Category: ves

https://entertainmentbusinessleague.com/2023-state-of-the-industry-market-report-for-above-the-line-creatives-writers-directors-producers-actors/

“The Federal Trade Commission has accused the leading video game developer of manipulating young players into unintentional purchases, illegally collecting personal information of kids under the age of 13, and endangering children by connecting them with strangers in its hugely successful ‘Fortnight’ game.”

https://www.awn.com/news/epic-games-pay-record-520-million-settle-ftc-charges-over-child-privacy-and-player-manipulation

https://www.televisual.com/news/cinesite-group-secures-235m-funding-package/

The Cinesite Group has agreed a new long term financial arrangement that ensures our ability to continue supporting our talent and customers across the world, which is a massive vote of confidence for the talent working within all the studios and what has been built within the Cinesite group

• Structure your learning time
• Consistency
• Retention
• Mental health
• Don’t feel intimidated
• Don’t feel rushed
• Be kind
• Luck is when preparation meets opportunity

https://thestreamable.com/news/former-warnermedia-ceo-streaming-wars-will-produce-multiple-business-casualties-in-coming-years

“In this scenario, no more than three global entertainment companies are likely to attain the streaming-service scale required—300 million global subscriptions at an average of $15 per month—to generate attractive cash flows.”

Kilar made sure to note that he believes that Prime Video and Apple TV+ are exempt from this vision, as those streamers are both tied to giant tech and commerce companies with multiple revenue streams.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/nickelodeon-production-workers-union-drive-1235275241/

“With a union, Nickelodeon production workers say they are attempting to boost wages — which several claimed Monday are currently untenable for those living in the Los Angeles area — and lower healthcare costs. “The current pay gap for production roles makes it near impossible to survive in Los Angeles. Many of us have taken the shame of asking our parents for money so we can pay rent and eat,” says production coordinator Ryan Brodsky said in a statement. “We’re working full time for one of the largest corporations on earth and there’s no reason that our parents should be funding this multi-billion dollar corporation.”

CG asset production coordinator Minh-Chau Nguyen added that “many” colleagues have attempted to earn more by taking on side jobs, working more overtime, taking out loans or asking friends and family for help. “This unsustainable model of working more for less needs to end now. With voluntary recognition from Nickelodeon, my hope is that the future generation of production workers can focus on building their career instead of worrying about unlivable wages, work-life imbalance, and inadequate benefits.”

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/movie-effects-company-technicolor-now-144937131.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/vfx/comments/yyn1kx/the_buzzards_are_circling_technicolor/

“The increasingly bleak financial outlook of Technicolor Creative Services, parent company to MPC, Mikros and The Mill was announced by top execs on a hastily arranged shareholder conference call this week. In the call, TCS’s CEO and COO admitted that several factors are contributing to a much lower earnings forecast for 2022 than previously expected.

Among the reasons given was “persistent attrition” among employees. It was estimated by the execs that around 30% of employees at Technicolor had left in 2022 alone. Many of these employees include senior level creatives and sales workers responsible for drawing in big accounts at Hollywood movie studios.

The loss of senior level employees has also caused “efficiency” at the company to plummet to an estimated 50% with the reasoning given by execs being that less experienced employees left over at the company are now having to pick up the slack from the workers who quit. In other words, it now takes twice as many people to do the same work as before. Conditions, in the words of the COO, are “not improving.”

Reduced “efficiency” has also led to significant cost overruns on multiple shows, and has also resulted in missed deadlines for clients’ projects. In the call, execs lamented that missed deadlines have also caused their clients to reduce the amount of work awarded to MPC as their confidence in MPC’s ability to deliver has been diminished.

Trying to keep things positive, the execs mentioned that their strategy for 2023 would include a greater focus on KPIs (key performance indicators), although they declined to discuss them in detail, and a bigger push of work to India, despite the fact that India is already where a majority of their work is now done.”

https://hitmarker.net/career-advice/the-complete-list-of-gaming-esports-jobs

More job postings here: https://www.pixelsham.com/2020/10/17/animation-vfx-game-industry-job-postings-by-chris-mayne/

https://variety.com/2022/artisans/news/sony-pictures-entertainment-acquires-vfx-company-pixomondo-1235413544/

“Under the deal, Sony has acquired 100% of Pixomondo. The company will continue to be led by CEO Jonny Slow, who will now report to Ravi Ahuja, Chairman of Global TV Studios and SPE Corporate Development.

It will maintain three LED soundstages and seven offices in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Canada.”

Patrick McIntire
Motion Picture Producer at Universal Pictures & Part Time Instructor at UCLA

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/patrick-mcintire-0b442367_so-how-much-real-money-does-a-25-million-activity-6985358681626357760-MY1G/

“So how much real money does a $25 million film that grosses $100 million at the box office make? Not nearly as much as you think…

First off, the exhibitor (theatre chain) takes 50% on average of the box office receipts. So now your $100 million is down to $50 million. Then there’s the distribution fee, which domestically averages about 30% (in this case, about $15 million). This brings your $50 million down to about $35 million. But we’re not done yet…

P&A (marketing) averages roughly the same amount as the budget of the film worldwide, or about 60% of the budget domestically (US). This varies depending upon the performance of the project. But we’ll use the average (60% of $25 million (the budget) is $15 million). This is then taken from the $35 million, taking you down to $20 million roughly. A far cry from the advertised $100 million gross.

If the project was privately financed (equity investor or investors), they get first monies in and first monies out. At a $25 million investment, the remaining monies go directly to the investors. Leaving $0 initially for producers. Yes, ancillary rights will make up the losses (cable, streaming, airlines, etc.), but this is to show how a movie’s box office claims are not as they appear. Studio films with larger budgets see much higher costs and often don’t turn a profit at all. Profit sharing (backend) can be next to nothing if the film is a bomb. This is just an example and only takes into account domestic box office. But it’s meant to show how misleading a film’s advertising that claims $100 million at the box office can be. Gross receipts are exciting to share. Net receipts? Not so much.”

Comments:
“this equation needs add the variable that in the majority of studio film and tv projects, the taxpayers of the municipality where the production is based and posted pay up to 40% of the cost of the production in the form of a rebate and other financing incentives while the profits on the movie are taxed in another location usually chosen to minimize tax liability.“

https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/bbc-itv-channel-4-pact-strawberry-blonde-1235395993/

“With inflation hitting record levels, a looming energy crisis and rising interest rates, the whole of the U.K. has been left reeling. But for the domestic television industry, which was already dealing with a post-COVID skills shortage and industry-wide inflation prompted by the streaming wars, the situation has now become critical.”

“According to latest figures from the British Film Institute, U.K. production will require over 20,000 additional full-time employees by 2025”

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-fair-use-definition

“If you produce YouTube content or do any work with intellectual property or copyrighted material, then a thorough understanding of fair use copyright law may be absolutely vital.”

“Fair Use is a branch of copyright law relating to the reuse and reproduction of copyrighted material.”

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/kim-jung-gi-death-cec/index.html

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disneys-price-hikes-usher-in-era-of-the-not-so-cheap-ad-tier-1235200218/

“When Disney+’s ad tier launches, in December, it will cost U.S. customers $7.99 a month, the current price of the service’s ad-free tier. The price of the no-ads version will be hiked to $10.99.”

This is balanced out by the company’s plan to keep the rate of content spending for all its platforms at around $30 billion for the next few years and its measured revision of subscriber goals. “It now looks like Disney+ is tracking towards tightened and trimmed sub guidance, while the ad-supported tier + price increases + content rationalization = a much improved long-term profit outlook,” Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall wrote in an Aug. 11 note.