VFX House Pixomondo Freelancers Angry Over Late Payments →

thewrap.com:

In some cases, workers have ended their contracts early.

 

That is the right thing to do.

I'll bet Pixomondo is next. They took a round of cash not so long ago. The writing is showing up on the wall right about now. The CEO can say whatever he likes but bad management and bad practices are always going to turn out this way.

I hope I am wrong. Pixomodo does really good work, they just have trouble managing it.

Effects Corner: Underbidding Visual Effects →

Scott Squires:

  1. Poor management Many running VFX companies have no business training or background so will make these types of decisions based on a feeling of desperation. They'd rather be bailing water rather than considering fixing the leak. Rather than try to make decisions based on long term issues they are making rash decisions.

Scott is right.

We cannot control the subsidies, what we can control is our poor management. If you continue to have poor management and turn a blind eye, your company will fail. This doesn't just apply to post production. This is true of huge companies that have business models that consist of taking a loss. Amazon is a good example they are making it work right now but one day it will stop working. Amazon will have to change the business model. The only thing different in the Amazon case is that Amazon likely has the publishers right were they want them. Never the less a change will have to happen.

Post companies do not have the studios were we want them. We used too. Much of what we do nobody understands. We need to change that.

The question is what do we do to make this happen. I think it will take the post houses running a good business. Have rock solid management and even better artists. Only take work you can make money on but most importantly take work you will hit out of the park. Make a name for your self. Make smart moves and keep your artists in the loop. Let them know weeks in advance that there isn't work coming in and that they will need to find other work. By doing that you'll find that the artists will be back to work for you when there is work because there was a plan. That way you can keep the artists in sync with your company. You will develop a loyalty with them.

Stop making terrible business decisions just to fix the now. Instant gratification is not a strategy. It doesn't make you a bad employer/business if you don't have work for a couple weeks. What makes you a bad employer Is pretending there is nothing wrong. Address the situation with what is best to keep the company going. Paying a bunch of artists to sit around and do nothing is a very bad idea. Don't do it.

Be honest go above and beyond as an employer you will see a change in the post industry.

Prove me wrong.

Sci-Tech Oscars – 14 under consideration →

Mike Seymour:

The Scientific and Technical Awards Committee of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today that 14 scientific and technical achievements have been selected for further awards consideration.

 

Some of the most exciting and important parts of film making.

Shooting the film lasted only 64 days.... →

Shooting the film lasted only 64 days. Post-production, due to the heavy special effects, required 68 weeks.

 

Shocking. The only good parts of that movie was the 68 weeks part. The rest was terrible.

fxphd postgrad Ryan Summers →

Ian Failes: 

Motion graphics artist Ryan Summers is an fxphd postgrad (“postgrad” is what we call our members). He started with the first semester of fxphd in 2006 and is now on staff at the legendary creative studio Imaginary Forces. His most recent work can be seen in the main on end titles in Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim. We asked Summers about how he got to where he is and how he thinks students can make the most out of fxphd.

 

It's great to hear stories of artists ending up right where they wanted to be, working on the projects they wanted. Not just working to make money.