Life After Pi (short documentary)

[Mel]

I'm not sure where to put it, since it would fit into few sections of the forum (if moderators feel my choice was wrong just move it).

Synopsis: LIFE AFTER PI is a short documentary about Rhythm & Hues Studios, the L.A. based Visual Effects company that won an Academy Award for its groundbreaking work on "Life of Pi" -- just two weeks after declaring bankruptcy. The film explores rapidly changing forces impacting the global VFX community and the Film Industry as a whole.

Personal comments: I'll be brutally honest, I hate how VFX are used in films. I would cheer and dance if black scenario/conclusion of documentary (collapse of whole VFX industry) would come true. I feel sorry for people being screwed, but I don't feel empathy towards their work in the first place.

[Sleepless]

Can't say I disagree with your opinions on this at all. But it is a shame that such a large group of people whose work is a major part of so many of the biggest movies over the past decade are treated with such disregard by the industry as a whole. There's a ton of stuff on Variety and other sites about this whole issue, not the least of which is just how poorly VFX peeps were treated at the Oscar ceremony the year Life of Pi won. Other winners from the film didn't even acknowledge the VFX team in the televised ceremony, and the VFX winners were played off very early on by the orchestra in an awkwardly unceremonious way. Whatever happens, I don't see VFX as a major part of blockbuster movies going away. On the one hand you'll have filmmakers like Peter Jackson, James Cameron and J.J. Abrams who get it and will make the necessary investment, and then you'll have other totally outsourced VFX work done either oversees or on a freelance basis. The way things are currently structured, VFX workers have no hope of things improving. The bottom needs to fall off before a new foundation can be built.