Bohemian Rhapsody VFX workers owed thousands as Halo VFX goes into administration

from the news section at BECTUhttps://www.bectu.org.uk/news/293326 February 2019 

VFX workers have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after working tirelessly on recent films including multiple Oscar winning film Bohemian Rhapsody.

Despite recent news from the BFI that the VFX industry contributed £1BN to the UK economy, freelance visual effects artists have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a VFX firm went bust.BECTU union, which represents VFX freelancers, is currently handing cases totalling more than £53,000, owing to four of its members following the collapse of Halo VFX Limited, which provided visual effects work on high-budget productions including Curfew, Bohemian Rhapsody and A Discovery of Witches.In yet another example of the problems facing the VFX industry in paying its staff, BECTU is pursuing the unpaid fees and demanding answers from company directors about how they will compensate members for the failure to pay them. The union is also calling for a new industry code of practice to better protect freelance workers when companies go into administration.BECTU Assistant National Secretary, Paul Evans, has been working with London production freelance members for seven years.He said: “I’ve never had a situation where individual BECTU members have been hit this badly and it is not something we can’t just shrug our shoulders and move on from.“This is a hugely profitable industry and the productions that our members worked on were successful. It’s not acceptable for VFX artists who have contributed to the success of multi-million pound features to be the ones to carry risk and to go unpaid for their hard work and talent.”BECTU is seeking a meeting with company directors and is writing to union members to advise them against accepting work without guarantees of weekly pay.Evans added: “Our industry is unsustainable if directors can, effectively, establish an arm of one company, trade unsuccessfully and then leave workers to carry the can. If the industry can’t come up with a way of protecting workers from this kind of catastrophe, we will have to invest in some publicity to warn people against working for any VFX or Post Production company as a limited company, or in any status that doesn’t ensure that they have full employment rights.”“The incentives are all wrong in VFX. A lot of the risks end up on the shoulders of freelance workers who have to cushion the industry by accepting long periods of unpaid overtime work and working-hours that are very sub-optimal in terms of creativity and productivity. It’s an industry that drives talented people out."https://www.bectu.org.uk/news/2933

How Much Money Animation Artists Make

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6g3DJYdK9Y

Many people are confused or unsure about the idea of a VFX Union, often believing a union is just not possible within such a dynamic and tech-driven industry. Those who doubt the success of a Union are often strong believers that as soon as the workforce is unionised, the industry will suffer (even though all the evidence out there indicates that industries are strengthened with unionisation).

But wait… What if the exact same union model we're working on for UK VFX is already working long-term in an almost identical industry? How about the Animation industry? The Animation industry has a fully working Union that’s been going since the 1950's called the Animation Guild (Disney, Dreamworks, Sony, Paramount, etc... are all part of it).

Their union, The Animation Guild, works for better working conditions and establishes fair wages through a collective bargaining agreement, similar to what the VFX Union at BECTU is trying to enable here in the UK. Meaning they have an agreed minimum rate for each job title, rules about sick days, holiday, pension, paid overtime and so on.

Laura Price, a Background Painter for the Tangled TV series at Disney TV Animation sums up how the Animation Guild works for her and her colleagues in a fun and very well detailed video on her Youtube channel. In it, she explains how she is protected and how the Guild has ensured minimum rates even down to an employees job title. Please watch Laura’s video to see how what we are trying to do for VFX is actually working elsewhere in the world today.

If you work in visual effects in the UK, you can join the VFX Union Branch of BECTU at bectu.org.uk/join

More information about the Animation Guild at https://animationguild.org/

If They Believe In It, Why Can't We?

