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Editor in Chief of SFXNews.com located in Los Angeles, CA

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Editorial (update) An Apology. Sort of.

June 21st, 2010 • Related • Filed Under
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Quite a few people have had some choice things to say about my last editorial entitled  “Digital effects are not killing the business, just about everything else is.“
The comments that got to me the most came from a Facebook Post by a new student.  The following is an open letter to all students of effects who read my last post and felt that I was too harsh.  People like…well, lets just call her N.
Dear N,
I wanted to reach out after reading your comment on <name redacted>’s wall on facebook.  First, I would like to address your concerns with how harsh the article seemed.  As the Editor at SFXNews, In my last article, I am first and formost reporting what I hear repeatedly from people I know.  As I said, some friends of mine have not been paid for more than a couple days work in six months or more.  These people have been stung mightily by the very factors I mentioned in the article, so naturally they perceive multiple threats from all aspects of their work life.  If that sounds harsh, it is.  That is the business in which you enter.  So please, enter it with both eyes open.
Just one of those perceived threats is the overall market saturation by labor.  According to most, there are so few jobs to go around and too many new faces joining the ranks.  Some new people are so eager to work, they work for below standard wages and even free.  This is the wrong way to show your value to any employer in my opinion, but it is a trait of the artist. “if I only show them how valuable I can be… they have to treat me well later, and someday I’ll get paid what I’m worth.”   It is all too tempting for most shops to resist.
Another point I have got to make – and this one is also going to sound harsh but deserves some consideration on your part…It’s nobody’s job to “encourage” new people in the FX business. There.  I said it.  I base this statement on something I witnessed.  I once watched Dick Smith at a round table discussion years ago completely tear apart work of a young aspiring effects artist in front of a room of 30 + people.  Do you think he was being harsh?  Yes!  He was being honest!  I spoke to that young artist after she got over the somewhat embarasing dressing down she got and you know what she said to me?  ”It looks like I have some work to do for next year”.  That is someone with traits a shop owner will want, someday.
Dick Smith has single-handedly helped more people in the effects business to find their true potential than anyone.  Do you know why?  He was always honest. He never compromised what he new to be good work to spare someone embarrassment or hurt feelings. So what I offer is:  From the effects community at large you are owedhonesty and patience.  After all they were once you.  Encouragement in the business is in very, very short supply, so if constantly look for it,  you will always be disappointed. This is another trait of the artist, always seeking approval.  According to some of the best people in the business, I’m told the passion to do effects work (or any art for that matter) is either in you or it is not.
You better believe it when I say, most of the effects people I know started out just like you.  They demonstrated their value again and again, learning adapting, being flexible, punctual and above all cool under pressure.  That’s why they got to do some cool stuff.  Remember, skills are learnable, traits are part of who you are.  Traits are what get you hired when people don’t know you.  The rest is mainly what you can do and how fast.  Time is money.  There is that dirty word again. Money.
Let me finally say this:  If an article in an online blog written by someone you don’t know can cause you duress, maybe – just maybe, you aren’t ready for the harsh reality of a business that rarely even considers the health of it’s workforce (that’s another editorial altogether).  That being said, if what I just now said, made you angry – good.  Maybe you have passion to make it.  Even if you aren’t ready now, that does not mean you won’t be.  What I have said in this letter and the previous editorial – It’s not meant to be discouraging necessarily.  It’s just a hard to absorb truth, A truth that people need to talk about.
Before I go,  I’m sorry if what I said has you worried about your future.  I’m sorry things are the way they are.  I am reporting it because I feel the industry deserves to treat people better and I hope that my writing can help start a conversation that changes things – even a little.  So people like you can have the chance to make it right.
Good luck to you all – I mean it…sincerely.

There Is 1 Response So Far. »

  1. Comment by Ray on 22 June 2010:

    It is not your responsibility to coddle anyone’s ungrounded fantasies. This industry is what it is and if a potential new comer is not prepared to accept reality, he thoroughly deserves the ass-kicking that he is almost certainly going to receive. It is not your fault if some naive soul from Nebraska got run over by the Makeup School propaganda train. There are enough unscupulous people distorting the truth about this career. I am glad to see that you aren’t one of them.

    Tell “N” to wake up and smell the hashbrowns.

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