expenses
The trade group is budgeted at $3 million a year. That's a lot of money. Certainly more than the Ves. The foundation is at the other end of the spectrum. It doesn't plan to ever charge any membership fees. I've never belonged to any medium to large membership organization (professional or hobby) that didn't charge for membership. Sure, you can get a bunch of people together on the web without charging but much beyond that will require some funds at some point. Real expenses start happening when you're trying to service a number of people. Office supplies, web registration, web updates, legal fees, etc. Not everyone can volunteer full time for any length of time. Will job postings cover these costs? If you want sponsors then someone is going to have to spend time contacting companies and trying to make arrangements. One of the benefits of some type of paid membership is you separate the serious from those who aren't serious. Those who simply join everything on a lark.

Trade organization
One of the potential benefits if there was a trade organization it might it simpler for a worker group (union or other group) to negotiate. One group to deal with instead of dozens of smaller companies.

The downside is a trade organization could use it's strength in numbers to avoid any worker groups. One of the member companies could simply state that they were planning on cutting down certain worker benefits or thought certain types of jobs in Vfx were paid too much and they weren't going to be raising their rates for the next few years. There are legal issues with collusion but it can also be a gray area.
There are those that think if a trade organization benefits companies with more profits, that those profits will trickle down to the workers in benefits and pay. That's unlikely to happen. If companies make more profit then they will likely award their management and return more to their investors. They might put more money into equipment but they will still layoff people at the end of the project.

The hope is that if there is a trade organization it will create a stronger industry and if that trade organization is setup correctly more companies will be profitable and stable. And likewise it's possible it may raise the bar on bidding work and doing the work. All,of these do indirectly benefit the worker but it's important to not confuse the purpose and aim of a trade organization with a worker organization.

Ultimately it would be good for all of visual effects if in addition to the Ves there was a true trade organization and a workers group.

VES Board of Directors

If you are a Visual Effects Society (VES) member you should have already received email regarding the Board of Director's nomination forms. If not, make sure the VES has your current email or check your spam filters.  They are due back this Friday.

Feel free to nominate yourself or someone you would think would do a good job (with their approval of course). Usually it involves being in LA once every other month or so for a meeting. Details should be on the VES web site.

Sometimes people complain about the board being made up of vfx supervisors, producers and owners. We do have people working in other positions on the board and that' swhy I'm encouraging people who are interested in getting involved to go ahead and nominate themselves. Certainly names you've heard before tend to be more likely to be voted on by other members but I do think members are more open to voting for people in all phases of production.

You can also volunteer to be on one of the various committees even if you're not on the Board of Directors.

Don't forget the Annual Member Meeting is Oct. 20 in Los Angeles.

VES Visual Effects Bill of Rights – Now what?

VES Visual Effects Bill of Rights – Now what?

By now most of you have heard and hopefully read the VES Bill of Rights. If not check it out here.

This first step was to try to define where we want to go in terms of working experience for visual effects workers worldwide.  The next step is to try to implement what we can and to encourage steps to make it possible. The details are still being worked out. I’m hoping we end up with more concrete approaches and specific working conditions guidelines.

As always if you have input, feedback on the Bill of Rights or have suggestions and solutions, please send email to VES Leadership.  You can post here in addition to emailing if you wish to open it to discussion by all.

The VES Membership meeting is October 20 in Los Angeles and most of the world wide sections can be linked in. The Bill of Rights will be covered. See the VES website for info.

Most people seemed to be positive about the VES making these issues more public and to at least start the ball rolling. As some have pointed out the VES doesn’t have Collective Bargaining, nor is it a union or a trade organization. Yes, that’s true, which can make it tricky but we are the largest organization of visual effects workers. The VES has been in discussions with all 3 groups of players in this industry: studios, visual effect companies and the artists themselves. Hopefully we can help broker some arrangements that will help our industry based on the bill of rights.

A few have suggested it’s a distraction. From what? The VES stand does not preclude a real union or a real trade organization. If anything, the bill of rights should make some issues clearer for everyone. As always I’m hoping by providing information and inspiration here people will join in to help find solutions.

There have been a few that suggest the VES is an elite group made of elite members. The VES is an honorary society. You need to be working in visual effects for 5 years to be a member of the VES and need 2 members to submit letters for you. I don’t think of that as elite. It does mean that VES members are experienced professionals. The main reason the VES has gotten involved in these types of issues is because there are problems in the industry and members were asking the organization to get involved and help find solutions. No other group seemed to be making progress in this area. And the approach for the VES is to try to make solutions apply to all visual effects workers.

IA Union of visual effects artists – The IA would certainly be the natural fit for visual effects workers since they cover most of the crafts in motion pictures, including the camera crew. The IA spent a year ‘researching’ visual effects industry and has now spent almost another year with someone spearheading the effort to unionize the industry. Unfortunately that has yet to result in anything. You would think they would like to get the word out to as many visual effects workers as possible and that they would try to sell the idea of the union with a clear and concise guide of the benefits and costs. They should have also been selling the idea to the visual effects companies as well. But to date most of that hasn’t happened and it hasn’t seemed like the IA has put much into this process. Many visual effects workers have either not heard of the effort or now assume it’s not happening.  For more info on the IA check out their blog here.

Meanwhile the Art Directors Guild (union) has taken a definitive stand to bring in previs artists as part of their union. See their website here.  And the Vancouver IA has a good website and info here. There’s also a movement for the motionographers union.

Will the IA get going or should there be an independent group that forms a new type of union?

David Rand wrote a response to the VES Bill of Rights here.
Dave is correct that the current bidding process is broken. For more info on some of the business models in visual effects check out a previous post here.
To fix this process will require many visual effects companies to get on the same page because ultimately only they can control the situation. Most visual effects companies are very competitive and fiercely independent. The VES has been encouraging the companies to meet and discuss.  Many of the companies are in as much denial about issues as the workers and studios. Those doing well (especially if they’re in a location with tax incentives) see no reason to change. Why should they bother fixing the leaking roof when it’s sunny out? And of course once it’s starts raining it will be too late. The days of milk and honey will not last forever for any location. Scott Ross points out that if 4-5 of the major visual effects companies got together they could lay out some basic guidelines or requirements with their clients.