The PACT Agreement for Major Motion Pictures

A new agreement covering major motion pictures production was decisively voted for by BECTU members in November 2017. It is the first of its kind in the UK and was implemented on 2 April 2018. The agreement has been welcomed across the industry and is the result of a successful partnership between union reps, producers and employers' associations.Below are some of the highlights. The full agreement is available for download from the BECTU website.Please note that the agreement only applies to workers employed directly by the production companies, therefore not employees of VFX facilities, although this can change if enough VFX workers join the union and ask for it.…1.2 This Agreement will apply to all crew members engaged on Major Motion Pictures that commence principal photography after Monday 2 April 2018.1.3 For the purposes of this Agreement, a Major Motion Picture shall mean a feature film intended for initial cinematic exhibition with a production budget equal to or in excess of £30,000,000 (Thirty Million Pounds Sterling) (the Major Picture Threshold).2. The Working Day and the Working Week2.1 The Standard Working WeekThe Standard Working Week is a 55 hour 5 day work week. This can be varied by the producer upon payment of overtime and other premiums as set out in this Agreement, with the understanding that all overtime is voluntary.2.2  The Working Day – All crew during pre-production and non-shooting crew during principal photography 
Outside the period of principal photography and/or for non-shooting crew members, the standard working day comprises 11 hours worked with 1 hour for lunch (the Standard Working Day or SWD).(b) Post Production Crew: Post Production crew members will follow the Standard Working Week and the Standard Working Day applicable to non-shooting crew and will be entitled to Non-Camera Overtime, if applicable, in accordance with Section 3.3(a)(ii), but shall not be entitled to Camera Overtime. Start times will be the times at which each crew member starts work, which will not necessarily be the same as Unit Call times for the Post Production Department.Lunch breaks may be ‘staggered’ under the direction of the 1st Assistant Editor or Post Production Supervisor in co-ordination with production, and post-production crew members will be expected to manage their own time in order to take their breaks. Lunch break penalties shall not apply.3. Working Outside the Normal Working Day - Overtime3.2 Prep and Wrap(a) Specific Departments: For the following departments, the crew member’s rate is deemed to include, in addition to the 55 hours worked, up to 30 minutes at the beginning and 30 minutes at the end of each day, if required and in accordance with current working practices, without any overtime being due:- ADs- Accounts- Costume- Hair and Make-up- Locations- Production- Script Supervisor- VFX3.3 Overtime Rates(a) For the purposes of calculating overtime, the crew member’s hourly rate is deemed to be his/her contractual weekly rate divided by 55 (Hourly Rate), or for daily crew members, his/her contractual daily rate divided by 11 (save for Rigging Electricians whose rates are as per clause 2.2(a)). Overtime will be calculated at either the Hourly Rate multiplied by 1.5 (1.5T) or the Hourly Rate multiplied by 2 (2T), depending on whether overtime comprises Camera Overtime or Non Camera Overtime (see subsections 3.3(a)(i) and (ii) below). The attached Appendix details examples of overtime rates.(ii) Non-Camera Overtime including pre calls and de-rigs is paid at 1.5T for any overtime, payable in 30 minutes increments (and pro-rated accordingly for partial hours) and subject always to the Maximum Overtime Rate and the prep and wrap provisions of clause 3.2.(c) For all crew members, the overtime rate may be no more than £81.82 per hour (Maximum Overtime Rate). For the avoidance of doubt the Maximum Overtime Rate shall apply to all hourly rates uplifted hereunder including in relation to 6th and 7th days, Bank Holidays and Broken Turnaround.4. Working Outside the Normal Working Week - 6th and 7th Days4.1 6th Days(a) Any 6th consecutive day or night worked will be paid at 1.5T for actual hours worked, with a minimum guarantee of 6 hours for non-shooting crew and 8 hours for shooting crew.4.2 7th Days(a) Any 7th consecutive day worked will be paid at 2T for actual hours worked, with a minimum guarantee of 6 hours for non-shooting crew and 8 hours for shooting crew.4.3 For the avoidance of doubt:(a) Saturdays and Sundays shall not be paid as a premium day unless they are consecutive 6th or 7th days worked; and(b) all hourly rates for 6th and 7th days are subject to the Minimum Camera Overtime Rate and capped at the Maximum Overtime Rate.5.3 Broken TurnaroundsProducers should endeavour to give crew members eleven hours’ turnaround between the individual crew member’s wrap to his/her call (Turnaround Period). In the event of any shorter period of turnaround:(a) the producer should wherever possible allow the crew member to take an equivalent period of compensatory rest, and shall in any event afford the crew member such protection as may be appropriate in order to safeguard the crew member’s health and safety; and(b) in the event that a crew member is required to work during the Turnaround Period (Broken Turnaround) the crew member should be paid at 1.5T for any such time, which payment should accrue in 30 minute increments (and shall be pro-rated accordingly), subject to an overall cap of £45 per hour (or £22.50 per 30 minute increment).5.4 Meal Breaks(a) Standard Working Day (SWD): During principal photography crew members should be generally entitled to take their lunch break no later than 6 hours after unit call.If non-shooting crew are asked by the producers to shorten their lunch break from one hour, then infringed time will be paid in 30 minute increments at 1.5T.For the avoidance of doubt the Head of Department for non-shooting crew should manage their department so that crew members are able to take their lunch break (save as where requested above). In the event that such Head of Department wishes to curtail or delay the lunch break of crew members, prior approval must be sought from the Unit Production Manager, and the penalties above will apply.5.6 Bank Holidays(a) Where a crew member is contracted by the producer to work over a period which includes a United Kingdom official public holiday or foreign official public holiday where work takes place abroad (Bank Holiday), but the crew member is not actually required to work on that Bank Holiday, the crew member will be entitled to receive his/her daily fee for that Bank Holiday.(b) If a crew member is required to work on a Bank Holiday, the crew member will be entitled to be paid at 2T during such Bank Holiday, whether the crew member is working on a weekly or longer term basis or is engaged as a daily.…

No More Sitting on the Fencer

Visual Effects… We love what we do. We work long hours putting in hundreds, even thousands of extra hours of unpaid overtime year after year. We are hired on short term contracts with no job security, never knowing for sure where we’ll be working next year (let alone next month!). We are treated like a disposable resource, dropped - without a thought to loyalty - the instant a project finishes when we should be seen as talented and experienced professionals who add value to the facility and are worth retaining. We are the professionals who make the billion dollar blockbusters possible! Our sick pay, pensions, training and other benefits are a disorganised mess because facilities either can’t or won’t invest more than the bare legal minimum in their workforce - and yet, we all still consider ourselves lucky to be working on these cool projects!Well, it’s true. We are lucky. We do wonderful work that we all love. Not everybody loves their jobs out there in the “real world”, but I’ve never met a single visual effects artist who doesn’t get immense joy from their creative process and I don’t know any who do not take great pride in their work. The truth is, most of us can’t wait to get back in to work on a Monday. We really love what we do - and because of that, we allow ourselves to get exploited. There is no ignoring the fact that the rest of the film industry is heavily unionised. Why can’t visual effects be unionised too? To all of you who are already members of the VFX Union, bravo! You get it! You love what you do, but you know there is much still to be done to make visual effects a stronger and more ethical industry. Well done you!For those of you sitting on the fence or even those who are actually against unionisation, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. Things are good and getting better for other unionised branches of the film industry. Ask any writer, actor, cinematographer, director, producer - all of them are union members and they all value what unions do for them. None would tell you they think the unions are bad for the film industry.Meanwhile back in the non-union sector of the film industry, things are not getting better for either the visual effects artists or the vfx facilities. There are ups and downs, good years and bad years but in general, things are getting a bit worse over time for everyone. We are all in a race to the bottom that only an organised workforce can fix. No one can fix this on their own. We need to join together and unionise for the good of our industry now and to ensure its future prosperity.Join the VFX Union today at bectu.org.uk/join

