How to unionize when the studios create VFX divisions in 3rd world countries and then tell you if you want to continue your career you'll follow the jobs overseas? I was at Rhythm & Hues Studios thru two Oscars, transitioning thru programmer, digital artist and then financial analyst. I was a lead game developer before doing VFX, and I thought the games industry was bad. Well, at least in film the people are vastly more diverse, but the work is still 6-7 days a week, 10-12+ hour days.
A lot of third world counties have pre existing unions, and a culture of unionization especially against foreign influence.
Uber for example has always struggled to operate in my country because anytime it tries to push driver wages down, drivers go on a nation wide strike and protest outside its offices. This prevents them from reducing costs without hurting themselves, so they can’t undercut the competition and reap the reward of becoming a de facto monopoly.
> when the studios create VFX divisions in 3rd world countries and then tell you if you want to continue your career you'll follow the jobs overseas
This is one of the things that has to get worse before it gets better. You let them, but you don't go there (or maybe you go, who knows). You start growing a spine
Then let them realize that they "can't come knocking" when the studio is somewhere else. Start putting the foot down with deadlines and revisions (nobody said it was going to be easy). Let them see how the quality suffers with an offshore team with much less skin in the game
"Oh but I might lose my job if I don't do how they tell me how to do it", well, yes. But the way things go you'll lose the job eventually when the company go bust
I see so many similarities with the freelance web/mobile developer space. And having run a small dev shop (3-6 people) for 7 years I agree that the _only_ way forward is to hold your nerve, fire the shitty clients and only ever do work you can feel proud of. Yes, there will be tens of thousands of people on (the VFX equivalent of) upwork who charge 1/3 your price, and clients will put immense pressure on you because of it. But if you’re know for honesty and quality, the work will come.
I'm curious, if you've been a programmer, one of the most in demand proffesions out there,
Why would you tolerate 10-12 hour days 6 days a week? What motivates you to not get a more time balanced job?
Everywhere I go, the issues to be solved are critical and the deadlines are present so I do the work that needs to be done, and (as I mention above) non-entertainment tech jobs think I'm either too expensive, or something... basically, it's a nepotistic world, and I developed my network in abusive industries, so to the non-abusive places I apply, I look like an alien. I get replies like "wow! we've love to have you, but you're clearly too expensive and would not be happy doing the non-shiny things we do." And I never even mentioned salary.
I have the best luck just being honest and concise, know your number and ask if they can meet it. If not, no-one wastes their time. If they say the can but low-ball you, not a big deal, decline and move on.
> I get replies like "wow! we've love to have you, but you're clearly too expensive and would not be happy doing the non-shiny things we do." And I never even mentioned salary.
This could be like when a romantic partner says, “Let’s be friends.”
