Tired of Keeping Your Head Down? A Modest Proposal...
The calls for the creation of a visual effects union are coming from all quarters, but how do we really go about this and for what purpose? The idea of a union brings to mind a period of time when the American economy was based on industry and the worker realized the importance of his place in the great machine. He then flexed his muscles to assure that he was given an equitable piece of the pie. How have we lost that power? How has that other part of the machinery, “business,” so gotten the upper hand that we are bidding on jobs that we know will cost us more to complete than we make? Add to that the human cost of stunningly difficult hours and circumstances that leave us reeling after delivery and wondering what hit us. Together they combine into a perfect storm of insult and injury. It’s more akin to an addiction than a career.
The simple answer is that business is controlling the economy (and the government) and is satisfied to let the American worker scramble on his way down to match the standards of living of our competitors. We’re talking about matching the standards of living of Chinese and Indian workers here. This is a much larger issue than the film community’s woes. It extends to the rest of the local economy, the country and the world. This is above and beyond the current world situation. The reversal of our present situation must start with us.
For a while we existed on the razor’s edge not knowing what side of the blade our fortunes would fall. Will we be rich or poor? Comfortable or on the street? In this time we are finding out more clearly which direction circumstances will take us. If you’ve managed to hit the golden years of a union, timing your career to start in the late 1970’s and conclude in the early twenty-first century, you’ve hit the sweet spot of the VFX wave. Many and most do not fall into this category. Rather they came later and were swept up in the erosion that followed the boom of computerized imagery. Jurassic Park heralded a gold rush as the multitude of young artists could see a way of entry into the motion picture industry. Motion control and optical printers gave way to Lightwave, Maya, Photoshop and After Effects as the cost of entry into the field plummeted from millions of dollars to mere thousands. Cracked software copies also became available so that many were able to train themselves in the darkness of their own garages and spare bedrooms, sparing many companies the cost of training their workers.
Several groups at different times have attempted to step up and retrieve the work back to California. I recall Gene Warren of Fantasy II and several other VFX professionals occupying a booth at a film equipment expo a few years ago. They were complaining that the incentives offered by Canada were illegal under NAFTA but that the federal government was ignoring the law for whatever reason. There was a petition on a clipboard that you could sign but not many signed it. They even took it so far as to launch a lawsuit in federal court but to no avail. People avoided Gene as if he was a member of the John Birch Society (which is really a stretch if you have any knowledge of Gene’s politics…) – afraid that associating with him and his cause would somehow brush off on them and that the producers would no longer give them work if they lifted their heads too high above the crowd - infected by the impulse to stand up for ourselves. You were right Gene…
The formation of a union needs to take a back seat to changing the economic climate of California so that we are on at least even ground when it comes to pricing worldwide. For me, being unsophisticated in all things political, only two possible routes come to mind. The first being sending a lobbyist to Sacramento with our agenda foremost on his or her mind. This sounds somehow expensive and requires an agreed upon leadership. Add to that the thought of squeezing money out of the members of a community of economically crippled digital artists and this approach drops off the map.
The other idea is that we start a letter campaign to the politicians in the state capital. This would only cost you a stamp and a little time. I would suggest that this letter campaign extend beyond the visual effects community to encompass the California film community at large. We should point out to our representatives that just adding some additional funding to the unemployment benefits they are now paying will take us over the top. Anecdotally there is a story around town that businessmen located in British Columbia gave a car to the head of post of a large studio for giving them so much business. Let’s subsidize our own state as other states and countries are doing. It’s not cheating…it’s the wise choice.
On the following websites you can find contact information for the governor, U.S. Senators and the California Assembly. If I left anyone out please let me know. The governor’s contact information can be retrieved from: http://gov.ca.gov/interact#contact. Senators Feinstein and Boxer’s information can be found at: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=CA. The State Assembly’s website gives you the opportunity to determine what district you reside in. Once that is accomplished you should be able to extract the contact info for your assemblyman: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp.
It should be made clear within these letters to the politicians that the money they invest in keeping the work within the state will be returned many times. This money will repeat throughout the state economy allowing film workers to buy clothes, eat out more often, buy homes and take vacations. Put it in your own words. Be brief. Tell them your truth.
The film community is not easily led. There are so many diverse personalities and agendas that it is more effective to place the solution into each individual’s hands independent of any leadership. Letters to the governor, our senators and state assembly seem to be the most powerful tool in our arsenal. The greatest power we have is in awakening ourselves, then awakening our representatives to the missed opportunities that exist and giving them the incentive to make changes. Once California is at least competitive with other states and countries then we can consider the creation of a union. To organize a union given the current state of affairs seems quixotic and foolish. They’re already ignoring us because we cost too much compared to the other locations and a union will not reverse that situation.
For years we’ve waited for someone to step up and take the leadership role in this battle. No one has surfaced. There are several discussions underway within groups in our community. I support them all and respect their motives. However, thus far they have not proven effective. This is beyond any organized effort. It’s just us vs. the blank page. Give them something to read. This needs to be a leader-less campaign. This is a letter campaign and it will be as effective as we can make it. Put what you know, what you think and what you feel onto a page and send copies to everyone in the state government. Maybe they just hadn’t heard enough from us yet. It’s about time they did.
