Animation Fraud In India

Last year I posted about exploitation of workers at Prime Focus in India. Well now things are starting to snowball with demonstrations and a Facebook page dedicated to exposing expensive VFX and Animation training institutes in India.

I’ve said often that I believe the amount of work going to cheap labor locations like India is overstated.

Below is a statement from the Facebook page:

Ray Harryhausen – Inspiring The Inspirational

VFX Pioneer Ray Harryhausen passed today at age 92. For a blog that focuses on raising the awareness of so many unknown VFX professionals, its rare to write about specific pioneers in the industry. However if you ask almost anyone in the industry, many will tell you how he influenced them to create movie magic. Mr. Harryhausen stands in his own light by inspiring the inspirational.

Soldier On.

Dear Disney

Dear Disney,

I wanted to commend your company after it was revealed in the NY Times that you will not continue to do business with vendors that don’t adhere to certain labor standards after a series of terrible events in Bangladesh.

However, I believe there is more that we can do. For the last few years I’ve written this blog on the visual effects industry and the bad labor practices of many vendors you utilize to create many of your blockbuster films. Let me make it clear that while many of these practices will never come close to what happened in Bangladesh, the events there serve as a catalyst to improve conditions for all workers at the vendors and subsidiaries you work with.

European Commission Investigates Games Subsidies

I know I haven’t been blogging much and I’m sorry. So many things I want to talk about!

The BBC mentions the VFX Soldier blog as the European Commission opens an investigation into the UK’s attempt to subsidize the gaming industry. Once again, this blog has become a presence in arguing against the race to the bottom:

Commission doubts whether:

• aid is necessary to stimulate the production of such video games;
• limiting expenditure for the tax relief to goods or services ‘used or consumed’ in the UK would not be discriminatory;
• offering this type of aid would not fuel a subsidy race between Member States; and
• the proposed cultural test ensures that the aid supports only games with cultural content without leading to undue distortions of competition.

BECTU VFX Meeting Today

BECTU has been looking to organize the VFX industry in the UK. Over 600 people have confirmed to attend the event:

Regent Hall 275 Oxford St
W1C 2DJ
London United Kingdom
Wednesday, 3 April 2013 from 19:00 to 21:30

You can reserve a ticket for the event here:
http://vfxforum.eventbrite.co.uk/

There is a Facebook event page here:
https://www.facebook.com/events/136542529847110/151684668332896/

You can find more info about what BECTU offers here:
http://www.bectu.org.uk/get-involved/campaigns/VFX/blog/2013/03/25/69

https://twitter.com/VFXUnionUK

Variety Reaching Out To Imageworks Employees

It’s fairly common knowledge that management has been coercing employees at Imageworks in Culver City to move to Vancouver or get laid off. Variety’s David S. Cohen wants to hear your story. You can email him (david dot cohen at variety dot com).

I have no problem with people who volunteer to move to Vancouver or where ever they want in the world. What I have an issue with is companies that coerce their employees to take upon tremendous costs of displacement so US Studios can obtain a government bribe, only to be left out once another government offers a larger deal. We saw this happen last year with Imageworks New Mexico.

Soldier On.

#SaveBCFilm’s Unlikely Foe: Visual Effects?

For the last few months film workers in British Columbia formed a group called #SaveBCFilm which protested the film industry’s exodus to Ontario and Quebec which offer significantly larger subsidies.

This week events culminated with a delivery of 30,000 signatures from #savebcfilm asking for larger subsidies and a meeting where BC’s Finance Minister basically asking Ontario to stop the race to the bottom:

“Calling these things ‘tax credits’ is a bit misleading … they are subsidized incentives,” B.C. Finance Minister Mike de Jong told the Star on Tuesday.

“They’re playing the taxpayers off one against the other,” de Jong said after a meeting with Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa in Toronto.

“The first step is to stop being whipsawed for one another because that’s just crazy.”

That statement by Mike de Jong is a stunning endorsement of the argument this blog as made for quite a while. The money offered to studios are not tax credits, they are subsidies costing over $300 million dollars a year which US studios look to game against other locations in a race to the bottom.

The Mill TV Closed & Imageworks LA Layoffs

The Mill TV Closed

The Mill announced it will be closing it’s TV VFX division. Back in 2002 The Mill announced it would exit the volatile market of VFX for films. There’s a very good interview with an exec for the Mill about their reasons for exiting VFX for film and focusing on commercials instead (paywalled unfortunately).

Imageworks LA Layoffs

Layoffs are nothing new to the industry but VFX Solidarity broke news of a number of layoffs at Sony Pictures Imageworks. What makes this round particularly notable is that this was mostly long-term supervisory and senior talent. According to VFX pro Thad Beier:

Reports of extensive layoffs at Sony Culver City today. I have heard that they have been “strongly encouraging” everybody to move to Vancouver…

And The Rhythm & Hues Auction Winner Is…

Prana Studios:

Variety - Prana wins auction for Rhythm & Hues

Hollywood Reporter - Prana to Acquire Rhythm & Hues

Deadline - UPDATE: Prana Studios Wins Rhythm & Hues Auction

LA Times - Rhythm & Hues sold to Indian buyer

WSJ - Winner Emerges in Rhythm & Hues Bankruptcy Auction

Rhythm & Hues Taiwan

There’s been a ton of news on the Rhythm & Hues situation and these days I can’t even keep up. One of the surprising stories is about Rhythm & Hues opening in Taiwan while in bankruptcy.

In early 2012, Ang Lee introduced R+H to government officials which led both to announce they would each match a $21 million investment into a film development fund that would help lure US studio work to the region and open a 200-person VFX facility.