Aledged MPC exodus as employees seek studios with better working conditions after RAG system annoucement

The AVU has heard reports of a large number of employees seeking alternative employment (or some simply just resigning) after news broke the other week of MPC’s new RAG system (pictured below), a traffic light-based protocol that forces their employees to work in-studio for at least 3-days-a-week to a maximum of 5-days-per-week (not including weekend work). These reports have come from a variety of sources, from those working in MPC, those who know people working at MPC, and various other studios.

Official infographic from MPC on their new RAG system.

Other VFX and Animation Studios announced their open positions on LinkedIn last week for those who might be looking to jump ship from MPC’s tougher stance on flexible working, with many of those studios critising commenting that flexible working was here to stay for them and forcing people to work in-studio isn’t the answer if a project is falling behind (or that artists should be punished if a show is behind too).

Blue Zoo Studio’s stance on remote and flexible working

Cinesite priding themselves with their new way of working.

This is a clear example of those who’ve simply had enough voting with their feet. We support everyone affected and remind you that the AVU is here for all. If you’re discriminated against by MPC’s new ruling then please get in touch with us via the various communication channels. We are available by email (animvfxunion@gmail.com), LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Would you like to know more?

Got questions about what the Animation & Visual Effects Union is? Want to know more about what we do and how we operate? Fancy talking to us face-to-face? Head on down to our AGM on August 24th 2022. This is your opporunity to get to know your union commitee a little closer and get a bit more involved. We elect our new committee for 2022/23 at the AGM, so if you’re interested in getting involved as a committee member then this is your chance! We are actively recruiting for the committee!

The location is still to be decided (it will be in person and not online). Please visit our events page before attending to make sure you know where to go!

MPC controversial RAG system ignites ANGER in industry - Studios extend hiring olive branch

MPC’s decision to introduce their new RAG rules, a traffic-light system deciding if an employee must work 3 to 5 days in-studio, has sparked rage in the visual effects & animation industry, not only in the UK but around the world. Hundreds, if not thousands, took to social media, such as Reddit, LinkedIn, and Twitter, to express their opinions on the new system with a sheer majority of the feedback being against the system.

At MPC and had enough? Links to new roles at the end of this article.

MPC’s RAG system announced on August 14th at an internal Town Hall meeting

MPC’s reasoning for the introduction of this system is down to “projects having some/serious issues” and, essentially, it’s the fault of those on the project and you now need to come in physically to get it back on track.

This finger-pointing attitude was the straw that broke the camel’s back, sparking anger in many around the industry. People also questioned the reasoning behind MPC’s decision when so many other studios are performing extremely well when it comes to flexible working, whether it is fully remote, hybrid or optional in-studio working.

Other news website report on MPC’s action such as Cartoon Brew

Has MPC dug a hole for themselves?

It’s very obvious to say, in the age of flexible working, most people aren’t happy with how MPC has treated those who make their moving pictures happen. Sparking debate across the industry if the age of flexible working is coming to an end?

Luckily, many other studios around the UK sprung into action! Restoring faith in the flexible-working dream and that it is far from just a memory. Companies such as Cinesite, Trixter, Framestore, DNEG, Territory, Industrial Light, and Magic have all reached out on social media such as LinkedIn saying they are hiring and support flexible working. This isn't a recommendation/endorsement of the listed companies as we understand some of them have their own ethical issues.

Recruiters offer an olive branch to MPC workers

At MPC? Not happy about the RAG? Find a new role below:

Working from home and loving it? Enjoying spending more time with your family? Only coming in a couple of days a week and want it to stay that way? These studios below are offering flexible working and are ACTIVELY HIRING!

Cinesite Careers

Trixter

Framestore

Goodbye Kansas

Industrial Light & Magic

DNEG - (PAID OT)

Keep an eye out on LinkedIn for other recruiters reaching out.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WORK TO THE END OF YOUR CONTRACT. YOU CAN HAND IN YOUR NOTICE AND ONLY WORK YOUR CONTRACTUAL NOTICE PERIOD. READ YOUR CONTRACT AS TO HOW LONG THIS IS.

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!

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.