Currently there’s also been discussion among Indian visual effects workers about their situation that doesn’t sound too far off from the ones in the U.S. As I’ve said before many of these are global issues and do in fact affect you no matter where you are. And they of course make some of the same errors and false ideas as other here do.

1. Unions are only for laborers. We’re artists.
Guess what? The director’s are covered by the DGA (union). The Writers are covered by the WGA (union). The actors are covered by SAG (union). The Cinematographers are covered under the ICG (union). And so on for just about every position in motion pictures except visual effects. Are none of those other people artists? Do you gain anything by being a starving artist? Do you gain anything by not having health care insurance? Do you gain anything by not having a united group of similar artists? Can you change things by yourself and will the company change at your lone request?

2. Unions? Look at what happened to American automobile industry.
Stereotyping everything certain is not a solution nor is ignoring details of history.
Please see this previous post Using the Nail

3. Producing good work is the solution
Producing good work will certainly help you get work but it alone will not guarantee employment nor will it guarantee you fair treatment.

4. Working for free
Many starting out in this business thinks that they’ll work for free to prove themselves and then the companies will hire them.  You’ve already devalued yourself when you choose to work for free. Do you think the company that hires free labor will suddenly start paying people what they’re worth and stop the practice of hiring more free labor? Each wave of new workers comes in and is willing to work for free which means those with experience now will either have to continue to work for free or will have to move on. Some visual effects companies are run by people without the passion for visual effects.  Some can’t grasp the simple business solution that by hiring experienced and qualified people, treating them properly and paying them properly, they will have a true business that grows and can increase productivity and profits. Providing a quality product is of value. By simply hiring free labor they have forever tied themselves to the mediocre and will just continue being in a race to be the cheapest provider. And that’s a game that cannot be won. There will always be somewhere else cheaper, either by cost of living or incentives.

5. Working as independent contractors
One of the notions expressed is to be a remote freelancer for a visual effects company in another country.  Why would a visual effects company in another country hire someone directly in another country? What experience would they have had with that person directly? Most of the major films are covered by restrictions and guidelines so images and other movie data aren’t leaked out. Can you set up to qualify? Can you do an entre shot yourself (animation, lighting, composting, roto) or will they be sending just one step of a shot to an independent worker in another country every day or every few hours? If that were to work there will be websites where artist bid on how much to do a shot. The lowest bid would likely get selected. Every independent contractor is now in a race to the bottom themselves.


As always if you have input, feedback on the Bill of Rights or have suggestions and solutions, please send email to VES Leadership.  You can post here in addition to emailing if you wish to open it to discussion by all. Personally I’d prefer suggestions and solutions over complaints and reasons why none of this will work.

VES 2.0 feedback requested

The VES 2.0 group  (Visual Effects Society)  continues to meet and explore options for the vfx industry.

I'd like to once again ask all vfx artists and companies to submit their thoughts, ideas, solutions and concerns to the VES Leadership group.  Email VES Leadership group You don't have to be a member to submit. You can also post in the comments here or email me directly. **

If you're in the vfx industry you do really owe it to yourself and your future to submit your thoughts. Now is the time, not 6 months from now.

Please consider reading the links on the right side under VFX INDUSTRY - STATE OF THE INDUSTRY heading if you haven't already.  I posted these to try to provide information and different perspectives of some of the issues.  Pass Me That Nail covers some of the key problems with the vfx industry. Using the Nail covers some of the VES 2.0 issues.

I also urge vfx artists to become informed and try to make open minded and balanced decisions and comments. It's easy to repeat the same phrases and become narrow minded, especially under the circumstances. Also keep in mind incentives will not last forever anywhere. Don't assume smooth sailing where you're currently working to last your lifetime. What you perceive as only a US problem could be your problem in the next year or two.

For more info: Visual Effects Society
VES 2.0 Letter to VFX Industry

From Shoot magazine report on VES 2.0


[**Update: Please check out the comments below (you may have to click on the comments link.
I'm listing a few of the types of things to consider in your note and included a few questions from the IA (snippets from the comments)

What are the problems people are facing? You may have some issues I haven't touched on or you may have a totally different priority.

How would you like to see the vfx industry structured?

What should the vfx companies be doing differently to make it better for the workers?

What should the studios be doing to make it better for the workers?

What about the studio and vfx company relationships?

People writing in should mention their views on the IA and why.

What's their views on a vfx trade organization?

From the IA:
"..we continue to seek out some direction as to the type of organization the rank and file really want?
One integrated visual effects organization?
An independent guild?
Affiliation with several different IATSE locals (matching job-skills) such as camera, editorial, animation, or art directors?
We could charter a guild and have it function as a separate entity, benefitting from the experience and strength of the International, and, where appropriate, adopting the Major Studios Basic Agreement. We just need some direction from the affected parties."]



There's also a relatively new take on this which is to focus on management.

While I agree that improving management would help I don't see it being the all in one solution.
Some vfx companies are managed better than others but I don't expect to cut the required time in half or another 20% in profits simply by improved management. Many vfx companies are already reasonably run and while there's room for improvement it's unlikely to be huge. The variables from directors and studios tend to be larger than these gains. Likewise don't assume just because a company is more efficient that it will make more money (it may just get more work) or that benefits, wages and working conditions will improve for employees. The trickle down theory doesn't work. Most general US companies are making 20% more in profits the last couple of years but continue to reduce their workforce and reduce employee benefits. Those added profits go to the executives and shareholders, not the people being more efficient.

What we'll need is improvements/changes to the 3 key parts of this issue (Studios, vfx companies and vfx workers) to get a balance that works and is sustainable.

[Please click on Comments link below if comments aren't automatically shown in your browser]

VES Handbook now in eBook formats

The VES Handbook is finally out in Kindle format from Amazon. It came out last fall but had issues with the Table of Contents among other things.  Currently $37.22 on US amazon store. Paperback is $41.35

[July 17, 2012 Just checked amazon and they're back to selling it at full retail price. $64.95 Not sure why. I assume the publisher requested it?]


It also is out for the Nook format as well at Barnes and Noble.  Currently $64.95 on US Barnes and Noble.

There's hope for an iBook format version as well but unknown when that will happen.

(I haven't been able to do a full check yet)

The good news:
1. Now more portable. The paperback book is about 960 pages and is about 1 and 1/2 inches thick, so it's not an easy thing to carry around.