Looking For a Movie To Watch? Here's an Inspirational Top 10 List from the VFX Union!

Building and growing a union isn't easy, in fact, there are times it can wear us all out.  When it feels like it's all a bit much, then that's about the time we all need to find a little inspiration to keep that fire lit. What better way to find that inspiration than in the medium we all know and love: Cinema! These are ten wonderful movies - old and new - with stories that revolve around things like political activism and unionisation. The way these films tell their stories is unique and powerful. They may be, for the most part, light on visual effects but they are most definitely heavy on inspiration!How many have you seen? Do you think we've missed any that should be in our list?

Suffragette (2015)

Director: Sarah GavronWriter: Abi MorganIn 1912 London, a young working mother is galvanized into radical political activism supporting the right for women to vote, and is willing to meet violence with violence to achieve this end.

The Front (1976)

Director: Martin RittWriter: Walter BernsteinIn 1953, a cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.

I'm All Right Jack (1959)

Director: John BoultingWriters: Alan Hackney (novel), Frank Harvey (screenplay)A naive aristocrat in search of a career becomes caught up in the struggles between his profit-minded uncle and an aggressive labour union.

Made in Dagenham (2010)

Director: Nigel ColeWriter: William IvoryA dramatisation of the 1968 strike at the Ford Dagenham car plant, where female workers walked out in protest against sexual discrimination.

Bread and Roses (2000)

Director: Ken LoachWriter: Paul Laverty (screenplay)Two Latina sisters work as cleaners in a downtown office building, and fight for the right to unionise.

Roger & Me (1989)

Director: Michael MooreWriter: Michael MooreDirector Michael Moore pursues GM CEO Roger B. Smith to confront him about the harm he did to Flint, Michigan with his massive downsizing.

Pride (2014)

Director: Matthew WarchusWriter: Stephen Beresford (screenplay by)U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.

Norma Rae (1979)

Director: Martin RittWriters: Irving Ravetch (screenplay), Harriet Frank Jr. (screenplay)A young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.

Brassed Off (1996)

Director: Mark HermanWriter: Mark HermanThe coal mine in a northern English village may be closing, which would also mean the end of the miners' brass band.

 

Trumbo (2015)

Director: Jay RoachWriters: John McNamara, Bruce Cook (book)In 1947, Dalton Trumbo was Hollywood's top screenwriter, until he and other artists were jailed and blacklisted for their political beliefs. Feeling inspired now? Join the VFX Union today! 

The VFX Union offers balance and stability

Any workplace is a relationship between employer and employees.

As in any relationship, there has to be a balance. If one party has all the power and holds all the cards, the relationship is unhealthy.The only way to achieve this balance is through unionisation. A union gives the workforce a seat at the table and the ability to have a say in decisions that affect them. It doesn’t always have to be adversarial and is more often than not productive for both sides but, without a union pushing for workers rights, every single decision management makes - no matter how good their intentions - is always going to lean in favour of the company.Sometimes it leans a lot, sometimes it’s almost imperceptible but it always leans in one direction, eroding away quietly over time. That is just reality. The unions are there to help push back against this bias and keep things balanced.Unionisation results in a positive impact for both the workforce and the industry. Unions are not perfect and just having a union doesn't magically fix everything, but the alternative would be to have no say in the matter. To just accept whatever is decided without consultation while we watch our rights, benefits and wages erode away over time?All workers rights, benefits and protections throughout history have always come from the unions. Things like a 40 hour week, child labour laws, health and safety, pensions, paid holidays, maternity, etc... none of it was offered up voluntarily by the companies. It had to be fought for and won by unions.None of the rights, benefits and regulations we have today can be taken for granted. They must be defended and unions are the only way to do this. Without a union in place, workers rights and benefits will slowly erode away over time.In a heavily unionised industry like film where virtually every department has a strong union in place, it’s appalling that visual effects is being excluded from union recognition when vfx are arguably the primary force driving the gigantic box office successes that make the film industry so phenomenally successful.Visual effects IS the film industry. There is no film industry without vfx. It's time we got the same kind of say in our branch of the film and television industry that other unionised branches get.Visual effects deserves to be unionised just like the rest of the film industry.As the saying goes: "If you haven't got a seat at the table, you're probably on the menu"Join the VFX Union at BECTU today.

