In this month's "Digital Eye," Look Effects president Mark Driscoll discusses issues about globalization raised at a recent roundtable event in pondering the future of the VFX industry.
The visual effects industry has been on a fast-forward track of accelerated development over the last couple decades. It's become our norm. The changes in our business models have been rapid fire since I entered the field. Over the last 10 years since we launched Look Effects, we have witnessed dramatic changes in the tools, the timetables, the expectations and the possibilities of what we create. Now the business of designing and producing within this niche of entertainment has reached a more mature state. We have become an international industry with global reach. As a result, the issues surrounding the vfx business have broadened as well.
In the visual effects realm, it's a rare occasion, beyond awards events, that can bring together colleagues and competitors. The nature of our work and the digital production process tend to keep us isolated and insulated. Once a project is awarded, we focus on the particular creative and technical challenges and in meeting the ever-impending/looming delivery deadlines. We come up for air to bid for new work, and then repeat the process. We get to know our clients quite well, yet there are very few opportunities to touch base with our peers and candidly talk about the big picture. How often do we stop to ask, how are we doing? Where are we headed? What have we learned? What's coming next?
Recently, we hosted a roundtable at Look Effects in order to open a constructive dialog on the current issues shaping and affecting our industry. The participants represented a variety of people and perspectives from the visual effects creative community, including proprietors, contractors and clients. Our common ground is the challenges that all vfx businesses currently face. The results of this recent roundtable revealed, not surprisingly, that there are now new issues to deal with at this stage of our industry's growth. The candid talk throughout the evening touched on many relevant points that each of us working in the industry should be aware of and address. As president of Look Effects, I am constantly looking forward at logical next steps for further developing our company, and I found I was far from alone. I'd like to share a few of the many points raised and topics we examined during the course of the event.
What are the ramifications of participating in an international industry? Visual effects is now a global business with a presence in Canada, England, South America, New Zealand, Australia, India, Turkey, Eastern Europe and China. Hollywood may have enjoyed a home court advantage for some time, but the rules of the game have shifted as a result of growing international competition. There's no doubt that Los Angeles-based firms' proximity to the motion picture and television decision makers and production headquarters has had distinct advantages. The depth of talent here is unrivaled. However, the fact is that there are currently more monetary incentives to do business elsewhere than Los Angeles. Other countries have recognized the value of attracting filmmakers' production and post-production budgets and have structured systems to support their positioning. They understand how production dollars trickle down into local economies in terms of ancillary goods and services such as tourism, food industry, etc. Populations of hundreds of nicely paid employees add to local economies. Taking a look at our local level, doesn't Southern California want that too?
With an international range of visual effects providers, the bidding process has reached a new level of complexity too. Los Angeles firms face increasing competition from exchange rates and creatively structured production packages that tie visual effects to first unit shooting.
In addition, there seems to be a growing trend to tie the visual effects budget to first unit production. It is becoming more and more rare that visual effects budgets are separated and remain independent so that they may be kept in Los Angeles, even if the rest of the production budget goes out of the country. All these factors are contributing to the difficulty in remaining competitive. Could Los Angeles-based firms even the playing field if they had the opportunity to offer tax breaks and other incentives in the same way that several other states and countries are doing?
So, if we can't beat them should we join them? We certainly are not the first American industry to deal with global competition. We simply need to decide where to make our next move, possibly literally. Should we all open satellite studios abroad? Business leaders across our field, as well as individuals, have some choices to make about the positions we aim to occupy and the roles we will play on a global scale. The thrill ride of how visual effects will evolve next is a big part of what keeps many of us interested and excited about working in this field. We look forward to once again bringing together leaders from the visual effects community to let this conversation continue. Now our challenge is to be as creative with our business development strategies as we are with our animations.
Mark Driscoll (president/exec prod) is a founder of Look Effects and responsible for the management of the company as well as its long term strategic planning. In addition, he serves as exec producer for all of the company's key projects. Recent film and TV projects include Blood Diamond, Rocky Balboa, The Fountain, Bones, Criminal Minds and Malcolm in The Middle. A graduate of MIT in mechanical engineering and architecture, Driscoll worked in the technology and financial industries in Boston and London before moving to California to join the film industry.
