August 2012 Archives

Oh my!  Is this a Tip of the Week? No.. Well, I guess, it's a short one.. Ever wanted to access a read node or a stack of nodes from somewhere else in your massive script and you don't want it to look like a circuit board or spaghetti pile? Here's a nifty trick to put in your arsenal.

I'm assuming you're using Nuke as your compositing package. If you're not.. Well, uhm.. That could be a problem.  Anyway, grab a PostageStamp node.  Attach it to a dot or stack of nodes or simply a read node.

Under the PostageStamp options, click Hide Input and deselect the node. Goodness, now we can move that PostageStamp anywhere and it references that stack! But, wait, I don't know what it is, what the original file was, and let's say I do (I really do, all the time).

In the label section of the PostageStamp, enter the following:

[lindex [split [basename [value [topnode].file]] .] 0]

Now go ahead and quickly disable and enable the node. Look at that! Now we have a PostageStamp node that references the original Read, and on top of that, I can move it around and not get too cluttered. Wicked. Now all you have to worry about is updating only ONE read should be referenced by a bunch of other nodes. Keep it clean and neat people!

This was originally an entry on VFXWages in January of 2010.. I've since uploaded it here, since it may get more relevant views. Some of this is specific to the former site, but the message is the same.

During times of economic instability, we often wonder if our jobs are secure.  In the past article, one of our members gave us the current outlook as a Western supervisor living and working in China. His thoughts are eye opening, but how exactly will this help those of us in this Western economic recession? The majority reading are from the Western world, and at the very least, we are concerned for our own welfare.  By looking into developing countries, we can anticipate where they might be going, and as a result, see what changes we can possibly make to compete.

Competition comes in many forms, but the predominant one that most of us are familiar with is the local competition.  It's seldom that we up and move to entirely different countries, but when we do, we are competing with the local talent, which have a number of advantages over us.

1) Familiar and established relationship with companies
2) Solid base of operations
3) Understands local hourly and salary rates, and what to charge
4) Knows the local standard of living, what is necessary to live and get by
5) Work visas and permits unnecessary for employment

Some of these advantages will remain local advantages. Others, however, we can sway into our favor.  One such way is understanding the rates of the region you are in. Through our wages system, you can specify which regions of the world you'd like to focus on. This is one small step in realizing your foreign worth. The much bigger step is settling on a price, not so much as just what you're worth, but also what you are capable of. Years of experience are generally the best way to determine what one can do in a production environment.

Many artists that start in the creative industries have no clue what they should be paid. This can have huge ramifications down the line, both on the employee and employer side. Employers can hire very junior artists for next to nothing, while said employee may work extremely hard to impress the employer for the next big thing.  Established employees or contractors can do this very same thing, by charging more, delivering less quality work, or taking advantage of the employer by working longer hours to get a job done and billing more.

In reality, all these things happen frequently. What we aim to do here is help you, the artist, try and find the most appropriate rate for your professional years of experience and talent. The graphs that you see are culled from a plethora of artists, all professionals. As each year of experience increases, so does the hourly rate. You can use this information to tailor your job searches and interviews to the specific region and company. Keep in mind that asking for too high a rate may be detrimental to your career if you cannot deliver on the project. You may be able to bill for a large hourly contract rate now, but down the line, especially in this economy, employers are looking at how the talent can deliver more for less. If you are an established artist, it is much easier to ask for the same rate or more at a familiar company. If you're not an established artist, be prepared to hone and show off your skills in production, as that will be where your talent truly shines, and the rate you've asked for returns dividends for the employer. Professionals with years of experience know what their worth is, and can budget and deliver on time accordingly, while beginners are often not familiar with what it takes to complete a shot, and may spend more time working with it to achieve the correct result. 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say, maybe. Unfortunately, the worth of an individual can be characteristically divided into several parts. Are you just starting your career? Are you almost done with it? Are you a staff artist? Freelance? Where do you live?

Over the years there's been a lot of talk about unionization, wage equality, the worth of an artist, and likewise, the worth of your health as one. Back in the day when I started VFXWages four years ago, I wanted to help equalize the payout for both artists and companies alike. It was a heady topic, a lot of people predicted I would fail. Of course, there were no unions that would take VFX. There was talk, but everyone can talk (Hey, remember VES 2.0?). There hasn't been true actual commitment to a cause similar to VFXWages. Why do I keep harping on this failed task? Well, because it was actually useful, and it could have made inroads into equality among artists irregardless of where they were in the world. Why did it fail? Well, several reasons, the biggest being time, and the second being money, neither of which I had sufficient quantity of.. All this talk about unions, they have the cash, they have the manpower, why haven't they created something like VFXWages? Does it go against their code of conduct? Seriously, I don't know. They have the people in their current union, they can poll their members, and they could technically pull it off. It wouldn't just help artists, it could have helped companies. Hell, the Animation Guild just recently posted off of Twitter that disclosing your wage wasn't illegal. I told everyone that when I started! The Anim Guild also polls it's members about wages, which is great.

I've heard countless stories from friends around the world at their respective companies regal me stories of junior employees earning 80-90% of what they make as seniors. This won't be able to sustain itself.  As an employer, would I rather hire a senior freelancer at $50/hr with 10+ years experience, or a junior at $40 with three years?  Who do you think will be better at the job? The economics of this industry trouble me. You can only get paid so much for doing the same job. Either you move on to a company that will pay you more (which has happened and is continuing to happen), ou increase your skillset and actually do more, or decide to chase the subsidy and job around the world, which many of my friends have done. On that note, if I was a good artist, and I charged the going rate for an artist of my experience level, I would be VERY competitive. I would continually be hired at my rate, and it would increase based on my experience.

This is not a US versus Canada versus India versus China problem. This is an internal problem. Students, don't bill $50/hr when you're not worth it. You might be able to get it now, but that gravy train will eventually come to an end. Be prepared. There is a level of hubris in the industry right now, with everyone taking advantage of the company. "Oh, I'm only here for this one show, I'm gonna milk it for all it's worth". The next year, that company is gone, and now you have to work at half that rate in town.

Companies may come and go, but your reputation and the price you put on it stay forever.