[ajg1977]

Uhh, no. The last thing the US VFX industry needs right now is to become more expensive.

The problem is not artists being screwed over pay & benefits, the problem is that most VFX shops are struggling to stay in the black, period. In part this is due to overseas competition and expensive bidding processes, but also shops taking on work at or below cost in an effort to keep people employed.

[anigbrowl]

I don't see the contradiction really - if there's pressure to take on work below cost, then what's missing is bargaining power. I am very much not a union guy (I tried on 3 separate occasions to join the SF chapter of IATSE and they refused to even process an application), so I hope the answer is something other than a typical union structure. On the other hand it's become increasingly difficult to make a living as a technical professional in this industry, given the relentless downward pressure on wages.

[ajg1977]

Right, and that lack of bargaining power is because in these days of hefty PCs and standardized software studios can always find other VFX shops, either in the US or abroad, to do a "good enough" job for less.

There's zero chance of requiring studios to only use unionized VFX shops, so unionizing them will simply make them either less competitive (need to charge more to cover guaranteed benefits) or more prone to bankruptcy (cannot meet commitments to workers if there's a shortage of work)

[anigbrowl]

I'm not arguing for unionizing them, although I can't help noting that other unions & guilds manage to negotiate deals with the studios.

What I'm pointing out is that having VFX shops crumble under financial pressure from studios doesn't do the studios any good either. Ultimately it's not about the hardware or software, but about the skill of the people using it. Given that R&H is a leader in its field and still went down, something is wrong with the business model.