2 Should be able to run on any device that supports whichever format you buy. That includes the iPad and other devices.

3. The Kindle version at least includes the additional articles from the website so is closer to 1200 pages.

4. Working Table of Contents to make it quicker to go directly to chapters.

5. You can bookmark, highlight text and add notes to most of the eReaders to make it fast to go to a specific section.


The bad news:
1. Some of the photos from studios have restrictions and will not appear in the electronic versions.
(I'm not sure how many at this point)

2. The printed book included sub-chapter page numbers for the actual articles.  The electronic versions only list by chapters.  Wish they had the full table of contents working.


Other info about the Handbook:
It won a Prose award which is an award for profesional and scholarly excellence for publications. The Handbook won in the Art Technique category.

Animation World Review

We are actively seeking specific feedback for the handbook since we're already discussing version 2 update.  (They're already on the 2nd printing)  More than likely we'll be augmenting the book with added articles instead of totally revamping existing articles but please submit any thoughts and ideas.
Too much? Too little? What worked? What didn't?

Focal Press has a sample online.  The page also lists the table of contents. See link lower on that page for a sampler.   This is a section of Bill Taylor's article on shooting greenscreen/bluescreen.  This article gets into a lot detail because it's a defined technical process.  In the handbook there are a mix of articles, some that deal with very specific technical issues and some that deal with broader issues.

VES Handbook companion site - Includes author bios and extended versions of some of the articles.
(extended articles should be in Kindle version)

Using the nail

Using the nail

The last post I covered  some of problems facing visual effects workers. Today I’ll cover some of the potential outside groups that may be able to help the VFX industry.  (* I’m not a lawyer so legal comments are based on my understanding and as always could be wrong)

As an individual you have to make decisions about your employment and situation. You have to be able to control what you can. If you’re being treated improperly then try to resolve it.  If you're not being paid then quit and change companies if at all possible.

However there are many things outside an individual’s control. Sure, you can talk to your manager but how good that does is very dependent on how important that manager feels you are to completing their current project at that moment. You can also quit but beyond these actions the individual has little control. You may quit a company only to find all the other companies doing the same thing simply because they can.

A company tends to have all the control because they have the money.  They are organized and made up of a number of people (manager’s, owners, etc) whose sole purpose is to make as much profit as possible.  Laws prevent them from exploiting workers too much (laws in place thanks to the unions) but beyond that it can be David versus Goliath if you have an issue with the company you work for that isn't handled by your manager.

There are many issues bigger than individuals. Bigger than single companies. Outsourcing, health care, overtime, and other problems are systemic issues and can’t be solved by a single artist.

In the past when situations like this happened the individuals would group and work together with like-minded individuals.  Suddenly it’s not one lone voice in the woods but thousands. Some of these vfx issues will have to be dealt with by some type of organization of many individuals if the hope is to make improvements to the situation.

UNIONS
Unions are organizations of individuals in the same situation. Their point to exist is to allow some voice from the worker’s perspective. They try to provide a balance to the companies. In the extremes a company will try to push to make as much profit as possible and to incur as little expenses as possible (paying workers less, etc).  A union will push to get as much as they can for their members  (benefits, working conditions, etc). Now neither side is nearly this extreme but it doesn’t take much to make it out of balance.  Large companies like GE are pushed by shareholders to keep making large profits.  The CEOs and executives simply view their workers as faceless drones that cost money.  Anything they can do to reduce these costs earns them a bonus.  Many vfx companies were started or are being run by people who were involved in vfx hands on at one point.  Most of them try to do a reasonable job of dealing with their workers but situations and changes may throw even that relationship out of whack.

The trick here is to find balances so the companies and the workers can both succeed.  It doesn’t help anyone if the company or the workers fail.

Since most vfx workers today work for vfx companies those are the places that would have to unionize if workers wanted them to.  The studios sometimes place the vfx companies in difficult situations so it's not necessarily an easy step to make for the vfx companies.

As I’ve stated before most people say of unions and vfx is ‘it will be the nail in the coffin for the vfx industry’.  This implies ‘keep quite and hope that wages and benefits don’t drop too quickly’. Like the man who swept up after the circus elephants, we don’t want to give up showbiz. The other favorite phrase is ‘look at the auto industry and what the unions did’. Really?? You’re trying to correlate the vfx industry of today with a totally unrelated industry from over 60 years ago?  Really? The Hindenburg caught fire in 1937 so we shouldn’t fly today.  In 1950’s there were only a few computers and those filled entire rooms so any vfx company should only have one computer.  “640K ought to be enough for anybody.”  PLEASE do some research on the actual facts of the auto industry and it’s ills before blaming them on the union.  Instead let's focus on the motion picture unions of today rather than a different industry over 60 years ago.

IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) covers the Camera Guild, Art Directors Guild, Editors Guild, Costume Designers Guild, Sound Technicians, Stagehands, Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists, Studio Grips, Publicists Guild, etc.  In addition to the IA related guilds are the Director’s Guild of America, Screen Actor’s Guild, the Writers Guild of America and other guilds.  IATSE was formed over 100 years ago for those who want to see how it  compares to the auto industry.

What group is involved with creating some of the top money making films and is doing more work on films every year? What group of artists and craftspeople currently involved with creation of motion pictures and television is the only one without a union?  That would be visual effects.

So exactly why are we undeserving of having basic bargaining rights and basic health care that a union provides? I think our contributions speak for themselves.  I think the amount of work and effort and skill is certainly without question.  There are those that say our wages are above the median so we don’t deserve coverage. Look at that list again. We’re not out of line with any of the groups nor are we the most expensive.  Others have said we want to be union to be cool. I still don’t get that.  Some say we shouldn’t get paid as much as other skilled high tech workers.  These same people forget that a large portion of the vfx workers are project to project. Much different situation for both workers and employers than having a standard job.

Now the majority of those other groups are hired directly by production whereas most vfx workers are employed by vfx companies.  But there are labs, DI and other companies (sound mixing, etc) that are union.

Unions aren’t perfect.  Anytime you have more than 1 person in a group you’re likely to have differences of opinion and politics. But the union does provide a voice for workers.  It does provide the potential of continuous health care and better protection from companies that go out of business or companies that force people into independent contractor employment.

Both the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) and the IA have stepped forward in the last year simply because they were contacted by a couple of vfx workers.  The IA tends to cover the majority of the creative arts guilds in motion picture and television and would seem to be a better fit with other craftspeople in the motion picture industry.

