Category: ves

https://www.vulture.com/2023/06/vfx-artists-in-hollywood-push-for-union-amidst-wga-strike.html

The CGI in The Little Mermaid was criticized for having an uncanny and soulless look. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was called out for lackluster visual effects. So much of what we see onscreen relies on computer-generated imagery, and it costs a lot of money to make. So why does it often look so bad?

Vulture’s Chris Lee explains there is a long list of reasons: a lack of qualified workers, directors with limited visual-effects experience, and studios such as Marvel overworking and underpaying. “It’s an unsustainable business model,” he tells Into It, “and I’m told over and over again by not knowing what they want, and by overworking these employees, it’s basically a race to the bottom. The films decline in quality, and the fans revolt.”

https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/at-work/disastrous-experiment-real-reason-behind-hated-return-to-work-push/news-story/6f377ea396388a531de6cedf89936fe5

“I think the push in some quarters to get everyone back into the office for the majority of the time is being driven by two factors.

The first one is concern about commercial property values.

The second is a peculiar harking back by some managers to a 1950s Theory X approach. Theory X assumes that all workers are lazy, must be watched at all times and need to be directed and controlled in order to work.”

https://variety.com/2023/film/global/cinesite-majority-stake-andy-serkiss-the-imaginarium-1235621547

https://www.ilm.com/bill-george-rotj/

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/10/business/disney-earnings/index.html

“Disney+ and its other two services, ESPN+ and Hulu, together trimmed losses by $228 million, or 13%, from a year earlier to $659 million. The improvement from the previous quarter was even greater, as it trimmed losses by nearly $400 million from $1.1 billion.

Disney did it with a 2% drop in subscribers for Disney+ to 157.8 million, and a 1% drop in subscribers overall, when including ESPN+ and Hulu in subscription totals. It was able to trim losses with fewer subscribers through higher subscription revenue and a decrease in marketing costs, partially offset by higher programming and production costs. “

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65553932

https://jobvfx.com/

https://www.vfxvoice.com/vfx-industry-growth-globalization-and-change/

“The number of productions globally is now being rationalized to the reality of what can be produced. Demand was outstripping supply to such an extent that it was actually becoming unsustainable. What we are seeing now is more of a sensible and sustainable approach to content creation, and it is finding equilibrium – which is a good thing. There is still growth, but it is a lot more structured and sustainable.”

“VFX global market revenue will climb from $26.3 billion in 2021 to $48.9 billion in 2028”

“Demand for VFX looks likely to continue, though there is still the challenge of delivering the work within budgets and compressed schedules at a time of rising costs, particularly of labor.”

“The biggest challenge to our industry is bringing in the next generation and providing them with training and opportunities to succeed. Many of us were able to get a break somewhere or discover the potential for a career in VFX thanks to technical training or personal connections.”

https://www.dpreview.com/news/5901145460/dpreview-com-to-close

Dear readers,

After nearly 25 years of operation, DPReview will be closing in the near future. This difficult decision is part of the annual operating plan review that our parent company shared earlier this year.

The site will remain active until April 10, and the editorial team is still working on reviews and looking forward to delivering some of our best-ever content.
Everyone on our staff was a reader and fan of DPReview before working here, and we’re grateful for the communities that formed around the site.

Thank you for your support over the years, and we hope you’ll join us in the coming weeks as we celebrate this journey.

Sincerely,
Scott Everett
General Manager – DPReview.com

https://www.skwigly.co.uk/bomper-studio-4-day-work-week/

Welsh CGI and Animation studio, Bomper Studio, has made a progressive move and has voted to stick with a 4-day work week after a successful trial.

Bomper Studio is fully self-funded, which has been incredibly important in providing freedom to shape the company and its business practices. Over the past 4 years, Bomper has consistently spent a quarter of its revenue on Research and Development.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/ronshevlin/2023/02/06/the-hypocrisy-of-layoffs-at-google-microsoft-and-paypal/

“These companies chose to blame thousands of people for a problem that was specifically created by their execs. The same people writing crocodile-tear-stained layoff letters are the same ones responsible for unrealistic projections, unrealistic spending and unrealistic hiring.”

“With corporate leaders having incentives not to benefit stakeholders at shareholder expense, delegating the guardianship of stakeholder interests to corporate leaders would prove futile. The promise of pluralistic stakeholderism is illusory.”

The Big Tech and big fintech companies aren’t worried about letting people go because when the next up-cycle hits they’ll pay top dollars (of course), but just as importantly, these resources can (nearly) seamlessly “plug and pay” into the tech environments in any of these companies.

“They use the same communication tools, the same programming tools, the same everything. There’s no (or hardly any) onboarding and training time required to get someone up to speed.”

“Without the need to spend months (weeks at the least) and untold dollars on training new employees, technology firms are emboldened to just let people go when it’s expedient for them.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/disney-reorganization.html

“On Wednesday, during its quarterly earnings call with investors, Disney also announced it would be cutting $5.5 billion in costs, which will be made up of $3 billion from content, excluding sports, and the remaining $2.5 billion from non-content cuts. Disney executives said about $1 billion in cost cutting was already underway since last quarter.”

https://www.cbr.com/why-old-cgi-better-than-new-movies/

“The visual effects (VFX) industry is a rapidly growing field that plays a significant role in the entertainment industry, particularly in film and television. However, the industry also faces several challenges that can affect the quality and accessibility of visual effects in productions. One major issue facing the VFX industry is the high cost of producing visual effects. The process of creating visual effects can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the use of expensive software and hardware can drive up costs. This can make it difficult for smaller productions and independent filmmakers to afford to use visual effects in their projects.”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/20/business/regal-cinemas-closings/index.html