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By initial poster, I meant the first commenter. My apologies for the inept phrasing.
Nicely put and well thought out. One of the things the "free market" enthusiasts don't take into account is that other countries often subsidize their own industry in order to bring our money there. That's what those tax incentives are - the other country using their internal taxes to pay off our companies so they bring the business there. Once the industry is built up, the tax incentives go away.
Not to start a fight, but as the initial poster seems to have an agenda, I would like to point out that slashing taxes over the past decade does not seem to have created jobs or jump started the economy. In fact, tax rates are currently at historic lows. I'm not sure the evidence supports his perspective.
I'm not sure that unions will ever come into favor again. They certainly have their shortcomings, but they have been absurdly demonized for decades. Their contributions to society - weekends, 40 hour work weeks, overtime - are glossed over and people seem to believe these things "just happened".
Thanks for the comment Van...You're always a rational and thoughtful presence. I agree with you in that there really isn't any point in knocking the workers in other countries in any way. Frankly great work is coming from all of them. All I can say is that their governments seem to be working for them as opposed to the laissez-faire attitude that the California state government is operating under. Underneath it all, I have no idea of what's happening other than how it affects our local workers and me personally. The early exodus from Los Angeles proved to be a bellwether of a larger global shift. For me, since I don't know, it makes sense to reach out to the politicians and hear what they have to say. I'm writing my letters just so I pick up more information rather than rumor.
There are no simple answers to this problem. Our California industry is sinking and everybody seems content to reshuffle the Titanic deck chairs. We complain but we fail to act. Every idea is machine gunned into oblivion before it can take hold. The pessimism is deafening. We talk ourselves into paralysis.
Who's to say what will work or not, Lobbying, Union, Trade Association, etc. Or whose to blame, Studios, Tax Globalization, incentives....or how about ourselves?
Sadly we have a culture in our industry of every man, woman, company for themselves. When things were good this was fine. It doesn't work anymore!
We need to come together at every level. There are many people and organizations that are working tirelessly on these issues. They need our help and support.
If you don't know who they are at this point, well then reflect on that. Find out. Get involved!!
Another great post, Richard... in fact, I was talking to the California Film Commision rep at the Produced By Conference the weekend before last, and her take was to lobby California to enact a separate postproduction incentive in addition to the current (and anemic) production incentive. My natural cynicism, however, says that we have to find a non-governmental solution for the problem, rather than try to lobby an already-recalcitrant legislature to do something else they cannot afford (because of course WE the taxpayers cannot afford it).
If business is the final arbiter for both companies and governments, then we have to find a way to make it economically desirable to keep the work here. There has to be a better way to do that than to a) race to the bottom in terms of pricing; or b) demand tariffs or try to shut out overseas labor. We can't just wait for the cavalry that will likely never come; we need to find our strengths and figure out how to sell it. And what we have (left) to sell is ARTISTRY and EXPERTISE. And where do we sell them? Not only domestically, but also internationally. There are a lot of great overseas interest in VFX, and a lot of nascent talent developing that can use our direction and guidance. We have to find a way to be seen as chefs again, not as cooks... we've already lost the cook battle (and the technology battle) to places where the standard of living allows them to underbid us. Trying to blame other countries for it or trying to shut them out is not an answer.
If you want something done get a politician on your side. California and the United States have sold their souls to China and India and any other place that has cheap labor. When we become a third world country the work will come back, but by then who will want to live here and all we will be able to do is flip burgers and mow lawns.
A wise man told me when my Movie career was just two months old. Get out now before it is too late. That fateful day was 31 years ago. Another wise man told me in 1990 to get out now because it is coming to an end, that was 20 years ago. I did not listen. But I will tell you all now. Never give up your Dreams. But you should also be realistic in your expectations if you want to survive. Some of you will succeed beyond your wildest expectations, the rest will have to settle for less or leave.
Unions are not the answer. They cannot fix this broken system, The answer lies with the Studios, but that is a non starter as they are run by accountants not artists.
The only answer here is follow your Heart, and you will know if this work is for you or not. The Glory Days are over, maybe they will come again but you might have to be standing in another Country to see it.
Thor The Hammer
Regardless under which side of the bed you see your loonies you should write down your complaints and send it off to them. These folks only seem to hear things when they're repeated to them several times.
We've got more chances of Hamlet coming out of typewriter-banging monkeys than anything even rational coming out of Sacramento as long as the looney left is in power.
Also, it must be remembered that the sole end result of any union is the ultimate reduction of productivity. Yeah, that'll make 'em respect us.
Yes, we need to match incentives dollar for dollar with other states and countries here in Kahleefohnia. But yes, we also need to spur the creation of jobs in general and jump start the economy by SLASHING taxes, not raising them.
Yeah. That'll happen.
But historically it has worked every time it has been tried.
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