Unfortunately the IA has done a terrible job of getting the information out. They have something of value that vfx workers should at least review but they have been having difficulty providing a clear message.  The details and the plan have yet to be provided. Some of this may be changing.  Latest personal meeting notes from the union and from Joe Harkin.

Just to respond to a couple of items in Joe's posting:
"The AMPTP thinks facilities are screwing the studios with over-inflated bids, and that they are making out like bandits.  I told Jimmy, it’s true, most of the VFX CEO’s are loaded with over-inflated salaries, and that he can quote me on it."

Producers have always thought vfx were over-inflated bids even in the optical days. "Sharpen your pencils" was a favorite catch phrase.  If it wasn't something they knew or were involved with they couldn't understand the amount of time, work and skill was required to do the work. At Dream Quest we had provided a production a basic shot estimate since they didn't know how many shots they were going to need. The project was shelved for a time and  had a new producer and team come on board months later. The new producer had a note from the previous team regarding the price and had misinterpreted that to mean do all the work (now 12 shots).  He went into full rant mode when we told him that was for one shot.  According to him all vfx people were just raking productions over the coals. You couldn't even assemble a minimal camera crew for a few hours for the price he was talking about.

They see the work and amount of time on the set when the DP lights a shot or when the production designer has a set built.  The vfx people are always hidden away somewhere else.

Most producers, executives and directors are not interested in really spending a full day seeing all the work involved in vfx.  And of course some of it's our fault for wanting to keep it short and dazzle them by cycling through the rendered takes or by making a few adjustments in real time.  What they walk away with is that it's simply a matter of knowing which button to push. Giving them a shot to roto might do a world of good.

Now to correct a few things Joe says.  VFX bids are not over inflated. With the current competition it wouldn't be possible even if you wanted to. Multiple companies bid on just about everything.  If any of them are drastically different that will affect their ability to get the work. In the bidding phase there's only so much accuracy you can put into a bid, especially if it's in script or storyboard form.  Not knowing the director means you're only going to be so close. Nervous vfx producers may bump up some shots slightly to increase the odds of being covered but these same producers will reduce prices on other shots (likely below what it will really cost) to try to hone it down.  When the project is all done the amount of profit is very small, compared to other businesses and especially when you have to cover the dry spell.

Joe also mentions most vfx CEO have huge salaries. Frankly I don't see how anyone could know what most vfx CEOs are paid since that's not public information. I think Joe's making the same type of judgements as producers. Once again there's not a huge profit for most vfx companies these days.  I think it also depends on what you think an over-inflated salary is.

Here's an interesting tidbit: "A typical chief executive at a U.S. company earned 262 times the pay of a typical worker in 2005, according to a recent report. With 260 workdays in a year, that means that an average CEO earned more in one workday than a worker earned in 52 weeks."  From what I've read that's already eclipsed in 2010.  I can guarantee vfx CEO's do not make 262 times their employees.
Whether a vfx CEO is over paid depends on how valuable they are to the company. The CEO may be a part owner as well. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find most vfx CEO's being paid way above everyone else. Not to say it doesn't happen but that would be the exception.

UNION TO DO ITEMS
Some of the recommendations for the IA if they are serious:

1. List key union benefits for vfx workers.

2. What would be the benefits to the vfx companies? (potentially lower health care insurance, etc)

3. What would be the benefits to the studios? (certification ,etc)

4. Post a FAQ - Do you have to always work for a union shop? What happens if you work for a game company for 3 months? What are the dues? What is the initiation fee? How will this prevent outsourcing?  Won't this simply cause vfx companies to go out of the country? Is this only for LA? Only for California? etc.

5. Cost analysis of a medium vfx company with and without vfx union.  More? Less?

6. Overall Plan - What’s the plan to organize and more importantly what is the plan for how this will be structured?

[Update: some items now covered by Union website. Start at  VFXUnion.info ]

COSTS FOR VFX VENDORS
Many people are worried that the union would impose a very high cost increase for the vfx companies and this would simply drive the work out of the country.  Obviously it doesn't do the union any good if they truly price the companies out of business nor would workers vote for the union if it meant a vfx company closing.

Here’s a valid blog post from a small vfx vendor covering this issue.  What's best for *you*? 
This expreses the concerns raised by a number of companies.

I've owned and operated a vfx company.  It's not easy to do so and make a profit and it's even more difficult today. But there are some basics of business, one that you can't continue to work for less than it actually costs you.

Let’s review a couple of the key concerns mentioned in that posting. Health Care and Overtime.   Somehow many get the idea that these issues don’t exist if there is no union.  These in fact are issues regardless if there is a union or not.

If a company is not paying for some type of health care for their employees then the employees are footing the entire bill themselves already (or going without).  Take a look at real job listings for full time work at legitimate businesses.  Among the benefits listings are typically health care and 401k plans (after 3 months).  The company down the street making widgets likely has some form of health insurance for employees.  The bank or store you shop in does as well. These are the benefits that make up your total compensation.

Overtime pay is covered under the law and there are specific criteria that need to be met to avoid paying overtime.  The choice of being an independent contractor is not a choice to be made by the company or the individual.  It is the IRS.  It holds true for whether someone is technically exempt from overtime. The company has to have legitimate reasons to not pay overtime and just because isn’t good enough.

So using the numbers in the post the estimated costs are 20% (I’m not sure how accurate this is). Well either than 20% is made up by the employer or by the worker. And if the worker isn’t covered (which seems to be the case of the post) then the worker is already accepting a 20% cost overhead without a union. If you were paid $100,000 salary this would equate to $80,000 elsewhere (with benefits) if the numbers are correct.  As a worker you would have to consider these figures and how much overtime you expected to work for the same rate without being paid.  Is the pay high enough to cover all of this?  That's why I urge newcomers to use caution when simply looking at salaries without knowing what it truly means.  You can't do a straight comparison with a regular job since the hours, benefits and other circumstances differ. It's not uncommon to hear vfx workers are paid too much (by those not doing vfx).  However compare their adjusted pay (potentially no benefits, no overtime pay for what could be a lot of overtime, the length of unemployment, etc) and that of other high tech jobs that require a lot of skill, experience and knowledge.  It’s certainly not out of line in that context.

Overtime and some form of health care should be looked at as the cost of doing business just like computers, rent, power, etc.