Overworked and Underpaid? London's VFX Industry

On Tuesday 29th May, Channel 5 News Ran a special report on the economic and health realities of people working in London's VFX Industry (Dominic Reynolds reporting)https://youtu.be/aZMWjxLmtuE

How A VFX Union Can Work For You

Where Union’s work elsewhere (TUC as an example)

What exactly can a VFX Union do for you? It can be easy to get lost when it comes to understanding EXACTLY what a Union will do to change your life for the better… Some come to the conclusion that things are fine how they are, accept the current state of affairs and move on like things have been doing for some years. Some are still curious what the benefits are. We can all agree that things can be much better!

To help demystify what a Union could do for VFX, let's look at strong Unions that are thriving today and not just BECTU.

The TUC, one of the world's largest Unions that supports 49 individual member Unions, consisting of 5.5 MILLION working people is a great example. In an article with Paul Nowark, the National Organiser at the time of publication, outlines quite simply why a Union is beneficial for BOTH employee and employers.

Here is a breakdown of his points regarding the TUC from the article:

• A Union ALWAYS has a say: The first advantage of Union membership is to “make sure changes are negotiated rather than imposed”. So a Union has a say over any massive changes (excessive unpaid overtime for example) the industry might face.

• +15.6% more: Union members are shown to get paid an average of 15.6% more than non-unionised workers according to official government figures.

• Professional support: Much like BECTU, Unions offer their members advice, support and representation if they have issues with their employer. No one is ever alone or bullied into situations they shouldn’t ever have to face.

• Benefits: There are all sorts of other spin-off benefits, too, ranging from financial advice and insurance deals to training opportunities.

• Learning and Training: The Open University, for example, offers a discount on courses to union members for TUC members.

• Any drawbacks? There is the cost of a membership. A typical subscription costs £11 a month for one of the big unions. A small price to pay.

• One for all, All for one! Joining a union, rather like voting, is one of those things that only makes a big difference if lots and lots of other people do it too.

• Support no matter what: If you decide to join a union and your workplace is not already unionised, for example, you'll get support if you have a grievance or are in danger of being dismissed, but your union won't be able to sit down with your employer to negotiate salary and conditions on your behalf. It is only if 50% or more of the workforce are members that the employer is legally obliged to recognise the union, so the answer may be to rally your workmates to the cause.

• Getting an employers response: "If people join, that gives us the opportunity to go and talk to the employer. The more people are members and active, the more likely we are to get a positive response." says Nowak

So that’s the TUC, one of the biggest Unions in the world on how their current Unions work.

That’s all very well and good but VFX is different to other industries, right? A Union will end up hurting our employers and they’ll move to other countries where it is cheap! No brainer!

Hold on there...  a Union can be just as beneficial for them as it can be for us and that is what we need them to understand. We aren’t here to turn the clothes on their backs to rags. Far from it! Now, here is a small breakdown found online showing how a VFX Union will make our employers MORE efficient and MORE money by a Unionised workforce.

We are all in it together! How Unions work for Employers too, not just employee’s

Here are a few key points how Unions help employers:

• Assurance of a stable and well-trained workforce: Unions often have their own programs to train employees in their trades as listed above, relieving employers from the cost of training inexperienced workers. Well-trained employees create better and safer work conditions. In return, employers have fewer days lost because of work-related injuries or illnesses… saving them lots of money!

• Predictable Costs: Labor contracts give employers the ability to more accurately predict future operation costs for fixed time periods. This makes it much easier for the employer to control costs, develop product operating strategies, plan for expansion and invest in the future of the company and its employees. Employers will have less employee turnover and should have union assurance that more workers will be available if needed. Negotiating a contract with one party, the union, is much easier than having to negotiate a wage and job description with each individual employee, also helping to predict costs.

• Help employers communicate better with staff: Unions will help employers and employees communicate better when issues arise with the aim to keep both parties happy. With this attitude, staff turnover will reduce and help the team mature into a well established well-oiled company.

There you have it, a snippet of how Unions are working elsewhere and hopefully you can get a good idea of what a VFX Union could blossom in to. We all need to get together and make this awesome industry even more amazing.

Join the VFX Union at BECTU today!

References:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2009/mar/23/union-membership-benefits

https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/observatories/eurwork/articles/tuc-promotes-business-benefits-of-unions-to-employers

https://bizfluent.com/info-12140728-advantages-disadvantages-unions-employers.html

VFX Gender Pay Gap in the UK

Why is it that women in VFX with equal qualifications, skills and experience are paid less than men?

After last summer's BBC report sparked an uproar on gender pay gap there has be a new surge on finding out what really is the gap. But that's the BBC, surely the Visual Effects Industry is nothing like that, right?!Unfortunately that is not the case. These are the official reports: 

Double Negative

"Women’s mean* hourly rate is 19.8% lower than men’swhen comparing mean hourly rates, women earn 80p for every £1 that men earn.Women’s median** hourly rate is 22.8% lower than men’swhen comparing median hourly rates, women earn 77p for every £1 that men earn." 

Framestore

"Women’s mean hourly rate is 14% lower than men’swhen comparing mean hourly rates, women earn 86p for every £1 that men earn.Women’s median hourly rate is 16.4% lower than men’swhen comparing median hourly rates, women earn 84p for every £1 that men earn."

Industrial Light & Magic

"Women’s mean hourly rate is 25.5% lower than men’swhen comparing mean hourly rates, women earn 74p for every £1 that men earn.Women’s median hourly rate is 29.2% lower than men’swhen comparing median hourly rates, women earn 71p for every £1 that men earn."

