Marvel Studios does not take into account the working time of effects houses, explains an anonymous VFX artist.
The standards of working conditions are a very serious issue among the world’s large companies and franchises. And, fortunately, the constant improvements that have been adopted by thousands of companies in different countries are increasingly visible to their consumers. Either so that these conditions are safer, healthier and more equitable for your work team or to have a suitable environment that guarantees the commitment of your employees and, therefore, the final result.
However, while some of the most popular and successful franchises are expected to abide by these fairer measures, unfortunately this is not always the case. There are still practices that could put the physical or mental integrity of workers at risk. And it seems that Marvel Studios belongs to this sector, according to an anonymous artist.
Marvel might not be what it seems
As we know, Marvel Studios is one of the most recognized product houses in the cinematographic field. Based in Burbank, California, this subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company stands out for producing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, based on Marvel Comics characters. So far, it has released 29 films and seven television series, while its box office receipts – in North America alone – have exceeded one billion dollars.
Despite the fact that his creations have been a milestone for the industry and have won the hearts of many fans for several years, the magical stories of superheroes may not have the same atmosphere as his films, full of heroism and values. What is worse: there is an atmosphere of discontent behind the scenes.
Recently, an anonymous VFX artist has spoken out about the “power of intimidation” Marvel Studios wields and the terrible working conditions that have caused more than one nervous breakdown and several anxiety attacks in the houses of effects.
To better understand, VFX artists are a fundamental part behind the success of Marvel Studios. These artists, using the best technology, create visually incredible scenes to give the most realistic effects possible to movies.. To do this, they use computer-generated images and then manipulate them according to the scenarios. However, it seems that the franchise and effects houses do not have the best relationship so far.
Whoever shared this information explained to Vulture what the conditions were, declaring them extremely poor. “It’s pretty well known, and even joked around in all the VFX houses, that working on Marvel Studios shows is really tough,” the VFX artist ruefully expressed, emphasizing the great power the studio has. about his profession. “Marvel really makes you work really hard. I’ve had co-workers sit next to me and break down and cry. I’ve had people have anxiety attacks over the phone.”
On the other hand, one of the main problems that it faces, also illustrative, is that Marvel Studios brings out a fairly large number of projects, which makes it difficult to keep the workday at a good pace. An example of this was at the San Diego Comic-Con, when the franchise revealed its plans for the future of the Multiverse Saga -equivalent to two years-, which included a variety of scheduled movies and series. Unfortunately the studio is too inflexible to change dates due to the workload that their announcement implied. And, what is worse, the installments of Marvel would have their respective changes without considering what this would mean for the houses of effects.
“Maybe a month or two before a movie comes out, Marvel will have us change the whole third act,” the artist confirmed. “Delivery times are very tight. So yeah, it’s not a great situation overall.” In other words, if a company does not comply with this adjusted line, it could imply its exclusion in future projects. In fact, the VFX artist talked about an example of a house that couldn’t complete the job in the given timeframe and ended up being “blacklisted” by Marvel Studios.
There are even other problems that can be noticed from the artist’s explanations: the lack of knowledge of visual effects on the part of the directors of Marvel Studios -who really do not consider the times that the specific work implies- and the absence of a cinematographer during post-production. Unfortunately, this pattern is repeated for almost all existing projects, according to the VFX artist, but in the specific case of Marvel, its prestige and power do not allow effects houses to demand better conditions.