So if you operate a business and do not cover health care to some extent or overtime and you can’t afford to cover these business expenses, then you’re under bidding.  When you bid a project these costs need to be included in the bid if it is required to get the work done.  If there are management mistakes then it shouldn’t be the workers who have to pay for it by putting in uncompensated overtime. If the client changes the delivery schedule or causes something that requires overtime, then that should be billed to the client. The workers shouldn’t have to be the ones to pay for an insufficient contract.  Now if you and all your competitors are bidding razor thin margins or underbidding projects, then it’s simply a race to the bottom where no one survives. How many other business expenses will be ignored or skipped to bring down the costs?

In any case the union will have to work with the vfx companies to come up with a balance of pay and benefits that is affordable by everyone involved.

Now we’ll have to see if the IA can ramp up and actually make this happen.

Since there is a need for some type of organization of workers to help solve some of these problems, the other possibility is a whole new group. The potential could be open to vfx workers worldwide and to focus on a way to achieve this in some form that would be built for today’s world.  Is there an equivalent or an alternative to the union now in 2011 that could achieve all the same results and more as a union?

Joe Harkin has suggested the VFX Foundation as a non-union, union.
Setting up any type of organization is a huge undertaking of time, money and effort. If you think it’s slow going now consider how long it will take to start from scratch. Trying to cover the legal issues, tax issues and organizing it is a full time job for a good size staff.  Even a non-profit requires spending money on staff, rent and legal bills so as much as some people wish to avoid some of the issues they see in unions, it’s likely the final results will be very close to a standard union

Newer post:
Visual Effects Guilds

Other union info:
35 Ways Unions have improved your life
How Companies Turn People Against Unions
When Did “Union” Become a Bad Word?
Anti-union and Certainty without evidence
Labor Stats - Guide to Motion Picture Industry


TRADE ASSOCIATION
When this is mentioned there’s usually the cry of collusion but there can be and are real reasons to have some type of trade organization for businesses.  This is where companies organize as a group on things that make sense.  Some of the reasons include standardizing practices, standardizing on technical formats (Blu-ray, etc), research and development, advertising (Got Milk?), and lobbying government for issues that would benefit the collection of companies.

One example is the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP)

According to their documents “In 1978 the AICP undertook the task of developing guidelines to be used to foster responsible business practices between production companies and their contracting-clients.  Since that time, these guidelines have been recognized as the industry standard. “

Sounds pretty good to me.  Those guidelines include standardized bidding forms, firm bids, cost plus bidding, payment guides among other things.  Guidelines pdf.   The VES had been looking into standardized bidding at one point. Certainly these are a list of potential items to explore.

Another group is the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) which represents a trade association of the studios.  The MPAA deals with movie  ratings and piracy issues among other things.

From their site:
“What are the key functions of the MPAA?
We are the voice and advocate of the American motion picture, home video and television industries, domestically and, through our subsidiaries and affiliates, internationally. We champion a healthy, thriving film and television industry by engaging in a variety of legislative, policy, education, technology and law enforcement initiatives. These efforts range from safeguarding intellectual property rights to using technology to expand consumer entertainment choices, to championing fair trade agreements and a secure future for artistic freedom of expression.”

Now the vfx companies could do something similar (trade association) and actually had some initial meetings but nothing ever came of it. As I mentioned before such a group could likely set up standard health insurance for vfx workers if it wished to. They can’t collude on price but I would expect it’s possible to have all companies agree not to bid below cost as seems to happen in the vfx industry.


VES 2.0
The Visual Effects Society (VES) was setup as an honorary society for professionals in the visual effects industry.  This was to provide some type of common organization to share information, help to educate and overall to help further the advancement of visual effects and those involved with visual effects.

Along those lines it was somewhat similar to The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).  The ASC represents some of the top Cinematographers in the U.S.  They publish the American Cinematographer Magazine, run comparison tests, help to standardize, give educational presentations, etc.  You have probably seen members in film credits with the ASC after the name.  There are similar Cinematography honorary societies for many other countries.  The ASC is very selective and limited to Cinematographers (not camera assistants, operators, etc) They have  approx. 350 members. The VES is not as restrictive and is global with over 2400 members worldwide.

The ASC is an honorary society and exists to celebrate the best artists in cinematography. This fits with the other parts of this equation. The International Camera Guild is the camera union that covers cinematographers, operators, and assistants and helps to provide them collective bargaining, pay scales, benefits including health care and pension and proper working conditions. The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) is a trade organization (there’s that idea again) that represents the producers/studios in negotiating with all of the film unions.

Here’s their info:
“Since 1982, The Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) has been the trade association responsible for negotiating virtually all the industry-wide guild and union contracts, including the American Federation of Musicians (AFM); American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA); Directors Guild of America (DGA); International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE); International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); Laborers Local 724; Screen Actors Guild (SAG); Teamsters Local 399, and Writers Guild of America (WGA).”

The VES as noted is an honorary society and ideally there would be other groups to balance the business aspects (the union and a trade association) as there are with the rest of the motion picture industry.  The VES could not become a union or a trade associate.  It’s mandate was to be an honorary society and even if it wished to change this would require major legal and structural changes and no society would exist at that point.

It’s been evident the vfx industry has been hurting and facing some real issues.  Members have been asking the VES for help in dealing with this situation. When it became apparent that the vfx trade association was not happening and the vfx union effort was taking time the VES announced plans to do what it can as VES 2.0.  Because it’s not a union it can not collective bargain for its members.  Nor can it represent the vfx companies as an association but as noted in the announcement (and the followup update) there is strength in numbers and the VES hopes to explore solutions that will benefit the entire vfx industry.

I’m on the VES Board of Directors and on the the committee involved with this.  I can’t discuss any specifics but will say meetings are happening and we’re making progress.  The VES will be making official announcements when it’s appropriate.

Make your voice heard. Do some research.  post possible solutions.  Join a VES committee. Feel free to post comments here or email the Leadership group at the VES.  The VES Forum sometimes works as well.  Hopefully that will be improving shortly.

Pass me a nail

Pass me a nail

Every time someone even hears the word union and visual effects in the same sentence they always say "it will be the nail in the coffin for all visual effects in this the country”

Exactly what pamphlet or web page is this being copied from?

