What to expect from the VFX Industry
This part is not only about what I observed in the local studios or work that I did, but also all the world based on my research.
First of all, VFX or CG industry is unstable and difficult. If someone who considers working in this industry asks my opinion, I would advise them to change their mind. However, that does not mean that I don’t like my job or that I regret my decisions. On the contrary, I love it and want to dive even deeper. The reason why I wouldn’t recommend to new people is that it needs so much hard work and determination. Every profession does so but what I observed is, CG and VFX require much more because there is a lot of moving parts with different aspects and subjects to learn and master.
So that can make people hesitant and be afraid of the industry or just throw in the towel. Learning never stops, you basically can’t plan your social life, you need to constantly follow new things and updates and improve yourself, spend a lot of time in front of computers, work extra hours, sometimes without sleep.
An example about new things and updates is, when I was a forex dealer at the bank -that I talked about in my first blog post- I had to take a break and do my obligatory military service which took 6 months and after that I returned back to my job. When I went back, there was so little change that in a very short time I got accustomed with everything. Those days I was also following the CG world a little bit and when I got back from my military service, in just 6 months, the CG world basically leveled up. There were tons of new things, updates, softwares, techniques, people, things to read, to study. Therefore, what I am trying to say is if you really love art and can always be ready for new things and is patient then this might be for you. Otherwise I’m afraid you might lose interest and be unsuccessful.
What is waiting for you in the industry?
There is going to be a lot of overtimes and weekend works. You might NOT get paid for your overtimes in countries like Turkey and you won’t get much say in the matter. (I also heard a couple of times that the same applies in the UK) If you think that you can just leave if you are not getting paid for overtimes than good luck finding another place that pays for it. At least sometimes there is the option to use your overtime or weekend works as a day off later on.
There will be sleepless nights because of time constraints and last minute changes and revisions. Which can be avoided by proper planning and management from the team managers and artists. There were even some instances when I logged into my office PC from my phone with Teamviewer to work on my shot. That happened because the job was extremely urgent (ever seen a VFX job that is not urgent?), also I was not at home since it was Sunday so couldn’t access my home computer, so had to work on my tiny phone screen which was horrible.
You’ll be sitting in front of a PC for a long time. Your neck and back is going to ache. This might sound silly but believe me its not that easy to work with a painful back. To overcome it I recommend going to the gym or working out at home to strengthen those muscles which worked wonders for me. Also, even though I never tried, I saw some special desks that can be transformed into high desks that you can work standing. I also heard people that prefer working that way or at least they change from sitting to standing from time to time. (Check this out: https://www.upliftdesk.com/standing-desk-converters/)
Furthermore, you might lose your motivation and enthusiasm because most of your work will be discarded, you’ll get many changes and revisions. Sometimes you do some effect or a model and really be proud of it, but still get a revision to change some stuff which might end up looking worse. You can, of course, state your opinion but it might not have much effect.
What to do to prevent these?
Artists should trust each other and try to work as a team to get the job done. If things are going wrong they should say so and try to fix the issues instead of whining about how difficult or silly their shot is, they should accept whatever they are working on. They have to check their work, take backups (even if there is an automatic backup system) and try to fix technical issues before returning to the previous guy that worked on their scenes and stop blaming other departments.
In addition, as I wrote in my roles and team management post, training is crucial in this subject. With training things will go smoother and less painful in the long run. Also there should be frequent little meetings to get everyone up to speed and proper distribution of tasks from the management team. The deadlines and milestones of the project should be announced to everyone so that each person can plan their work ahead and focus on their tasks accordingly.
(You might want to read what co-founder and former CEO of Digital Domain said in 2014 about the VFX industry here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/scott-ross-visual-effects-business-733950)
So in conclusion, this post might look too negative but it is true. The industry is tough, surviving is tougher and getting progress and advancing in the business is even harder but at the same time essential. Doing art is amazing, working on a creative field is fun especially if you choose what you like to create instead of a clients request. In addition, it is invaluable to see what you worked on, on TV or on the web or the big screen and that will really lift your spirits up. The better work you do the more admiration and recognition you’ll get and this will motivate you to improve yourself and push further.
