Author: pIXELsHAM.com

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”