Moving Picture Company

"Women’s mean hourly rate is 23.8% lower than men’swhen comparing mean hourly rates, women earn 76p for every £1 that men earn.Women’s median hourly rate is 28.3% lower than men’swhen comparing median hourly rates, women earn 72p for every £1 that men earn."

These were the large VFX companies in the UK that provided the data (all companies in the UK with 250 employees or more are required by law to provide gender pay gap data) - smaller studios were not required by law to provide this data. In their reports, each of the four companies above - except ILM - made pledges of bridging the gap by taking different steps such us diversity promotion and supporting women - yet none of them addressed the real issue - why are women in VFX getting paid less than men?After all these reports and pledges, will companies act on that and start paying their female staff equally? Will they address the underlying problems in VFX that make this disparity possible? We will have to wait until the next report for hard evidence of their intentions. In the meantime, it is time to face up to facts in the visual effects industry and for us all to keep up the pressure for facilities to do something about their gender pay gap problem. BECTU, the VFX Union is committed to equality in the workplace. By joining the union you can support this cause and help make the VFX industry a stronger and more ethical industry.Need inspiration? Here's a couple of things to pump you up! Take a few minutes to watch Stacey Smith's TED talk in 2016 and Frances McDormand's 2018 Oscar acceptance speech which taught the world a new phrase: inclusion rider***.

Can the UK VFX facilities come up with an "inclusion rider" of their own? The VFX Union wants to see men and women paid equally based on their skills and experience and not their gender. By organising together, we can make this happen!

*The mean hourly rate is the average hourly wage across the entire organization so the mean gender pay gap is a measure of the differencebetween women’s mean hourly wage and men’s mean hourly wage.**The median hourly rate is calculated by ranking all employees from the highest paid to the lowest paid,and taking the hourly wage of the person in the middle; so the median gender pay gap is the differencebetween women’s median hourly wage (the middle paid woman) and men’s median hourly wage (the middle paid man).*** "An “inclusion rider” is a clause that an actor can insist be inserted in their contract that requires cast and crew on a film to meet a certain level of diversity. " (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/mar/05/what-is-an-inclusion-rider-frances-mcdormand-oscars-2018)

Resources:Official goverment website:https://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/DNeghttps://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/viewing/employer-details?e=xrdzedeG52P3mfCmvaBqlA%21%21ILMhttps://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/viewing/employer-details?e=FIy5v1XTqqQ2F676WWpOSA%21%21Moving Picture Companyhttps://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/viewing/employer-details?e=Cc0NmCM8lWxaU2jm99ChnA%21%21Framestorehttps://gender-pay-gap.service.gov.uk/viewing/employer-details?e=Hrcq2dhRWi7ID_u7z62LxQ%21%21

vfxAssemble - What Happened

vfxAssemble Wraps

The vfxAssemble campaign finished on 10th November and we’d like to give a big shout out to all those who took part in it. Thanks to all of you out there who believed in it!Also, a very special thanks to everyone in the VFX branch committee, our VFX branch chair Joe Pavlo, and the BECTU Branch rep Paul Evans and everyone else who worked on vfxAssemble for their tireless efforts to make our industry a better place for every one of us.While we didn’t reach 50% membership at any of the four big London VFX facilities: (Double Negative, Framestore, ILM and MPC), hundreds and hundreds of you did believe in a better vfx industry and did sign up for vfxAssemble.

What Have We Achieved?

Because of all of you, vfxAssemble has started conversations and raised awareness and we are now a stronger VFX union than before. The VFX branch of BECTU is now the biggest and most active visual effects union anywhere in the world!Building a movement isn’t easy and it doesn’t happen overnight and it certainly takes a lot of work. We’re hoping that a whole bunch of you that got inspired by the vfxAssemble campaign will join the union now and become active in helping to grow this movement.Even when the progress is in small steps, it’s plain for all to see that what we are doing is moving things forward, changing attitudes and changing our industry for the better. One movement at a time, one campaign at a time, we are creating a space for the VFX union.

Going Forward

What we who have joined the union envisage in the not too distant future is an industry where VFX workers don’t have to lead unsociable and unhealthy lives. Where women working in the industry are not victims of geek sexism and an equal voice and equal pay isn’t left to chance. Where a juniors pay doesn’t average out to below the living wage because of unlimited unpaid overtime. Where film credits are guaranteed for those who work on the visual effects. Where more experienced artists do not have to fear being singled out and blacklisted for wanting a better and fairer industry. Where vfx workers can feel confident that their skills and experience are valued by the London visual effects industry. Where they can all feel that the industry they work for is also working for them.

We Want To Hear From You

The revolutionary vfxAssemble crowdsourcing model for union recruitment has been a huge leap forward for unionisation in our industry. We think the idea that people can pledge to join the union without signing up until enough of their colleagues pledge to join too is a brilliant strategy and we are going to keep working at it and refining it until we are successful. The light bulb is a great idea  In fact, it's become symbolic of all great ideas, but Thomas Edison made a lot of light bulbs that didn't work before he got it right. We're going to keep working at this until we get it right too! Help us make it even better next time around by taking the survey.We don't know how long it will take but full unionisation of visual effects is inevitable. The truth is, in the short time that the VFX union has been active we have seen marked improvements in the workplace and the London VFX industry has never been busier. There’s no need to fear unionisation. We are already making things better and it will be only be a matter of time before VFX workers across London collectively choose to assemble a majority to take our industry to the next level and help make it better and stronger for everyone.Until then, and beyond, it’s never too late to sign up!

vfxAssemble Facebook Live

We will be talking about vfxAssemble and answering your questions live on Facebook on Monday, 23rd October from 21:00 GMT.www.facebook.com/VFXunionUK/

vfxAssemble is a way to realise the vfx union we’ve always wanted. Here’s how it works: You pledge to join the union, but you pay nothing and no one’s membership is made active unless we achieve over 50% of the vfx workforce by the deadline. It’s a sort of Kickstarter/crowdsourcing thing. It’s anonymous, it’s risk free and we will only charge you if we are successful in achieving our numbers.

