Once again many hard working vfx workers were unfortunately excluded from the latest VFX blockbuster hit "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them." The film, in its third weekend, has dominated the box office for Warner Brothers and has earned a massive $608M globally. Yet that money is not enough to convince Warner Brothers to include all the names of those who worked to create a land of magic and creatures entirely in CG.One has to wonder what Warner Brothers would do without the talent that creates the beasts, magic and 1920s New York City that makes Harry Potter such a blockbuster hit. The franchise was even nominated 3 times for visual effects oscars (2004, 2010, 2011) and with awards season fast approaching it would be no surprise if the latest J.K. Rowling installment was up again for visual effects nominations.Of the over 600 crew at lead vender Double Negative, less than half were credited. This is of course is after shoving all 277 credited names into a big block to fit as many people as possible on the roll. While we can applaud Double Negative intention to buy a Cinefex ad and include a full credit list, you have to wonder if the least a company could give for the blood, sweat and unpaid late nights that go into many films shouldn't at least bare minimum include credits for all cast and crew. The news was similar for Cinesite's crew with only around one-third in the credits. It's not all bad news though, for the smaller team housed at visual effects company MILK, around 90% of crew received credits.It's just more proof that the majority of the hardworking crew, who spend many late nights to develop an amazing well earning blockbuster, don't get the credit they deserve.
No Credit? Star Trek's Beyond leaves two-thirds of VFX Artists off end Credits.
It's official. Star Trek's opening weekend Box Office pulled in around $182 million coinciding with the franchise's 50th anniversary. One of the heaviest Visual Effects films of the summer, it's no surprise that the VFX community here in London pulled off awe-inspiring visuals for this blockbuster, but artists expecting a bit of starlight and Hollywood spectacle are likely to be disappointed. We've heard that two-thirds of the hardworking individuals for this film didn't get the opportunity to see their name on the big screen.It is rumored that Paramount originally only initially wanted to give 100 credits, and Double Negative, the lead VFX house on this, pegged them up to a little over 300 names to split between London, Vancouver, Singapore and Mumbai. For a team of nearly 900 artists, it's just another notch on the growing divide felt between the treatment of the rest of Hollywood and the visual effects industry.Double Negative's valiant efforts still leave a crushing blow for the artists left out. As one of the few non unionized Hollywood workforces we are often at the bottom of the credit list, almost tacked on as an afterthought, while assistants to the assistants and catering names come up ahead of us. It is the power of the Hollywood unions that has ensured their members don't get left out.The union negotiations with Hollywood studios are the reason why other film industries get higher billing and a long credit list.Why are we being left out? With digital reels, it would cost no extra money to add extra lines to include VFX crew in the credits. It's another slap in the face, showing how under-represented and under-appreciated we VFX artists are in an industry when it's often OUR shots that brings in an audience and profits to Hollywood Studios.