UK VFX Union featured on fxguide podcast!

Paul Evans, the BECTU national official for the vfx branch and Joe Pavlo, the vfx branch chair had a chat with Jeff Heuser from the fxguide podcast to talk about their work in the UK to establish a Visual Effects Union. A lot of ground was covered from the explosive growth of the vfx union in the UK over the last year, to some of the issues facing people working in the visual effects industry and a look ahead at the future of the union in the visual effects industry.listen to the episode here:

fxpodcast #303: UK Union update

We discuss the latest info about UK visual effects artists who are seeking union representation. Joe Pavlo (artist) and Paul Evans (BECTU) are our guests. Unpaid overtime, fear, social media, how to organize, collusion, opting out of overtime... just a few of the things Joe and Paul discuss with our Jeff Heusser

also available to download in iTunes

Inspired? Why not come along to the Thursday VFX LunchMeet every week from 1-2pm in the courtyard at St. Anne's Church, Wardour Street (nr. Shaftesbury Avenue) and find our more about the vfx union - or just cut to the chase and join the union right now!

Large BECTU survey points to serious concerns from MPC's visual effects workers

full article on BECTU's website here

Bare necessities missing for VFX workers at MPC

“Moving Picture Company appears to encapsulate everything that is wrong with employment in UK VFX in microcosm” says BECTU, the media and entertainment union.In a large-scale survey of people who have worked at London's Moving Picture Company (MPC), conducted in the week leading up to the UK premiere ofJungle Book, BECTU has found a workforce, both past and present, that has serious concerns about the company's coercive working culture, with widespread complaints from world-class VFX artists about pressures to work excessive unpaid overtime.In late 2015, BECTU started actively recruiting at MPC, which provided VFX services on Jungle Book.  In campaigning for union recognition, members were taken aback by management's hostility to this move; recruitment literature was removed and discussion about the union was banned in staff forums. Thankfully, part of the company's attempts to keep the union out resulted in small improvements to management attitudes towards their staff, but - as BECTU's survey shows - significant concerns remain.In particular, members were conscious of unfair pressure resulting from the company's culture of short-term contracts. MPC has an employee-profile that dramatically contradicts UK Screen's claims that "91% of the UK VFX workforce have a permanent contract."

Short term contracts increase workplace pressures

Instead, MPC appears to have an overwhelming preference for short-term contracts, with a surprising number of individual respondents (in free-text comments) making a direct link between this and the climate of pressure from managers, particularly on unpaid overtime.Significant numbers of staff were prepared to say that:

• MPC is not interested in a fair dialogue with independently-minded employees
• they have little faith in the 'Crew Forum' as a means of resolving problems fairly (current employees were significantly sceptical)
• work-life balance for VFX artists at MPC is often very bad.

There were widespread fears around:

• refusing to work unpaid overtime
• raising legitimate grievances with management
• management finding out about individuals' BECTU membership.

There was a significant number of respondents who complained of "unwelcome pressure" or feeling harassed by colleagues / management, and an even larger number of respondents who said that they knew of colleagues who had experienced such pressure. A very clear majority of the respondents who knew about unwelcome pressure believed that reporting such behaviour would be frowned upon (in many cases because management were the ones behaving badly).Paul Evans, BECTU national official, supporting VFX workers said:"These results are very disturbing and we hope that MPC will agree to work with us on a full independent survey on this subject so that it can be dealt with properly. The VFX sector is now a central part of the UK film industry. It is astonishing that most survey respondents were frightened that MPC would find out that they are members of a trade union, and that there was a widespread fear of raising concerns, reporting unwelcome pressure and asking for a responsive management."MPC appears to encapsulate everything that is wrong with employment in UK VFX in microcosm – particularly the way the business is structured to pressure people into working long hours without being paid for overtime. In a few clear cases, respondents reported direct bullying and intimidation from managers."If the UK VFX industry is to retain the talent that it needs to survive and grow, it needs to be a race to the top, and not to the bottom. We need London to lose its reputation for excessive unpaid overtime, and this forms part of BECTU’s wider campaign to ensure that everyone in the film industry is paid for all of the hours that they work." BECTU is the media and entertainment union for the UKread the full article on BECTU's website here 

This Thursday and every Thursday, union members and other vfx people get together at our weekly lunch meet where we chat about things that are important to people in the vfx industry.