Don’t wait - join today at vfxAssemble.com!

    

London VFX Industry's Last Chance

Last week we launched vfxAssemble, a new call for unionisation in the London VFX industry. It's designed so that you won't have to commit to anything until over 50% of the London VFX workforce is unionised.

Why is the 50% threshold important?

Because it will allow you to have an elected representative inside your workplace, so that if you feel you are being treated unfairly, harassed or made suddenly redundant, you will actually be able to do something about it.Have you ever had to work unreasonable hours for months on end to meet unreasonable client demands? Have you ever been worried that if you don't do that you won't last long in the industry? Are your children growing up without you because you are always at work? Are you not able to start a family because of your job? Have you witnessed or experienced first-hand discrimination, sexism or bullying? Are you worried that the work will move elsewhere and you will be forced to relocate to another continent? Is your physical and mental health suffering as a result of your job?Whatever your worries might be, there is not a single instance where you wouldn't benefit from being part of a collective voice.

If together we can't make things better, you certainly won't be able to on your own.

November 10th is the deadline to sign up. If we don't meet our goal by then you won't be a member, you won't be charged anything, and London VFX will remain an industry of mostly isolated migrant workers at the mercy of company bosses, tax breaks and weak employment laws.vfxAssemble is a campaign put together by volunteer VFX workers in their very little spare time. The website might not be sleek, and we don't have the budget for marketing and advertising. But we want to be part of a better industry, and we think vfxAssemble is the last chance we've got to achieve that.Now it's up to YOU! Two things happening right away that you can participate in to find out more:First, there is a big BECTU meeting tonight called "Eyes Half Shut" where we will talk about vfxAssemble, A new research report into long hours in film production followed up with a discussion on Brexit and how it impacts our industry. It's free to attend and all are welcomeWed 18 October 2017, 19:30 – 21:00 BST - Regent Hall, 275 Oxford Street, London, W1C 2DJSecond, there is a Facebook Live session on Monday, 23rd October at 9:00 pm where we will talk about vfxAssemble and you can ask questions live.

facebook.com/vfxunionuk

We hope to see you there.

VFX Assemble!

Today London, tomorrow the world!

Something really huge regarding the VFX union here in London has just happened.It’s a campaign we’ve been working on for months called vfxAssemble that is a completely revolutionary approach to building our union that, if it works the way we think it will, we could see the majority of people here in London joining by the end of the month!

The number one obstacle to unionisation of VFX has been fear that becoming a member will compromise ones career. Everybody says they’ll join once everyone else does. It’s a catch 22.So here’s the deal: We have created a way for everyone to join together at the same time with no risk. If successful here in London, it will change the VFX industry around the world overnight!If you work in VFX, recognise the problems and have always wanted to change our industry for the better then this is for you!If you always thought unionisation was out of reach... that’s all changed. Now is your chance to anonymously and safely show what you think.vfxAssemble.com is a crowdsourcing idea - sort of like Kickstarter. Basically, you pledge to join the union, but nobody’s membership is activated until we reach our target of over 50%. That way, we all join the union together, overnight!The Visual Effects industry can’t go on the way it has. We need to fix it and getting organised is the only way to save this industry we all love.It only takes a few minutes and you only become a member if we achieve our target of over 50% of the VFX workforce here in London. Sign up today.If we do this, we will make history and we will make VFX a stronger, more sustainable and happier industry. Let’s do this! After all, what have we got to lose?vfxAssemble.com

MPC Cuts Comp Jobs in Canada

It happened in London, and it's about to happen again in Canada.

We've heard reports that 90% of the compositing department for Montreal will be let go/have their contracts run out shrinking the Montreal office down to around 20 core compositing crew (including supervisors).This sadly includes some new recruits form MPC's comp academy, many whom having relocated internationally for the opportunity to work with MPC, were being told that as soon as the course concludes they will also be let go. You can imagine moving half-way across the world and just starting out, to learn a short time later that you're going to have to move again.This seems to be a departure from MPC usual hiring of the comp academy graduates and letting go mid-level compers. Even seniors appear to be having their visa renewals reduced. Does this spell the end for their Montreal office?Montreal doesn't appear to be the only Canadian MPC suffering from cut backs, as we've also hear rumours of cuts in the Vancouver office. We can only wonder what this mean for compositing jobs in general at MPC.I know there were some people that speculated that it was the threat of unionization that may have contributed to cutbacks in London's compositing department, but that wasn't really happening in the Canadian offices, could it be that really this was their plan all along? Many people would have said that writing was certainly on the wall, well before BECTU joined the fight for better working environments. Our hearts and solidarity go out to our fellow colleagues in Canada who are facing the loss of their jobs or are affected.Has this affected you? Let us know!VFX workers have to stick together, and it's sad when companies bottom lines affect real human lives with such stark consequences for workers of having to be let go and move cities. It's something many VFX workers know all too well.Edit: Small edit made about production staff. Apparently they will not be considerably reduced, but instead will move to other departments for the time being.