Look, if we all wish to solve the current situation we’re all going to have to be open minded and drop the unrelated and incorrect stereotypes.  This industry and its artists will have to explore all options open to it without predefined prejudice.

As you’ve no doubt already read the Visual Effects Society (VES) has stepped forward and announced it’s intention to put the spotlight on some of the issues facing the visual artists these days and explore solutions.  Link here and update here.

Now some people have said “What problems?” so let me highlight a few of those.
If you currently have steady employment for years at a time, get paid a decent wage, don’t ever work crazy hours, get paid overtime when you work over 40 hours and have health and pension benefits then consider yourself fortunate.

The VFX industry has gotten out of balance between the studios, vfx companies and the vfx workers.  Many vfx workers are not able to maintain a balanced life. Some of these problems are primarily U.S. centric and some are more global in nature.

To those who are fine with one location or another failing, let me make it clear – we’re all in this together. A failure anywhere will affect you.  And you may find yourself in the same situation sooner than you think.

OUTSOURCING
Outsource in VFX is caused by two different issues – Political driven economic incentives such as tax and subsidizes or by lower wages based on a lower cost of living, all based on location.

This is primarily a U.S. issue but has an impact everywhere directly or indirectly. A few people get upset when I mention things like tax incentives.  Let me be very clear:  There are talented visual effects artists all over the world doing great work.   But prices do have an impact on where the work ultimately goes.

Update: Here's a pretty sobering insight of the impact on the California VFX community
Another update on state incentive programs: Film-industry subsidies 

The hope would be that most of the vfx community would be able to find reasonable work without having to constantly travel elsewhere to do so.

Anytime most people purchase something, whether an item or service, they have to make a choice.  What they want, what they need, what they can afford, value versus price, etc.  The studios are no different, especially when they're dealing with millions of dollars. The studios want to save money so they can get the project made and so they can make more money.

How much the savings matters depends on the particular project. They may have a big tent pole movie and have the money and desire to get the best possible visual effects anywhere in the world.  Or they may have a smaller movie with limited funds that they have to squeeze every dime to get the visual effects work they want. Even with the large tent pole film they will be likely to split up the work and send the wire removal and simpler composite shots to another company simply because they’re not as concerned about it and want to lower their costs.

The majority of visual effects heavy films are funded and produced by U.S. studios, so those of us in the U.S. tend to look at it as money going out of the country.

Visual effects is a very competitive business. Trying to do great work and keep the price down is a tough thing to do. Trying to be as efficient as possible, roll with the punches as the director and studio make changes and still hit the deadline and target budget with flawless work takes real skill.  There’s also a natural ebb and flow of amount of work that causes both vfx companies and workers to be without work for stretches of time.

Now into that mix comes an outside force of tax (and other) incentives provided by countries or states.  Suddenly the studios have a 20-40% off coupon to spend in a certain location.  You can have the exact same team, getting paid the exact same wages and have the exact same bid but one of those options is now a lot cheaper without the vfx company itself having to compromise or undercut itself.  The taxpayers in that area are picking up the bill. What business wouldn’t want to offer a reduced price to it’s customers knowing the government is picking up the tab?

The studios tend to look at visual effects as a commodity, which we know is not true but in the studios view it’s close enough that a large discount is certainly part of the equation. If you’re located in an area that has some type of incentive program you have a built in advantage. If you’re not located in an area with a real incentive program then you’re at a disadvantage that is out of your control.  The playing field for getting work is not a level playing field and it’s out of the control of anyone involved with visual effects.

Now for certain types of projects the incentives may not play much of a role.  The studio in those cases values other qualities more and is willing to pay for it.  That means they can go anywhere in the world.  But this only applies to a percentage of projects.

Subsidizes and incentives exist for other things such as produce or oil but in the case of motion pictures and television work there are very few clients so it’s not possible to simply make up the loss by selling to other clients.

Various forms of tax incentives have not necessarily been shown to be a wise investment for the general population in a given area.  Many states here in the U.S. have film incentives that change every year.  And so the studios simply do their next picture wherever they can get the best deal at that time and the state never builds up a structure that increases jobs and income in the long term.  Some countries have been doing it long enough they have been able to leverage it and expand their film production infrastructure and create an entire eco system.

RESULTS
The results of the incentives mean that a lot of work ends up flowing to areas with the best incentives at that time. That results in the loss of jobs in some areas (such as the U.S.) and the addition of jobs in other areas, all simply controlled by politics.

VFX companies in the U.S., especially smaller to mid-size companies, are hurting because there’s no way they can make a profit and lower their costs to compete with places with incentives.  Even some of the larger companies may be required to ‘buy’ a project by working at cost or even less than cost.  This is in the hopes of keeping the company afloat and keeping key people.  In some cases companies offer very low rates to get projects in exchange for a tiny piece of the potential profit.  But this requires deep enough pockets that the vfx company can cover all of the costs now and they are taking a risk that the project will be profitable enough to recover those costs.

VFX companies have been setting up more and more satellite vfx shops in countries with incentives.  The thinking being if you can’t beat them, join them.  This allows them to offer the same incentives as other companies located there and increases the competition in a given location. What will be the final balance of local work versus the amount of work done by their satellite companies? Will the U.S. based company just become a few business offices in the future?

Getting started in visual effects is also more difficult because some of the entry level jobs are now being farmed out to other countries. The smaller and midsize vfx shops also allowed artists to become familiar with a wide range of techniques but these size of shops are closing down more often.

A number of VFX artists in the U.S. now have to become migrant workers and leave their houses and possibly their families for months or more at a time simply to continue working.  Working long hours makes it tough enough doing visual effects. When you have to leave your spouse and children for months or have to pull them out of school creates a very difficult situation for all involved.
This in spite of the fact there is VFX work required for U.S. productions and in spite of the fact the VFX artists may be skilled and experienced.

FUTURE
What happens if incentives stop in the location you’re working?  It’s likely to happen at some point.  What will your company do? What will you do and how far and long will you have to travel to get work?  What will it mean to your family?

SOLUTIONS
As with all the solutions I’ll be listing these are just some of the possible solutions or ideas.  These are not in any order and aren’t endorsements from me. Please post other solutions if you think you have them.  As usual I’m simply listing some ideas here for people to think about.

Ideally there would be no politically motivated incentives.  All vfx companies would be competing on a somewhat level playing field as most companies do.  How successful they are would be dependent on the quality of their product, their prices and how efficient management is.