We will be meeting this Thursday April 14th  1:00 – 2:00 pm  @ Kingley Ct, Carnaby St. 

Look for the green flag!

MPC Rethinks Its Sickness Policy

Yesterday MPC announced a U-turn to the company's sickness policy which had already been officially updated less than six months ago.With MPC's management perhaps feeling pressure from the the wave of VFX unionisation sweeping the industry, freelancers on 1 year or less contracts are now entitled to up to 5.5 days of sick pay per year. This is a huge improvement as up until now employees had 0.0 days of sick pay during their first year of employment.This simply would not have happened if artists in the MPC comp department had not previously joined BECTU in big numbers and asked the Union to formally put forward a recognition bid on their behalf.It's only by joining the Union and following a legal and democratic path established by the government that companies such as MPC will ever listen to its workforce.MPC keeps being openly hostile to the idea of a Union, depicting it as a "third party" who wants to dictate policies, while not realising that the Union is nothing but their own employees, who are unhappy about how they are being treated and who are asking for change.BECTU will keep pushing for recognition at all London VFX facilities in the months and years to come, and you can be sure to see more results like this happening.We hope you will join us. No more fear!

An open letter to all staff at MPC

Dear MPC Employee,We are sure that you've heard rumblings about a bid by BECTU to achieve Trade Union Recognition at MPC. We thought that it was time for the union to write to you directly - addressing some of the concerns that have been raised with us over recent weeks.We initially asked for union recognition in the Compositing and Roto-Prep departments of MPC because most of the staff in those departments asked us to do so.Most of the staff in those departments (65% on the day that we lodged our request) were already BECTU members. Your colleagues did this because they want a voice in the industry that they work in. So many of you are on short-term contracts, and because of this, our members told us that they were frightened to raise their concerns because they feared being labelled as a trouble-maker.We understand that, and we will not be disclosing the names of our individual members to employers.Having a formal role for BECTU at MPC would end that worry anyway, and that's why your colleagues requested it. They have told us that they don't like the assumption that they will work long, arbitrary hours of overtime. They don't like getting emails - at 9pm - berating them for not being at their desks.They don't like the culture of short-term contracts and short notice periods. They don't like the lack of structure in their careers with the company. In other sectors of the film industry, there are training paths and established career structures, and our members have a perception that their employers don't care about that.Since we lodged our first 'recognition' letter, our membership at MPC has grown considerably. Our total London VFX membership is four times bigger than it was in Summer 2015, and we are now thinking of broadening our campaign to other departments. But before we can do this, we need you to join the union.We would like to deal with one important issue that has been raised by MPC Staff.Every single bit of union activity will be 100% directed by BECTU members. Our work will not be driven by BECTU Officials or the wider union. We are a very democratic union.For a long time, BECTU has been trying to have a serious conversation with VFX employers about the long-hours situation. We have found it almost impossible to get the employers to engage with us properly, and because of this, BECTU's members asked us to mount a 'Paid Overtime' campaign.

We have to run campaigns like that when we can't have a serious dialogue with employers. We would much rather sit down and negotiate ways that long hours can be limited and planned-for.To be clear, we have no intention of asking for, or agreeing to, anything that will damage basic rates of pay. Other VFX employers manage this situation in better ways and we want serious conversations with MPC about how we can do this here. Paid overtime is only the solution if employers won't be sensible and negotiate properly on this issue. Just to underline...

