Sony Imageworks VFX Artists Talking Union

COMMENTS (11)

• Interesting. Although the artists that need unionization most are the real freelance VFX artists that work on top films jumping from VFX sequence to VFX sequence at smaller facilities that don’t get any sort of health insurance and are many times contracted to work for day rates that stay the same whether it be an 8 hour day or 20 hour day and rarely get credited in the films or on imdb. While Sony cut a ton of staff artists two years back, at least they usually give 6 month contracts and health insurance. And their artists actually end up in the credits on most shows. I’d much prefer a loose VFX union that is primarily set up to guarantee pro artists that work consistently to have continuous health insurance through a collective group, ie the union, and that makes sure labor practices are kosher at various union accredited facilities. Union shows (studio films and other films with real budgets) should only work with houses that are accredited by the union whether or not those studios use 100% staffed with union artists. Union artists should also be able to work wherever they want without having to “cross” union lines to feed themselves. This is a health insurance issue and a labor practice issue. A “union” needs to protect both the artist but also the small facilities as opposed to the model that existed in the past that it protects members and holds the industry hostage to only use those members. That will never work in VFX since new up and comers are constantly becoming the breakout stars that are pushing the industry technically and artistically. Something that shouldn’t get broken by unionization. And new blood will always drive prices down since they are trying to break in, yet when they do, bring them into the fold of legitimacy. No different with actors etc. The key is getting the big Studios and the VFX houses to break the new “rule/cycle” of flat bidding projects and not enforcing change orders to protect “future” business. This is why vfx producers and houses push to take advantage of labor, because as shows drag on, some of them are forced to either lose money on the job, or barely break even from fear of never getting another big show again if they push back for more money on “small” but insanely time consuming and costly change orders for the facility based on changes in directions, shot composition or realization that plates were more problematic once they come in and are being worked on. If VFX houses were paid more like Color houses for their time and expertise rather than by shot, we wouldn’t be having these problems. But “flat bidding” shows is the core problem that dominoes down the line. If they would address these core issues first, the labor issues would become less problematic. They also need to lobby congress to make VFX immigration smoother. ILM, MPC and others are setting up studios oversee in places like Singapore that are actually as high or higher cost of living than LA, because putting together a senior pro freelance international VFX team is very difficult in LA without holding onto a huge staff during the lean months.

  Comment by comersuerte — Thursday April 19, 2012 @ 11:40pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Should the employees at SPI decide to form a union, the end result will be even more work outsourced to China, India, etc.

  Certainly, there are problems within the visual effects industry. These problems are systemic. They will not be resolved in the short or long term without a well thought out, realistic and unified approach.

  And, unfortunately to date, ‘well thought out, realistic and unified approach’ has yet to be embraced by the many fighting to be “The Voice” of this industry.

  Comment by FTCS — Friday April 20, 2012 @ 7:35am PDT  Reply to this post

  • The simple fact is that if VFX houses cannot make a profit without exploiting their workers then they have one of two choices. Either go out of business, or stop letting the studios and producers push them around. And if this drives all of the VFX work overseas on account of lower labor costs and less regulation, then unfortunately, that is just the way the free market system operates.

    Comment by Reality Check — Friday April 20, 2012 @ 10:58am PDT  Reply to this post

  • You are mistaken. sure some entry level tasks are outsourced but if they COULD do it all in india they would have done so 5 years ago. Its very obvious that they are big communication barriers and the professional mindset over there is not yet ready to work creatively on their own to western standards. the more they get trained the better they will be but its not the main thread.

    Comment by AJ — Saturday April 21, 2012 @ 2:55pm PDT  Reply to this post

• If the vote fails, I think IATSE may back away from any more attempts at unionizing VFX workers for another long stretch. After all, if they can’t organize at Sony, they will never be able to organize the labor at smaller companies. Hope the vote doesnt fail – good luck, SPI workers! Get this ball rolling!

  Comment by george_kaplan — Friday April 20, 2012 @ 10:11am PDT  Reply to this post

  • Im not sure this is true, keep in mind you need a majority vote (more than half of the employees need to want to unionize) for IATSE to get called in. At sony that could mean 250 people. but it could be 10 people at a small shop.

    Comment by AJ — Saturday April 21, 2012 @ 2:56pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Its about time!

  Comment by sean — Friday April 20, 2012 @ 12:05pm PDT  Reply to this post

• I agree. VFX is going overseas. There’s no point in unionizing now.

  Comment by Ozzi — Friday April 20, 2012 @ 3:14pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • What a pathetic fatalist attitude.

    Comment by pixelmixer — Friday April 20, 2012 @ 5:55pm PDT  Reply to this post

  • I hear they make a great ford f-150 knock off in china. maybe ford should just close down too.

    Comment by woody — Friday April 20, 2012 @ 7:11pm PDT  Reply to this post

• Majority of Union haters have never worked for poverty wages; don’t know what it’s like to continually have their jobs; mortgages; families’ welfare taken away over and over again.

  They just simply do not know what it’s like to walk in anothers’ footsteps. If they did…they wouldn’t be on such a bandwagon to outsource any work to overseas…where the workers and their families are treated even worst.

  I guess for these studio execs and their studios owned and run by multi national global corporations…the idea that costs cutting union wages and health benefits will do more for their bottom line profit margins…than touching “star” and directors and producer
  wages in the millions — as well as their gross points.

  How a multi million dollar budget live action movie or animated movie’s success is dependent on cutting union benefits…is beyond me. I just don’t get it anymore.

  Comment by MARK GEORGEFF — Saturday April 21, 2012 @ 1:37pm PDT  Reply to this post