must watch... "LIFE AFTER PI" !!!

[lukx]

the world we live in

[alexyork]

Fascinating and very sad. I was aware the industry was in a mess but not quite this bad. Fingers crossed things start to improve for everyone now that we're climbing out of recession at last.

[mikeh]

A lawyer I spoke with once said, "Bankruptcy, the wild card in business." Walt Disney went bankrupt multiple times. I wonder what Rhythm and Hues will morph into out of this. Will they still use bad business practices that led to their demise?

I once was in a meeting where a partner volunteered me to do free work for a client. After the meeting, I told the partner I had no interest in doing free work for anyone. He ended up doing the work himself. The company eventually went belly up. No surprise.
mh

[lukx]

And what were the bad business practices of R&H ?

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

And what were the bad business practices of R&H ?

Not charging extra for client changes after the job was delivered...

[Morbid Angel]

The way people do business is different of course. In case of RnH, you have multiple offices with hundreds of people employed, its difficult to put your self in a position where you would say pay us more or we wont do the work (i.e. turn down all of the work)

However, this is how I do try to do things in general. I always tell my client that if they want a fixed bid, there will be overage no matter what. If they don't like this, they can go else where. One can consider this to be a loss but is it? By not taking this work I may actually be saving more then taking the work and working 3 times more for the same pay.

[peterguthrie]

what a completely messed up industry, had no idea things worked like that, and I thought architecture was bad.

[MoonDoggie]

Agreed, very sad. As digital artists ourselves we should keep solidarity with VFX artists.

[peterguthrie]

if only VFX companies could negociate a % cut of takings in addition to their fixed fee

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/f...m-Gravity.html

[mikeh]

what a completely messed up industry, had no idea things worked like that, and I thought architecture was bad.

When I said I had a partner volunteer my services for free, I was talking about a now extinct architecture office. I would guess the fx industry is no different than others. Bad business practices mean belly up companies. Besides, bankruptcy can be a form of simply not paying what you owe someone. Doesn't necessarily mean you were negligent, just means you decided to not pay after you drained the company. Situations vary.
mh

[lukx]

if only VFX companies could negociate a % cut of takings in addition to their fixed fee

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/f...m-Gravity.html

she wouldn't get those millions if there wouldn't be huge amount CGI in this movie. SO UNFAIR !!!

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

VFX should get cut out of profits and thats it. It would fix so many financial problems for CGI companies.

[kalamazandy]

It's tough though. You can avoid these problems by not taking jobs that don't give you royalties. But if the studios don't go for it, you close your doors even Earlier because you don't even get the jobs. They'll just hire someone else. There really isn't an easy solution. You can't put too much blame on anyone wanting to maximize profits. Although, if they look at the future of VFX...unless VFX houses do well, they will constantly have to work with someone new. You can save a bit of money by working with the same people since you don't have to waste time with making new relationships.