<p>Recently there has been some issues in the vfx industry where studios were subcontracting out their employees via third party companies in order to classify them as independent contractors and avoid paying payroll taxes. Employees were also getting the shaft with an extra 5% collected off their paycheck by the 3rd party. TAG is currently going forward with a class action suit on behalf of the employed. </p>
<p>In any case, VFX is usually at the service of the studio, which is at the service of the client/director. Assets are proprietary and rarely shared, even between studios working on the same projects. Pipelines are often proprietary as is the software. And everything is heavily directed by tiers of directors, supervisors and leads, each pulling and pushing in different directions in a giant pixel cluster f. Does usually sound like a case for an IC classification.</p>
<p>The guy who worked made $1K/day for 3 months had to stop after 3 months because he hit 3 people on the LA freeway after driving home sleep deprived. He also had to take a break because he suffered a heart attack from the lack of exercise and unhealthy diet often caused by catered meals and snacks that come with 17 hour days, after which the studio declined to hire him back. Crunch on poorly managed projects can last for many more months, and jumping from job to job, some are pretty much always in crunch. Projects ramp up at different times, and a vfx worker must keep their ear to the ground at all times. Jobs don’t just fall in your lap when you need them, nor at the salary you desire. When not working, a vfx specialist needs to be constantly improving their reel and skills to remain competitive in this ever more crowded market. </p>
<p>Back in the heyday of the late 90’s there were those in the business who spent all their big paychecks, never saving for that rainy day when their salaries would fall back to earth and they were laid off. The best advice out there for vfx students these days is to always be ready for that rainy day. Buying a house, raising kids, paying your own health insurance can all be particularly tough due to the nomadic nature of vfx work these days.</p>