• 100% of our policy positions with MPC will be decided, democratically, by BECTU members working for the company
•  100% of our negotiations will be directed by BECTU members working for the company

We will not argue for anything without agreeing it with our members first. Our members love their work and they want their company to succeed. We are not planning to do anything that will hurt MPC. We are attempting to make MPC do something that it plainly doesn't want to do: Negotiate with its staff about the working conditions that they are employed under.Our members have reported that, since union activity started, that some working conditions have improved slightly, and one or two perks have started appearing in your inboxes. The 9pm emails have stopped.... for now.We don't want to lose these gainsWe hope that you will consider joining BECTU. We enclose a membership form that offers a discounted joining rate if we get your form back (in the enclosed FREEPOST envelope) before February 21st 2016.In the meantime, please keep an eye on http://vfxforum.org - the VFX Union website - you will find details of our regular lunchtime meetups, and hear what other London VFX workers have to say about their working conditions.We think that you deserve a voice.With best wishesBECTU London VFX BranchDownload PDF here: An open letter to all staff at MPC

 Want to find out more? Come to our Thursday VFX LunchMeet every week at Kingley Court, Carnaby Street from 1:00-2:00 (look for the Green Flag!) 

TECHNICOLOR makes deal to buy THE MILL for €259 MILLION

The Mill has been bought..  More companies merging it looks like in visual effects. The Mill has been acquired by Technicolor for €259 million. I hope this doesn't mean lay offs for any of the crew. Technicolor already has well known visual effects companies like MPC, Mr. X and Mikros Image. Mikros Image, based in Paris, has only just been acquired itself in April 2015. I guess it's not surprise the acquired a top notch advertising facility to put into their portfolio, especially since advertising can turn more revenue sometimes than films. Two acquisitions in 6 months though, does that seem like a lot? What do you think?http://www.technicolor.com/en/who-we-are/press-news-center/press-releases/technicolor-acquires-visual-effects-leader-in-advertising-the-mill

"This story only highlights what MPC wants people to believe"

A recent article in ‘Variety’ about the London company is being met with a storm of protest from within the VFX community. Commenters complain about a toxic corporate environment and describe deplorable working conditions.The Moving Picture Company (MPC) is said to have "managed to fly high without losing sight of crucial details, notably its people."Which drew comments in response that include:"Having worked at MPC I have to say that this story is hilariously inaccurate….in fact it’s the complete opposite of reality. Within the VFX industry they are known to be treat their artists awfully.""This story only highlights what MPC wants people to believe. Anyone who has worked there or knows someone who has, knows this story to be a PR exercise and nothing more."Jennifer Wolfe writes on AWN:"The real news is the 135+ comments that have been posted in Variety’s comments section, most of them describing deplorable working conditions, including massive amounts of overtime without pay and a toxic corporate environment."And VFX Soldier comments:"MPC is sort of the Walmart of the VFX industry: It’s a powerful company that treats it’s workers just poorly enough to where they can get the most amount of work out of them."Readers who commented on the article generally regarded the story as a "puff piece". Reportedly, huge weekly workloads of between 60 to 100 hours are "always risking deadlines and quality." Commentary ranges from outrage to anecdotal evidence."100 hour and over workweeks are the NORM… not just sometimes, all the time. People blocking the exits so you cannot leave until 3am dailies are completed is the NORM. Does this sound like a decent workplace? They BLACKLIST.""Talk about management practices, blacklists, bullying, things they’ve done which is illegalsuch as not keeping track of OT""Absolute nightmare. So many broken promises. Underpaid undervalued and treated like a slave. I was ill with stress multiple times, got RSI and entered work each morning with gut wrenching anxiety.""Most of these stories are true. MPCs working hours are beyond unrealistic and disgusting.""This puff piece was just the straw that broke the camels back. If Benson already knows what it’s actually like working there and is signing off on this kind of PR fluff then that’s depressing. If he doesn’t it’s just worrying.""Talk to your employees! Talk to the staff, to the artists, to the technicians. Let them come to your office regularly, they don’t bite: you’ll be immensely surprised of what goes on. And believe me: you’ll company will finally make proper use of its workforce and make way more money."One commenter encourages the readers "to try and improve the job and an industry that, reading the comments here, you clearly still care about."Late Friday the number of comments has reached 300.

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LINKS:variety.com/2014/film/news/moving-picture-co-finds-valuing-artists-is-the-best-effect-1201346561/awn.com/news/workplace-conditions-mpc-called-poisonousvfxsoldier.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/varietys-mpc-puff-piece-reveals-vfx-industry-woes-few-solutions/