VFX r u ok? Why It Feels Like the End of VFX

This was much needed to hear.Thought i was losing my mind .
Nailed it buddy

I’m confused by the argument…

Protesting against unfair work expections for poor pay is something that requires regulation, I agree.

But you’re upset the work isn’t creative enough? Man… that’s not the job. You want to go make something creative, do it off the clock.

Actually thought that was a real book 😂

Imagine working 12hrs a day, basically 7 days a week in a dark, cold studio in Toronto and after finally getting all your shots done, and approved by client...The client sends them all back a few days later because they want want Tom Hiddleston's hairline to be artificially lowered ad his body bulked up because he looks too small next to Chris Hemsworth. I will NEVER stop being bitter about that and it has been 8 years🥲

I left VFX years ago after seeing our director and VFX producer take down an entire vendor due to constant changes, pixel f-ing, the works. I morally couldn't handle being a part of something that was taking advantage of so many people (vendor AND production side), and ultimately, I could not get behind working under above-the-line cowards who didn't have the guts to tell a director or producer "no, that's not in the budget". I get why that is an issue and that vendors don't want to lose out on work. However, it's an unhealthy toxic and oppressive culture. On a personal note, what aggravated me most was new directors who hadn't a vision or clue of what they wanted--just "fix it in post". You can't fix what was sh*t in the first place, bud.

Honestly, as a graphic designer i can relate to parts of the pixel fking as well. Seeing the people in charge break their heads trying to find something wrong with your design, then very nonchalant brief you what they want in a couple words and come back angry that you didn’t do it exactly like they had in mind. It’s demoralising to say the least. I really hope there’s change coming, but with ai getting better, i think it’ll only get worse because people will think they can have even more controll because changes are made so easily.

i just entered the industry as a lighting artist (in AAA games though, which many consider to be in a somewhat comparable awful state management-wise) and had an art director who was just like that. provided concepts that didnt tell us anything, could only tell us what he didnt want instead of what he actually wants. it was an awful experience and heavily discouraged me in my choice of profession. i left the company by now and am on the lookout for a new job at a smaller studio, but the direction the industry is currently heading makes me doubt my future in this field (+a lack of junior positions in VFX overall at the moment)

That dude spitting out facts, come guys, we can do it, we can survive til the resurgence!

The overall economy is fine. Not sure why you think it’s struggling. Just because people aren’t going to see movies as much? There are other reasons.

Yoo the green man is awesome!
Simplicity is great sometimes

Unionize

Great video! This got shared in a couple of ILM chats today, quite a few people agreed. I just started in the industry and this video is very accurate to what I've seen so far. Too much unnecessary revision pushing projects months later than they need to be

Damn Phil Tippet, I can hear my clients speak...

VFX artist are like stunt people in a sense of treating. That is sad.

You nailed it 100% with this video. I've been working in vfx for 20 years now, wondering if it's time to get out.

VFX is not dead, but I personally am getting really tired and bored of VFX being the main protagonist in movies. VFX should play a supporting role, it shouldn’t be all about VFX. Yes that was all good in the 90s, but it’s time to get back to good storytelling, acting and cinematography, where VFX is invisible. Most modern movies look like game cut scenes and trailers, more CGI than anything else. People are getting tired of it. even my kids prefer older movies now

Enshitification is quickly spreading across all industries.

Ironically, a CGI (computer generated imagery) artist was one of the professions I used to aspire to, once. There are a minority of niche cases where I view CGI as appropriate; but for the most part, it has always represented a truly degenerate betrayal of cinema as an art form, which has been primarily engaged in for the same reason that AI is being turned to by the film industry now. Namely, that the psychopathic corporate vermin who run the film industry, want to maximise profit, while minimising both labour and responsibility. CGI was the first major form of technology that really allowed them to do that; language models are becoming the second.

When your entire goal for adopting CGI is that it will enable you to produce the cinematic equivalent of instant ramen, we should hardly be surprised that the results are bad. That was always completely predictable. Yes, you have your small handful of auteurs like Cameron and Spielberg who would still do the same amount of work regardless, and can therefore be relied on to incorporate CGI as a legitimate tool in the production of great art; but they have always been a vanishingly small minority, and they always will be. CGI being used to contribute to the hedge funds of vulture capitalists is the rule, not the exception.

Little quibble here: You say the laws of supply and demand may "inevitably" drive down wages... over footage of striking workers who ended up largely achieving their demands in opposition to the corporations that are the real cause of declining wages. The really unfortunate thing is that the increase in VFX jobs came during a historically anti-labor time. SAG-AFTRA and WGA are lucky to have organized their workers at a relatively union-friendly time. When the corporate blood suckers attempt to grind down wages and impose discipline on their workers, there is one proven way workers can fight back, and that is to band together and threaten to withhold their labor unless the bosses make it right. It's an uphill fight for VFX workers and that sucks. I hope there's still time.

i think most viewers want to see more very high quality practical effects rather than any quality level of computer generated effects. i'm talking everybody's gotta learn what doug trumble knows, or a lot of us aren't watching. noticing CGI takes the viewer out of their suspension of disbelief and that completely destroys the experience. BR2049 is a prime example, a few spots of noticed CG, especially the rachel clone, was highly disappointing. i still love the movie, but a no CG rachel that only looked SIMILAR to Sean Young would have cleared that right up. so would flying thru balsa wood cities with proper smoke and lighting and no CG overlay.