Incentives have been in place for quite a while in some areas and are controlled by politics. You can show in a spreadsheet how they’re not working but logic and economic understanding have very little to do with politics. Neither the unions nor the VES can make incentives disappear and restore a more balanced business environment by themselves.

1. VFXSoldier feels these incentives are illegal.  If a world body declared these to be illegal that would be one possible way that the incentives stop.  Personally I don’t see this happening with all the other items on their agenda.

2. Politicians in the U.S. and/or California could increase tax incentives to counter other states or countries. The union could lobby for this but as in anything political it could be very expensive to try and not result in anything. And if it did, would it simply switch back in another couple of years?

3. Politicians in the areas offering incentives could decide to cancel the incentives.  Especially if a large portion of the public got tired of supporting these productions or didn’t see the value added.  Would the lobbyists win over the people in these cases?

There's also the possibility the U.S. could place an import tax or duty on vfx work done outside of the country. Not likely to happen.

LOWER WAGES
The second reason for outsourcing is a lower price service due to a location with lower wages and lower cost of living.  Visual Effects is very labor intensive and by being able to tap into a lower wage for that labor, the cost of the work also drops.  The digital age has allowed high-speed transfer of images to and from anywhere in the world and some countries such as India and China have trained and able artists working in visual effects.  Over time these countries wages are likely to rise and other countries may take their places.  Once again there have been some high quality vfx from their countries so their wages are not a slight on the quality of their work.

RESULTS
The results are similar to outsourcing due to incentives.  VFX companies are setting up satellite companies in these countries as well in order to help bring down their own costs.

FUTURE

What will these companies and workers do when other countries are cheaper?

SOLUTIONS
There are no simple solutions here.  There will always be more or less expensive places to live and work in the world.  This isn’t caused by a single legislation.


HEALTH CARE
Unlike most other countries the U.S. does not have a government supported health program.  Since it is privatized and run by for profit companies it is very expensive.  The U.S. has a whole additional cost layer and that is health insurance companies, which makes a hefty profit. The medical costs here are some of the most expensive in the world and yet the care is not the best in the world according to many studies.   People in the U.S. are fine with paying taxes for public schools and public roads but the mention of trying to help sick people makes them jump to a socialism charge against the concept.  They would rather pay much more in health care costs and let the insurance companies decide what treatment they get rather than to rely in any way on the government.  Over half of the foreclosures in this country are due to not being able to pay medical bills.

How much health insurance coverage you have depends on the company you work for.  Since it’s not required you may not have any.   Many of the better vfx companies offer some health insurance but since most vfx workers are project to project it can be of limited value as a project winds down and they have to work elsewhere. As soon as they leave one company and go to work for another company, they have to qualify all over for health insurance.  This is usually a 3 month time period.  So if your project is 3 months or less you may never get health care coverage.  Even if it’s longer than 3 months you will lose it once you move to your next project elsewhere.

Some vfx companies use this health insurance situation to their advantage. If you finally get health insurance coverage from a company you’re less likely to switch to another company.  Even if you’re laid off for a time period you may think twice about switching companies and having to deal with the health care coverage issue again.

If you are required to be an independent contractor at a vfx company then you must buy individual health care coverage or have your own small loan out company be involved in health care coverage.  This is very expensive.

Some of those in VFX have stated that simply because we’re paid a good wage when we’re working we shouldn’t be provided company health coverage.  We should buy our own.  What other business in this country has that mindset?  Do you think all high-end professionals in other industries are told to cover their own costs?  Are the executives and CEO’s told that they have to pay their own and that only those who make a median amount or lower will be covered by the company?

For those in countries with health coverage, how are you taking the news that in some cases politicians are looking to privatize health care in your country?

RESULTS
There are likely a number of U.S. vfx workers who lack sufficient health care, especially in long periods between projects.

Those that have to buy their own have an additional cost burden they have to figure in when calculating their true income.

The type and coverage you get has to be considered when working for a company.  You have to update your doctor and others when your health coverage changes and a procedure or medication that may have been covered at your last employer may not with your new employer.

FUTURE
Health care insurance is increasing at the rate of 19-39% a year.  Your income is likely to be increasing 2-4% a year, if that.  How long do you think even with a ‘good wage’ you will be able to afford health insurance?  How long can small vfx companies help to cover health insurance for their employees?

Do you expect to remain employed by your current company until you retire? Do you expect them to always be in business?

Many companies and local governments have been focused on short term results so would tend to provide workers with more benefits rather than higher wages. Since the medical costs increased so rapidly this created an imbalance.  This is what happened to some of the state unions.  It wasn’t because their wages had been increasing, it was simply that the costs of the benefits accelerated at an accelerated rate.

SOLUTIONS
1. The VES has worked with a health insurance company to try to get better rates.  That is available now. As with many things the VES continues to explore other options.

2. Union. One of the reasons unions/guilds exist for most film production workers is to provide health insurance specifically for the issues mentioned. When working from project to project these workers are covered by the same insurance and don’t have to re-qualify for every production company they work for.  They don’t have to worry if they’re on a one-day project today and next week on a 2- month project.  And the motion picture unions worked out an arrangement with the studios to help fund the insurance coverage.  Rather than getting a percentage of the profit of a film project directly, a certain percentage goes into the motion picture fund.

3. The vfx companies could group together to form some type of health coverage base that would cover vfx workers.  Instead of each and every company getting their own health care insurance based on a small number of workers, they could pool those funds to setup something to cover workers no matter which company they worked at.  How feasible this is I don’t know but would certainly make it more reasonable for workers to move from project to project as required.


OVERTIME
This is another problem that some people don’t think is a problem.

If it were simply a matter of working a few extra hours the final week of a project it would be one thing but overtime has now become the norm for longer periods of productions. VFX are being pushed to be even more complex at the same time the post-production schedule is being reduced.  Since there is a very real and hard release date the typical approach is to work everyone more hours and days.

A vfx artists usually works more than the standard 40 hour work week at most vfx companies. 10-12 hours tends to be the standard at a number companies. (12 hours is another 50% of hours worked a day) This added time is less time to spend with your spouse and family.  If you’re single it’s less time you can spend with friends, going to concerts and other activities.  The more time you spend at work the more your entire life is consumed with work. Getting both some physical and mental rest from work is important. A worker who has sufficient rest is more productive.  As recent studies have show, more overtime work means more long-term health problems.

