Category: ves
Pixar Canada shuts its doors in Vancouver
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2013/10/08/pixar-canada-shuts-its-doors-in-vancouver/
Is the Australian VFX industry on borrowed time?
http://mumbrella.com.au/australian-vfx-industry-borrowed-time-178134
With foreign tax subsidies under scrutiny in the US, is Australia’s VFX industry in danger of losing its biggest clients? Lee Zachariah investigates.
Indian animation industry caught in cleft stick
There are 20 big and 250-300 smaller players in the animation industry in AP. But 35-40% of studios call it quits every year with quality work being lost to China, Malaysia and Indonesia. Problems faced by the industry * Capital intensive: High production costs, thanks to expensive software and equipment, high VAT and service taxes * Power woes: Unhindered power supply difficult due to state’s power crunch * Lack of talent: Youths don’t see the gaming and animation industry as a viable career option * Govt not GAME for it: The government’s Gaming, Animation, Media and Entertainment (GAME) policy has been in the proposal stage for long
RIP Ray Harryhausen
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/may/07/ray-harryhausen-dies
Interview with Luma Picture’s Payam Shohadai
“I had employees to care about. I never wanted to let them down”
http://www.fastcompany.com/3008885/one-companys-secret-to-thriving-in-a-crumbling-industry
UK Passes "Instagram Act"
http://yro.slashdot.org/story/13/04/29/177203/uk-passes-instagram-act
“The UK govt passed the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act which effectively makes so-called ‘orphaned’ content posted on social media sites public domain. Corporations now only need to have made a “diligent search” to find the owner of the content before use. From the article: ‘The Act contains changes to UK copyright law which permit the commercial exploitation of images where information identifying the owner is missing, so-called “orphan works”, by placing the work into what’s known as “extended collective licensing” schemes. Since most digital images on the internet today are orphans – the metadata is missing or has been stripped by a large organization – millions of photographs and illustrations are swept into such schemes.'”
The 40 Hour Work Week
In my experience, a 40 hour work week is a benchmark of the most effective teams. They have work-life balance. They have buffer to respond to opportunity and to deal with crunches.
http://motionographer.com/2011/10/12/worklife-the-40-hour-work-week/
To The Members Of The VES From Jeffrey A. Okun
It has been just over one month since our industry reached what I called a “tipping point,” which intensified on the heels of the Oscars. In an effort to be responsive to a beleaguered community and sincerely offer our leadership, we issued an open letter calling for increased subsidies in California and a public VFX Congress. In the days and weeks since then, visibility on the changing visual effects industry has increased dramatically. And during that time, we have received a good deal of feedback on our suggestions – both positive and negative.
Given what we have learned, I want to underscore a few important points:
What’s going on with the troubled VFX industry?
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/03/18/visual-effects-rhythm-and-hues-life-of-pi/
The buzz around the state of the visual effects industry reached a fever pitch this winter when prominent effects house Rhythm & Hues filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in mid-February.
The movement has spurred supporters to change their Facebook and Twitter profile photos to a green box, representing the green screen that would appear in movies were it not for VFX.
VES Advocates For More VFX Subsidies
http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/ves-advocates-for-more-vfx-subsidies/#more-3400
The VES sent a call to action for VFX subsidies in California:
First, we call upon Governor Brown and the State Legislature to immediately expand its tax incentive program for the entertainment industry and to include a focused approach concentrated on the visual effects and post production sectors of the industry.
I disagree with this idea and I’m very disappointed.
An Open Letter to Ang Lee
http://vfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/an-open-letter-to-ang-lee/
Dear Mr. Lee, When asked about the bankruptcy of Rhythm + Hues, the visual effects house largely responsible for making your film “life of Pi” as incredible as it was, you said: “I would like it to be cheaper and not a tough business [for VFX vendors].
VFX law
http://vfxlaw2012.wordpress.com/2013/02/05/organizational-skills/
At one point in my career I was a Visual Effects Producer, and am a current member of the PGA. Is it possible that I am responsible for some companies having gone out of business because I squeezed them too hard on prices? Yes. Is it possible artists lost their job because of the decisions I made? Yes. Is it indeed possible that the visual effects industry finds itself in dire straits with nowhere to turn? Yes.
How do we fix it, and more to the point, can it be fixed?
