A comment in the Incentive post caught my eye ..
Anonymous said...
I know we are not a union signatory but we over here at Imageworks were told last week that they are relocating animation to the Van-f'ing-couver office. The Union artists at Sony Pictures Animation will stay in Culver City but we animators are out. I'm not going to get all political here but something has to be done to stop the studios from just pulling up stakes and leaving town.
Sony Pictures Imageworks isn't union signatory, but as all are aware, Sony Pictures Animation is. So, fact checking that statement wouldn't be a terribly difficult task. Let's assume its correct and Imageworks is shipping work up to Canada to take advantage of the tax incentive opportunities. And why not? Imageworks is in a unique position to really cash in since not only are they the vfx studio, but the producing entity who will directly reap those tasty benefits.
So, it goes to the original point nicely, right? Sure, except history has shown us that sending work out for the paycheck may be more penny wise and pound foolish.
History has also taught us that setting up shop in far-away lands in order to try to make a few bucks can end up costing more than you make. All the planning in the world doesn't hide the fact that these satellite branches don't always return the best product. Then, as opening day gets closer, the work finds its way back home to Supes telling their troops:
Guys, they couldn't hack it so we have to fix it
Who knows how much extra it cost to repair what could have been done right on the first pass? Just salaries alone would be a staggering number, but add operational and logistics on top of that and it gets even worse. Its an easy argument to build that the cost of repairing could easily overtake the Loonies that were taken from hard-working native Vancouver-ites and deposited in the accounts of conglomerate coffers.
The above commenter also insinuated that had the artists of Imageworks voted for union representation some four years ago, he/she wouldn't be facing the loss of a job. While my heart goes out for their plight, I have to disagree with that statement.
As we've learned, language like that is difficult to keep in a contract and costly when forced out. Union studios have satellite locations around the world where artists are furiously working on projects without the benefits of union standards and minimums.
As for Imageworks, we've been told that artists at the time figured they had it good. Management was providing all kind of incentives for them to be happy. Not many wanted to consider the benefits of acting in solidarity to secure a contract that guarantees those benefits in a vehicle they could enforce. The artists voted and the IATSE was not appointed as their bargaining representative. And the lovely benefits and management that promised their longevity went away. And .. we're still here.
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As a Canadian, from what I've heard, Sony Vancouver is handling a big chunk of all their upcoming projects. Including films that aren't vfx, like Hotel T.
Also from what I hear, their wages are much lower than in Culver City and they're getting a big portion of that back from the government. So after the incentive, they're only paying a fraction of what they paid the artists in the US.
There are a lot of studios popping up in Vancouver, to the point where they'll be running out of talent eventually.
Tron, Thor .. and didn't I just hear that Jack was pushed back a year?? Gotta wonder what it cost to fix all that. Maybe I can ask Sony in a year.
Hmmm... I don't think the studios mind sending work to equally talented artist in more cost effective locations than California.
they don't mind but then again they do mind getting the work done. Problem is you don't find out if talent is equal until the project doesn't get done.
I dont think the argument that the talent is equally in Canada vs LA holds water. Sure, there are some, but to say that there are as many talented animators in Vancouver as there are at Dreamworks, Disney, and Sony combined (not to mention the plethora of VFX studios) is unlikely, even after recruiting a ton from there.
If the talent is so equal why are they asking so many artists in LA to move up there?
Please don't bash studios outside of LA and their work. There are many talented people out there that deserve respect for the work they provide. Quality outside of LA has been quickly catching up whether we like it or not (if not already passed us in some instances).
Also, many of the people working overseas or out of state come from LA and the studios here. Their work didn't just suddenly become sub-par because they moved.
Hard to call it an insult when its fact. These incentive studios, staffed by good artists, are turning in work that isn't acceptable or useable. Home studios, most of which happen to be in LA, are then forced to re-do or repair the work.
Why the work from outside isn't acceptable probably stems from a lot of reasons.
^ I respectfully disagree. Studios wouldn't be doing it if they weren't getting the same quality. I don't think you can spot the sequences in puss and boots that were done in india.
I appreciate you being respectful. And you're right, I most likely couldn't.
However, India is not currently offering tax incentives for working in their country. Kinda doesn't fit the argument. I'm not arguing against outsourcing.
I can spot the differences in th Indian animation on puss and boots . But then again, a lot of time and money was spent FIXING it here. I know. I fixed a LOT of it.
Corporations in the U.S. paid only an average of 12.1 percent in taxes on the profits they earned inside the U.S in fiscal 2011, according to statistics from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
The Wall Street Journal reports that it's the lowest percentage corporations have paid on those profits since at least 1972, and it's less than half of the 25.6 percent they paid on average between 1987 and 2008.
Corporations saw their profits, however, reach an all-time high at the end of 2010. The $1.68 trillion in annualized profits in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 beat the previous record of $1.65 trillion in the third quarter of 2006.
As more Americans help set up the overseas shops for large studios those shops will get better. Many professionals are training them right now. I personally have a problem with that practice but in these terrible economic times everyone has to do what they need to I guess. I still pass.
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