The Tragic Truth Behind Hollywood VFX Industry
30.6K views · Published May 20, 2021 · 6:07
In the 1990's, VFX was on the up and up, but few VFX companies existed. This was mainly because of the cost of hardware and software and the cost of constantly renewing it in the rapidly evolving sector was very high. However, VFX paid very well... Like the music in this video?
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Terminator 2 was made in 1991 on a budget of around $100 million and it had 42 VFX shots, which cost $5 million. Men in black 3 was made in 2012 on a budget of $215 million and it had 1214 VFX shots which cost $64 million. Even factoring in complexity issues and technological advances, there is still a massive difference between the 1991 cost of $120,000 per shot, and the 2012 cost of $52,750 per shot.
Built on the sand.
Movies today, are reliant on VFX, whereas in the 90s the VFX shot count would in the hundreds, nowadays it's in the thousands, with many big-budget films pushing the 3000 mark. so you'd think that VFX houses would be popping up all over the place. well... no.
If you look at the actual data, the number of VFX houses that have either shut down, gone bankrupt, or ceased activity in the last 10 years is astounding. Names like Pacific Data Images, Hydraulx VFX, Halo VFX, and MPC Vancouver have all disappeared.
The Truth is that VFX companies aren't making a lot of money, in fact they're lucky to break even, and a yearly profit of just 5% is considered a great year.
No Power.
VFX companies generally have to bid for work, based on the estimated number and complexity of the shots needed, they name a price. The film studio's VFX producer compares the bids to their own estimation and awards the contract to the VFX vendor who's closest, or cheapest.
VFX houses don't get a piece of "the cake", if a film does well, they don't earn more, all they get, if they are lucky enough to be mentioned, is the prestige, which isn't really worth much if you have to bid for every job.
They also have very little power in Hollywood and if they do decided to fight for better pay, they are going up against some of the main studios in Hollywood, who just so happen, to have their own VFX departments: Walt Disney Pictures-ILM and Fox VFX, Columbia Pictures-Sony Pictures Imageworks, etc.
No Voice.
Their names are nearly always last in the credits, They don't receive royalties or acclamation's, but when the movie is Bad, they get the blame.
In 2013 Rhythm and Hues VFX company won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for the film "Life of Pi", now, they no longer exist.
During their Oscar's acceptance speech they complained about "Unfair competition from subsidized and tax exempt studios", their microphone was cut off and they were ushered off the stage.
During Ang Lee's acceptance speech after winning Best Director for the same film, he named and thanked everyone, even the team who built the wave pool, but didn't even mention the VFX team.
No Hope?
So why don't they form a union and force the Studios to pay more. Well, this really is the root of the problem.
Since the demand for VFX has grown, so has the workload.
VFX companies are hard pushed to meet deadlines and so they outsource a lot of their "Grunt" work (mainly rotoscoping and matchmoving).
This meant that a lot of little VFX companies were being started with a few artists and $20,000 worth of hardware.
More VFX companies meant more competition when bidding for work, so they bid lower and outsourced their "Grunt" work to countries with Tax incentives or Cheaper labor.
India has been one of the main benefactors of this trend, their ability to communicate well in English and their hard work and cheap labor rates made them ideal.
Now it seems as Hollywood squeezes VFX budgets even more, the only way to remain competitive is to keep the creative side in the US or UK and outsource the labor to India.
However, India's people are generally hard working and intelligent and many are now working or studying VFX abroad. Should Hollywood keep squeezing the VFX industry, it won't be long until all VFX work is outsourced to India and "The magic of Hollywood" will be made in Bollywood.
What do you think about the future of Hollywood?
let us know in the comments below!
and Please give us a like if you enjoyed this video and subscribe if you want to see more!
Read more here: www.famefocus.com
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/focusfame
Get it on Google Play:► https://bit.ly/2F10vbs ◄
Get it on itunes: ► https://apple.co/2ENGfu9 ◄
Listen on Spotify: ► https://spoti.fi/3boTfCl ◄
Buy it on Amazon: ► https://amzn.to/2QVJZfk ◄
Terminator 2 was made in 1991 on a budget of around $100 million and it had 42 VFX shots, which cost $5 million. Men in black 3 was made in 2012 on a budget of $215 million and it had 1214 VFX shots which cost $64 million. Even factoring in complexity issues and technological advances, there is still a massive difference between the 1991 cost of $120,000 per shot, and the 2012 cost of $52,750 per shot.
Built on the sand.
Movies today, are reliant on VFX, whereas in the 90s the VFX shot count would in the hundreds, nowadays it's in the thousands, with many big-budget films pushing the 3000 mark. so you'd think that VFX houses would be popping up all over the place. well... no.
If you look at the actual data, the number of VFX houses that have either shut down, gone bankrupt, or ceased activity in the last 10 years is astounding. Names like Pacific Data Images, Hydraulx VFX, Halo VFX, and MPC Vancouver have all disappeared.
The Truth is that VFX companies aren't making a lot of money, in fact they're lucky to break even, and a yearly profit of just 5% is considered a great year.
No Power.
VFX companies generally have to bid for work, based on the estimated number and complexity of the shots needed, they name a price. The film studio's VFX producer compares the bids to their own estimation and awards the contract to the VFX vendor who's closest, or cheapest.
VFX houses don't get a piece of "the cake", if a film does well, they don't earn more, all they get, if they are lucky enough to be mentioned, is the prestige, which isn't really worth much if you have to bid for every job.
They also have very little power in Hollywood and if they do decided to fight for better pay, they are going up against some of the main studios in Hollywood, who just so happen, to have their own VFX departments: Walt Disney Pictures-ILM and Fox VFX, Columbia Pictures-Sony Pictures Imageworks, etc.
No Voice.
Their names are nearly always last in the credits, They don't receive royalties or acclamation's, but when the movie is Bad, they get the blame.
In 2013 Rhythm and Hues VFX company won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects for the film "Life of Pi", now, they no longer exist.
During their Oscar's acceptance speech they complained about "Unfair competition from subsidized and tax exempt studios", their microphone was cut off and they were ushered off the stage.
During Ang Lee's acceptance speech after winning Best Director for the same film, he named and thanked everyone, even the team who built the wave pool, but didn't even mention the VFX team.
No Hope?
So why don't they form a union and force the Studios to pay more. Well, this really is the root of the problem.
Since the demand for VFX has grown, so has the workload.
VFX companies are hard pushed to meet deadlines and so they outsource a lot of their "Grunt" work (mainly rotoscoping and matchmoving).
This meant that a lot of little VFX companies were being started with a few artists and $20,000 worth of hardware.
More VFX companies meant more competition when bidding for work, so they bid lower and outsourced their "Grunt" work to countries with Tax incentives or Cheaper labor.
India has been one of the main benefactors of this trend, their ability to communicate well in English and their hard work and cheap labor rates made them ideal.
Now it seems as Hollywood squeezes VFX budgets even more, the only way to remain competitive is to keep the creative side in the US or UK and outsource the labor to India.
However, India's people are generally hard working and intelligent and many are now working or studying VFX abroad. Should Hollywood keep squeezing the VFX industry, it won't be long until all VFX work is outsourced to India and "The magic of Hollywood" will be made in Bollywood.
What do you think about the future of Hollywood?
let us know in the comments below!
and Please give us a like if you enjoyed this video and subscribe if you want to see more!
Read more here: www.famefocus.com
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/focusfame