Visual effects crews at Walt Disney Studios have taken a significant step to unionize after filing with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for an election to unionize.
A supermajority (over 80%) of the 18 in-house VFX crew members at Walt Disney Pictures signed authorization cards signaling their desire to unionize.
The historical move is the second time in history that VFX professionals have joined together to demand the same protections and rights as their colleagues. Earlier this month, VFX crews at Marvel Studios voted to unionize beginning Aug. 21. Ballots are due on Sept. 11, and the vote count will take place on Sept. 12.
Visual effects crews at Marvel Studios today filed for a unionization election with the National Labor Relations Board, with a supermajority of Marvel’s more than 50-worker crew having signed authorization cards saying they want to be represented by IATSE.
“We are witnessing an unprecedented wave of solidarity that’s breaking down old barriers in the industry and proving we’re all in this fight together,” said IATSE President Matthew Loeb. “That doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Entertainment workers everywhere are sticking up for each other’s rights, that’s what our movement is all about. I congratulate these workers on taking this important step and using their collective voice.”
According to the union, “this marks the first time VFX professionals have joined together to demand the same rights and protections as their unionized colleagues in the film industry.”
the main thing I’ve gathered from the Pacific Rim director’s commentary is that, even though a lot more of PacRim was done with CGI than I had realized, it still holds up almost 10 years later because of how intentional Guillermo Del Toro was with building in details, flaws, weathering and environmental factors, and, primarily, love and respect into every single model.
He helped animate every single creature and robot by hand on his tablet, he praised the animators for every single shot and talks about how brilliant they are, how hard they worked on every detail, he treats all of them like human beings, like geniuses, just as integral to the film as himself and the actors. The animators themselves talk about how intentional and detailed his ideas were, how helpful and insightful he was when he spoke to them about changes, when he came to them with new ideas.
There’s also a hell of a lot of practical effects woven in, which add to the believability, but the CGI holds up first and foremost because he saw it as an art form to be cultivated and loved just as fiercely as everything else, not a ‘wow’ effect to be slapped in for budget cuts.
"People say that with time and experience, the challenges will get easier to overcome. It'll come like a second nature to you...
But they forget to tell you that sometimes, the challenges are also better preparing themselves against you."
I love you stylized CGI I love you spider verse I love you arcane I love you the peanuts movie I love you the bad guys I love you Mitchells vs the machines I love you Puss in boots the last wish I love you Entergalactic
I'm not hating on CGI. I love our CGI teams, and I love and admire the miracles and the art that they make. I thought putting Milk's Good Omens showreel up, and explaining that there are over 1500 CGI shots in Season 2 would make it clear how indebted we are to them.
A lot of the best effects in Seasons 1 and 2 are practical effects enhanced by CGI, like the burning bookshop in Season 1, or invisible effects, like making a set of Soho into the real place.