And now the amount of overtime has increased beyond this basic time and the final week of production.  In some cases the last few months of a project may require 6-7 day workweeks with work hours exceeding 80-100 hours. Workers may have to work over multiple holidays and finals deadline may constantly be shifting.

This is caused by a few of things.
1. Studios tend to schedule less time to do the prost-production, including vfx.  In some cases this is because they started the project later and still have a fixed release date. In other cases they hope to save money by reducing the post schedule. (less interest on the money, less overhead at vfx company, etc)
2. There’s no true hard date except for the release so directors and studios executives continue to make big and small changes up to the release date. These constantly changes make it difficult to schedule or plan.  It also means that there's a lot of extra time and work.
3. The vfx company is reluctant or unable to ramp up more workers to handle the additional work or changes. There’s an added cost to getting more workers (training, workstations, etc). The thin margins and changing delivery schedules makes it difficult to always anticipate the correct ramp up speed.  At larger shops this results in people being pulled from other shows to put out this emergency fire on this production.  Which in turn causes that other project to have scheduling problems and require more overtime and big shift of workers.  This turns into a state of constant crisis management rather than preplanning.

RESULTS
Workers are burnt out and become less productive.
The extra overtime is tough on the workers home life and health.
The number of mistakes and errors increases dramatically.
The cost to the vfx company skyrockets.  How much of that is passed on to the studios depends on the company and the situation.
The end of a project can become more of a recovery than a vacation.
In the end there is a much higher cost of doing the work and the quality usually suffers as a result.

FUTURE
Studios are spreading the work over more companies in an attempt to reduce glitches caused by changes and the limited time.
As long as it doesn’t affect the actual release date of a movie this will continue to be the new standard approach.

SOLUTIONS
1. Ideally the studios would allocate sufficient time to do the job right.  Rather than relying on the linear time it took on the last project the studio should use the actual man time required and then calculate the required linear time if those were normal days.
2. The vfx companies should be realistic with themselves and the studios as to how much work they can get done in a certain period of time.
3. The vfx companies need to plan for a ramp up and monitor the situation before it gets out of control.
4. If post-production were treated a little more like production it's might be possible to reduce the number of changes and overtime. The studios could have a post person whose job it is to truly keep things moving and have hard schedules.  When shooting a film there is the 1st assistant director, the producer and the production manager (among others).  Part of their job is making sure everything that needs to get shot is actual shot in the given amount of time. There is a schedule for the number of shooting days and each sequence and set has a given number of days. The director and crew have to get so many setups a day in order to keep on schedule. The director is strongly encouraged to stay on schedule and adjustments are made if the time starts slipping. Pages in the scripts or sequences may be reduced or eliminated if they are slipping too far behind schedule.  Decisions have to be made and they have to move on.  A director gets the best take he/she can in the time available and then has to move on to the next shot. Almost none of this exists in post-production. Shooting can go over schedule but it’s based on the director and project and has to be fully approved.

There may be a schedule for locked sequences, vfx turnovers, vfx finals, etc but the only true hard date is when the film has to be completed to be printed or duplicated and shipped throughout the world. With the advent of digital, directors and executives have the opportunity to keep changing everything until the last possible moment. It’s great to have full creative freedom but as with the live action shoot, decisions have to be made as shots progress in order to work efficiently with limited time.  Right now it’s like trying to complete construction on a house while the floor plan is still being changed a day before it goes on the market.  It’s hard to set the pipes and lay the carpet if the floor plan isn’t locked down.


OVERTIME PAY
This is related to the overtime problem. 40-hour weeks are the standard workweek for most people. Salaries are usually based on this type of work week. Additional time above and beyond this is typically paid at a higher rate.  This is usually 1 ½ times for each hour between 8-12 hours and 2 times for hours after 12.  This in fact is mandated by law under most conditions in the U.S.  The added increase is to try to reasonably compensate the worker for the extra time and effort.  It also encourages a company to hire the correct number of people to do the work.  If it was the same rate there’d be no incentive for companies not to work their people 12 hours or more a day.

But a number of vfx workers are not paid overtime.  VFX supervisors, producers and even CG supervisors, dept managers and leads are frequently considered ‘managers’ and are therefore ‘salaried’ employees.   They are on a flat weekly rate which doesn’t change if they work 40 hours or 90 hours. Same holds true for many ‘independent contractors’ a vfx company may hire.  The more time someone with a flat rate works, the less they make per hour.  Even when these people work the same hours side by side with other employees, they may take home less pay since the other employees may be getting true overtime pay.

Anytime someone is paid on a flat there’s the incentive from management to get their money’s worth and work them long hours or 6-7 day work weeks.  The expected slow time at the start of the project never occurs.

RESULT
It’s bad enough being burned out from long hours and long workweeks but it’s doubly difficult when you don’t get paid to do so.

Some vfx companies try to put as many people on as managers or independent contractors to avoid paying overtime.  This lowers their costs.

FUTURE
This will continue as long as it’s in management’s advantage.

SOLUTIONS
1. Make sure in your deal memo you know how you’re being paid and how overtime is being handled.
2. When given the choice of jobs or companies, choose ones that pay overtime.
3. If you are being asked to work on a flat make sure to calculate the real rate based on real hours you expect to work, not what the company optimistically thinks.
4. If you’re asked to work as independent contractor please review the VES Independent contractor guidelines.  Few regular vfx workers truly fall in this category.  It’s also not your option or the company’s option.  It’s based on the IRS Classification.
5. The more people who work for a vfx company without overtime pay, the more likely you will see a lot of overtime work.  With no cost penalty there’s no incentive for the company to be smarter about scheduling or reducing overtime.
6. VFX companies could do the right thing and correctly classify people and avoid shortcuts or mismanagement.
7. The Union makes sure the overtime rates are clearly laid out and are enforced. They also make sure people are not improperly classified as independent contractors or other positions.  Just because you have to oversee people doesn’t mean you control the amount of hours you work. (Usually the excuse to make people salaried managers)


SUMMARY
There are a number of real problems facing the vfx industry and artists. These aren’t all of them but tend to be the highest for most people I talk to.

Rather than building coffins, let’s start building a better industry now.  Pass me a nail.

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Using the Nail