The doomsday stories of visual effects houses closing have been abundant with the recent closure of Cafe FX in Santa Monica. These stories generally circulate around the buzzwords "profit margin" and "globalization". In statements regarding the closure of CafeFX and Asylum, these points were used as the core reason for the studio closures.
In my post on Cafe FX closure, I postulated the following in the comments:
The global marketplace and current economic climate aren't reasons that effects shops are closing. Change is inevitable, the mettle and desire to deal with it is what wanes.
So, imagine my surprise when I read that my theory may be correct.
In a recent press release by David Cohen of Variety, Gravity Effects announced the opening of a Los Angeles visual effects office. Randall Hand commented about it on his VizWorld site. This is one of a few press releases made this year of the opening of visual effects shops in Los Angeles.
If the industry is collapsing around us and work is fleeing Los Angeles at the maximum speed possible on the 405, how in the name of good business could a company want to establish itself here in the City of Angles? The answer is simple: the work is here because the studios and the talent are here.
I'm not arguing that there aren't talented artists elsewhere in the world. When a studio has to establish a pipeline that stretches across oceans, costs increase and feasibility decreases. While subsidies help soften the blow, having the work done locally where modifications can be made quickly is always a priority that wants to be satisfied. Thus, local studios have a greater chance of succeeding in our tumultuous climate that is believed to be possible.
In the spirit of continuing to offer a counter point to the FUD arguments submitted regarding the downfall of visual effects in our fair burg, I'll be glad to keep up with such announcements and share them with you here.
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3 comments:
You are correct, sir!
The work is here and there will always be eager, young talent ready to take it on.
Cafe FX always underbid, did so-so work and worked the artists to death with out paying for room and board in Santa Maria. Their Sant Monica office was just to support Sant Maria and the writing on the wall of their demise has been there a long time.
Asylum was a top notch shop that was always underwater because they were so bent on having the latest technology no matter the cost. It's a shame, they were well run, did killer work and treated artist with respect.
There is many small boutiques that have been doing the same work for far cheaper since the recession hit. That's one of the main reasons the bigger shops are closing.
Now if T.A.G was there none of this would've happened, and they would get all their overtime.
Floyd,
You're reply at the top should read as follows:
"You are correct, sir!
The work is here and there will always be eager, young talent to exploit. "
:)
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