SPOT ON! 😁 However The current state of affairs in the industry is significantly driven by the greed of many studios. While downtime between shows has always existed, it is now more pronounced, partly due to previous strikes. Unfortunately, many studios have seized this opportunity to reduce staff while continuing to open new facilities and maintain superfluous luxury assets, leaving artists to bear the brunt of these cuts. Additionally, several studios have found various other ways to cut budgets while retaining the talent responsible for the magical shots they proudly showcase during awards and nominations. Anyway topics maybe for another or several other videos in your channel.

Really well done. Do I know your voice from somewhere?

👏👏👏 great video man

In Germany we call it „brotlose Kunst“ (breadless art)

Passionate People getting exploited, it’s horrible.
Maybe it’s better to keep art as a hobby, that way you can express yourself more freely and you might not get jaded or start to hate what you love.

Today I learned:
I am a prompt machine.

It's weird how few people are talking about the US entertainment industry is firebombing itself.

Good video. However I do want to add that at Every studio I worked for during the fixed price bidding is based on a documented "scope of work" if a change is asked for that exceeds the scope of work the client must pay for additional work. This included working on some Marvel Disney+ shows and several feature films. I have worked for over 30 years and have never been not payed for work that wasn't originally agreed upon. In your video it felt like this was over generalized and the Defacto way teh entire industry operates. This isn't true. Yes there are some shops that do this and I have been in meetings where we would look at the scope of what they ask for and see if there is room to "let it slide" but if we allow a few shots when they come back asking for more, we do push back and say we gave you these at no cost, this is a bigger ask, and its going to cost more. Then we either get more for those shots or occasionally they decide to omit the shot.

That Tippet quote about moving furniture hits the spot. I'm not in VFX but it applies to everything. At some point the idea of being an artist with a vision, gets beaten out of you with constant revisions.

We powered through so many economic issues in the past,
Now we faulter?

Gotta let passion win again!

Hey, who else here has so many custom tools, they could release a tool bundle or two if they wanted?
Lets get a couple of us together, bam, instant rnd, pipeline, and tooling, that'll solve most of the issues of starting a new animation company.

What a great and well thought out video on VFX! I think a big turning point was COVID, it woke up a lot of people and made them realize and question why they were sacrificing their lives for an industry that is abusive and doesn't appreciate them. I, for one, decided to leave the industry in 201and move to Austin to start a new life.

the exact same thing has happened in design and ux for web and apps. there is a point where the process eats itself

the process by which the business operates is a disaster. if that’s how these things happen, vfx as a business is a non starter.

Why do I often get a supervisor who knows much less than I do? It's not always the case, and I love to get a supervisor, that I can learn from, but it feels like those people are there, just because they are businessmen (or whatever else) and not real artists. This can sound like I think I'm the best ever, but really no, it's just that this happens a lot, and I'm not sure it is the right job for me...

My advice for aspiring VFX artists - if you plan on one day having a family, I would highly recommend choosing a different career, VFX is not for families.

I thoroughly enjoyed this video, thank you sir

this is why I prefer to stay independent and do all my own vfx work for my films

Studios are absolutely reticent to start anything and it’s still draining what little technicians have in their accounts. My fear is exactly what you pointed out, a possible race to the bottom to stay employed, cutting key elements of workers rights just to get a paycheque

Thank you SO MUCH for this video!! I hope everyone will see this, and I hope everyone even slightly responsible will realize what they are doing. But I have always been a dreamer...

GO INDIE! From content creation to VFX and animation or games: go indie. And work together. Oh and by all means don’t sell your business to those big corporations if you’re successful! This will help progressively on not relying on big studios or big VFX studios to have work and be their slaves. Let them sink. I personally wouldn’t care if there was no more marvel or Disney crap out there for "entertainment". It’s the only way to gain back your power. Go indie even if you’re not producing epic multimillion dollars shows, they are mostly crap anyway. You can make better product than those big lazy risk avoiding corporations, just be aware of that.

Bigger VFX vendors going to be gobbling up all the work again from smaller shops going forward. Things about to get really interesting

Excellent summary and overview of the entire industry. Well done!!! 👏 I'm a Compositor who's been in the VFX industry since 2014 and you nailed it! 🎯

I couldn't agree more with this video. Had clients in the pass where production was a never ending game of "what wrong with this shot" to the point it was very temping to just send the client the same shot with no changes. If they took and approve said 'changes' then it really solidify the fact that they were pixel fucking every aspect of the shots. Hope the best comes to the industry that I love, its unsustainable in the long run.

Chris, this essay was excellent. Perfect encapsulation of the current state of the industry.

I feel you bro.

Basically, every job I’ve ever worked ends up sounding like this after a while 😅 but I’m sorry, VFX artist this sounds miserable