Well I guess it really depends on who you talk to. The higher ups in our current administration and the FED tend to lean towards the “No no no, we’re not in a recession. Keep spending money.” While others on the ground floor can clearly see that we are indeed in a recession. Possibly even close to a depression. I think Detroit has been one of the first places to really see this first hand.

I know, it’s scary. But I really don’t see how people can be that surprised. I mean all that little dollar bill in your pocket is really worth now a days is how much faith you have in the government to honor it’s worth. Which faith in our government seems to be at an all time low lately. Now it used to be that the dollar bill was an actual receipt for that amount in gold. But after the Federal Reserve Act was passed under everyones noses back in 1920 on Christmas Eve, the FED had complete control to print as much ‘money’ as they wanted. And I guess it’s not a coincidence that the board game ‘Monopoly’ was also made in the 1920′s. Because that’s effectively what that amendment turned our money into. Worthless strips of paper.

Now what does this long rant have to do with visual effects? Well, a lot.

We have another storm coming. First it was the WGA, DGA, and SAG strikes. Now…it’s the big one. Because for the first time industry projections are showing that our business is in for some very choppy waters. Now this projection could be wrong. And believe me, I hope it is. History has shown us that through every other recession and depression people still needed to be entertained. So…studios faired pretty damn well. At sometimes even showing a surge in profit! But according to this Variety article I’m going to link you to, that doesn’t seem to be the case this time around.

LINK: Industry braces for recession impact

I just can’t seem to shake off this feeling that in the next 10 years we’re going to see a dramatic increase in the number of major visual effects studios moving to foreign countries for cheaper labor. And all the little studios out there won’t be able to will just go belly up.

The signs seem to be written on the wall. We already have ILM in Singapore. Sony Pictures Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues in Mumbia. And now even Hyderbad because of ‘a cheaper cost of living’. Countless other studios are opening up offices in Canada as well. So it’s looking more and more likely that if you want to be a visual effects artist in feature films, you better be fine with immigrating into another country. And that’s taking the whole ‘willing to relocate’ part of our resumes to a whole new and unwanted level.

Pretty depressing post huh? Well that’s kind of my mood today. At least about the state of the world and this job that I love to do. I guess it’s only appropriate to quote Terminator and say, “hay el venir de la tormenta”. Because there is indeed a storm coming. We can’t ignore it any longer. So bunker down the hatches fellow artists. And hopefully I’m just really really wrong about this one.

UPDATE:

Jess told me that this post was WAY too depressing, so hopefully this will bring some happy into it…

Did that work?