To Visual Effects Artists,

Following on the heels of open letters by Dave Rand and Joe Harkins, I thought I would write one more that I hope will bust some illusions and excuses in the hopes of creating some immediate, positive change.

It’s been over a year since I wrote the Open Letter to James Cameron that seems to have kicked off some of the discussion about working conditions in visual effects and the state of the visual effects industry as a whole. I wrote that letter for two reasons; because I realized someone needed to say it and I had the platform at the Huffington Post to make sure some people heard it.

Here’s what I believe needs to be said now – nobody is going to save you. The organizations that you may have been hoping would come along and do the work for you? That’s not going to happen. The quicker you realize that, the quicker you can actually get out there and solve the problem.

I believe both the VES and IATSE have a bunch of political intrigue and internal strife going on, none of which ultimately helps the artists, facilities or studios.

Wait, scratch that — I don’t just believe that. I know it for a fact and so does everyone who’s privy to what’s going on behind the scenes. I’m not to go into detail because frankly that just feeds into the backstage drama and as I said, it’s not helping.

None of this is to say that either the VES or IATSE are filled with bad people, by the way. The problem is that they are filled with people — plenty of smart, dedicated people who all have the same issues of ego and agenda that plague every single human being on the face of this earth. When you combine that with the restrictions and general institutional malaise that happens as soon as people start forming organized groups and making a living through organizations, what you have is institutions that are not possibly going to be effective for solving the problem at hand.

So for what it’s worth, my suggestion is that some smart people step up and take matters into their own hands. If the main issues for artists are working conditions and benefits, then an ad hoc committee could start to talk to facilities and get voluntary agreements on those issues. And not months from now – next week.

The digital revolution that has created the modern visual effects industry has also put a wealth of tools at your disposal for organizing and communicating. IATSE has shown no savvy at using these tools which is part of the reason that they’ve generated no empathetic response from the industry that they are trying to organize. But you can be smarter. You can start using blogs, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MailChimp and the other wealth of cool tools available right now to start to get something done.

Stop waiting for IATSE, IBEW, the VES or anyone else. Don’t try to solve problems that you have no possible means to solve, such as entire states, provinces and countries having film incentive programs. There’s a qualitative difference between swinging for the fences and tilting at windmills.

Instead, create a written list of a few goals that are achievable and would make the lives of artist better and then start sending out e-mails and making phone calls to talk to the people who are in a position to do something about it.

In reality, some of this work has already been done. I’m not going to name any names of the risk of putting folks on the spot, but there are a number of smart people who been active and writing. If a few of you get together and just decide you going to do this, then get the word out I can promise you that you will see results – real, tangible results that will make your lives and the lives of other people who work in the visual effects industry better.

In closing, live long and prosper. May the force be with you, always. Yippee ki-yay, motherfuckers.

Lee Stranahan
Dallas, Texas
April 22, 2011