MPC to offer absolute minimum redundancy payments?

Statutory redundancy. Only statutory redundancy.

Last week, we posted our astonishment at MPC's general attitude as a company to talent and quality. Readers will remember that they're largely closing down the Compositing Department that won them the Oscar for Jungle Book a few short months ago - and they're replacing them with the sort of low wage "trainees" that they can get (thanks to Apprenticeship subsidies) to mind the shop until they need to crew up again for a big job.

It couldn't stink any more than it does, right?

Wrong.

If what we are hearing is correct, the award winning staff that are being made redundant are being told that they will only receive "statutory redundancy." That is the absolute minimum redundancy payment that can be paid without being illegal.

Normally, when someone is in a high-value occupation, they would expect the employer to want to retain their skills by offering them a reasonable package - not just a reasonable rate for the hours that they work (not including unpaid overtime).

They would expect at the very least...

• A reasonable amount of sick pay - allowing for some paid time off if you get the lurgy
• A competitive pensions package that shows that the employer has your long-term interests at heart
• A humane approach to your working hours - knowing what all good employers know - that you get more productivity from sensible hours than you get from seven long-day weeks.
• A notice-and-redundancy package to reassure them that they won't be let go lightly

When employers say that they aim to value and retain staff, one would tend to expect something like "a month for every year" deal - this is a tax-free (up to £30k) payment of one month's salary, plus a notice period of three months. This is the kind of deal you would expect from a company in this sector (if the company recognises unions, anyway).

This means that they will pay you one month's salary for every full year you have worked for them as "compensation for loss of employment" along with a notice period that they may or may not need you to work (but you will get paid for them if you don't work it).

Some of the more cheapskate employers go for "three weeks for every year" or something like that, but as far as the visual effects industry goes, they never act this way. For these employers, what's on the table is rarely more than the absolute bare legal minimum.

The London VFX facilities offer only one week for every year that you have worked - capped at £489 - a lot less than a quarter of what some employees in other comparable industries get for redundancy.

The 'statutory cap (for workers aged under 41) at only £489 per week is particularly insulting. So someone earning, say £40,000, who has worked for five years at a company offering the standard "month for every year" and "three months notice" deal would earn around £16,700 tax-free redundancy and would have a three month notice period, or a payment of £10,000 if they didn't work it.

The same employee, now being laid off from MPC - having just won them an Oscar - would get a tax-free payment of only £2,445 and five weeks pay of £3846 - if the employer decides not to make them work their notice period (we're not clear yet what the deal is on this).

The bottom line is, vfx facilities like MPC want to reap all the rewards from their employees, but are not willing to go the extra mile to show how much they value the dedication and talent of their workers. Not so long ago in November, 2014, there was an article in Variety where the CEO of MPC Mark Benson said that for The Moving Picture Company, "Valuing Artists is the Best Effect".

Everybody knew it wasn't true back then and it seems very much like isn't true today either.

7 Day Weeks at it again

Another show down, and it's the same old story. We have anonymously received copies of emails encouraging long hours, seven day weeks; and citing false deadlines from one of the BIG VFX Houses.Changing Deadlines:Artists were given a hard deadline of Friday and then asked to be on call over the following weekend after being asked to come in the previous weekend both days. They were told "As of this very second, the clients have NOT said that we can have any extra time. This means that whatever does not make it to Technicolor by 5pm on Friday will not be in the theatrical release of the film." Then shots were continued to be worked into the next week. We can only hope that Hollywood did allow changes into the theatrical release.How often do we hear this in VFX? How often do the Hollywood Studios take advantage of US and come up with a FALSE DEADLINE to which we work late hours to achieve and then this deadline is magically extended to allow more time on shots? Why do the VFX Studios we work for seem to play into this and allow their employees to work unsociable hours to cater to these whims instead of keeping to the hard deadlines and then allowing employees the downtime they deserve? Are the Hollywood Studios even to blame or is this a ploy by companies to push artists to finish shots before they move onto their next show?Long Hours and 7 Day Weeks Encouraged:Further emails asked artists to "check in with production before you leave for the day" and artists were also encouraged to come to work both days on the last weekend of the show. Encouraged when the emails acknowledged that many artists "have already pulled a lot of 7 day weeks, and this is always massively appreciated."While it may be massive appreciated, it also illegal under UK law and it's not something that you can OPT out of, even voluntarily except in very specific circumstances (ex: rescue personnel in a natural disaster)There are 3 types of rest breaks enshrined in UK Law:

• 20 minute breaks if they work more than 6 hours
• 11 hours between shifts
• 24 hours uninterrupted each week and 48 hours uninterrupted each fortnight.

