Splitting Teams

Some changes have been occurring the last couple of weeks here at work, as people move onto other shows and the stage starts emptying out of artists. Only a couple compers from the Flags and Letters crew are still kicking around, and we've been split up onto different shows! Which of course, necessitates a move to another part of the facility. Now some of us are across the street in the commercials building, and others are in the digital building on the other side of the parking lot.

I've been lucky to not have to move from my original seat from Flags (except for a move from one part of the stage to another the first month I was here). There's developed a team dynamic among the compers here, which I was very fond of up at Tippett. A huge plus up there were the weekly comp meetings, where you had a chance to meet new compers, describe problems you might have encountered during your work, and upcoming events. It was a great addition to the generalities of work. At GVFX we had weekly meetings with the entire crew, and you definitely felt a part of the whole company. Over in Australia, we had no meetings, but somehow the shows got done. It's much easier to do this at smaller companies, because it becomes a personal affair. With larger companies, you're just a puppet in a room, and you rely on that team dynamic on your shows to help you get through the day. You had a chance to get to know your fellow artists. At some places I've worked, it's like a mind meld. No need to actually explain in detail what you need, just mentioning in abstracts, and another artist will understand. "Do you remember that thing we did with the head and Keanu?" I had a great repetoire with a coordinator while working on Matrix and Flags, and we would somehow know what the other person was thinking when describing a shot. It was great. "Can I get more stuff for this thing I'm doing? Maybe some more detail?" "Yep, I'm on it.". People around are sometimes stunned as they have no clue what's going on, which shot of which show. It's a dynamic that is often missed when people come and go in a contract or freelance environment.

The importance of working in a group highlights this fact. Team dynamics are a vital role in the creation of our visual effects, in all the companies I've worked for. This is even more apparent in the choosing of an effects studio by a vfx supervisor and director. They realize that the connection between them and the studio is often vital. If the production has a vision, they will often go to the studio that has that same vision, and can easily come to an understanding about the effects.

I definitely miss the team dynamic that I was a part of while up at Tippett. Here at Digital Domain, that team dynamic is slowly being defined, primarily because of the constantly fluctuating influx of talent that come onto different shows at different times.