The Visual Effects Companies need to ensure that their employees are given the necessary rest times to allow for healthy lives. While we all understand deadlines, it should never come at such cost to the employee, especially if no compensation is given.Companies need to encourage artists to follow the UK entitlement laws on breaks and rest periods instead of encouraging them to miss them, undermining their health and ultimately their performance. BECTU is fighting to put a stop to these abuses.If this is happening to you at work, BECTU can help.Find out more information on breaks from the UK Government website: https://www.gov.uk 

Pensions and VFX

As a VFX worker, have you ever thought about what it will be like when you reach the age of 67? Will your pension be enough for you to live on? Will your health still allow you to work 70 hours a week to deliver the latest instalment of your grandchildren’s favourite superhero movie? And will it still be OK if you only get paid for 40 out of those 70 hours?With a current average life expectancy in Western Europe of 84 years for females and 79 years for males, chances are that sooner or later we will have to answer those questions.In the tables below, the Bectu VFX branch - i.e. ordinary VFX workers like you - have gathered and compared pension schemes from some of the major London VFX companies, based on the information provided to us by our colleagues who work at these companies. Let’s have a look:(N.B. The real attraction of these contributions from yourself and your employers is that they are “tax-free” - it is a very efficient way to save for your old age).

Double Negative
Address	160 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5QA
Number of employees	900-1000
Pension provider	Scottish Widows
Enrollment	Available after 3 months of service
Contribution structure (% of salary)	From Oct. 2013: employee contribution 1%, employer contribution 1%.From Oct. 2017: employee contribution 3%, employer contribution 2%.From Oct. 2018: employee contribution 5%, employer contribution 3%.

Framestore
Address	19-23 Wells Street, London W1T 3PQ
Number of employees	700-800
Pension provider	Scottish Widows
Enrollment	Available twice annually.
Contribution structure (% of salary)	Employees may pay any percentage they wish; Framestore matches the employee's contribution up to the following limits:0-1 years' service: no employer contribution.1-2 years' service: employer matches employee contribution, capped at 1%.2-3 years' service: employer matches employee contribution, capped at 2%.3-4 years' service: employer matches employee contribution, capped at 3%.4+ years' service: employer matches employee contribution, capped at 4%.

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM)
Address	Hend House, 233 Shaftesbury Avenue, London WC2H 8EE
Number of employees	300-400
Pension provider	Royal London
Enrollment	Available after 3 months of service
Contribution structure (% of salary)	Year 1: employer contribution 1%, employee contribution 1%.Year 2: employer contribution 3%, employee contribution 3%.Year 3 onwards: employer contribution 4%, employee contribution 5%.

The Moving Picture Company (MPC)
Address	127 Wardour Street, London W1F 0NL
Number of employees	Approx. 700
Pension provider	Aegon
Enrollment	Available after 3 months of service
Contribution structure (% of salary)	Until April 2018: employer contribution 1%, employee contribution 1%.Until April 2019: employer contribution 2%, employee contribution 3%.Beyond April 2019: employer contribution 3%, employee contribution 5%.

So, for example, let’s say you are a freelance VFX artist who gets hired by ILM on a 6-month PAYE contract. After 3 months of service you will be offered to join the company’s Royal London pension scheme. If you opt-in, ILM will take 1% of your salary from your monthly payroll and match it with another 1%, all of which goes into the Royal London pension pot. Jolly good.After 3 months of payments into your pension, your contract ends. ILM will stop making contributions into your fund, which becomes dormant.You go job hunting again and you are lucky enough to land a 1-year contract at Framestore. During that time you will have the option to join the company’s Scottish Widows pension scheme, but unfortunately Framestore will not match any of your contributions into your pension pot.When your contract at Framestore comes to an end, you are hired again by ILM, where - after 3 months of service - you will again be offered to start making contributions into the same Royal London pension scheme you joined a year and 3 months earlier, starting again from the lowest contribution level.Chances are that by the time you reach your retirement age you will have collected at least half a dozen small pension funds from different providers. Every time you move home or your circumstances change you will have to notify each and every one of them. Until, when it's finally time to retire, you are likely to receive a very small amount of money from a multitude of pension providers.On top of that, there are a lot of three-month periods where you will not be earning any pension at all.It’s finally worth noting that these levels of contributions are fairly close to being the bare legal minimum in most cases.Bectu negotiates with employers in the TV and Film industries who offer contributions that are “matched” (i.e. employees and employers both contribute 5%) or even “better than matched” (i.e. a 1-for-2 scheme where employees contribute 4% and employers pay in 8%) with very high caps - often up to 10%.We are in an age where state provision of welfare is falling and the expectation of private pension provision is rising. It’s time that VFX companies step up and care about the welfare of their employees. 

What can the Bectu VFX branch do?

Quite a lot, actually. The union can push for London VFX companies to adopt the same pension provider, so that if you keep moving from one company to another on short term contracts you will cumulatively keep making payments into one single pension pot. The NEST scheme was set up with exactly this eventuality in mind. And if you return to a company after a few years you won't have to start all over again from the lowest contribution level. Bectu can also push for a better pension deal in line with what other media companies are already offering.These things are not impossible to get, and no they won’t kill the London VFX industry. But there is a catch. The Bectu VFX branch is a union of VFX workers, and as such is only as strong as the sum of its members. We have grown a lot in recent times, but even with the current membership numbers we are simply not strong enough to be able to challenge big VFX companies, which can happily keep offering their employees only the bare minimum of employee benefits. A tiny improvement in your pension provision would more than cover the cost of your union dues.If we don’t stick together right now asking for a better pension deal, we will certainly be on our own when - after a lifetime of sitting down in dark rooms staring at computer screens - our health will fade and we will no longer be able to sustain the punishing working hours of a movie delivery schedule.Joining Bectu is confidential and requires no political affiliation.Happy 2017!