If you think it’s an honor to work on high profile MCU projects, think again.
Several visual effects artists have taken to reddit to complain about the poor working conditions and unrealistic deadlines when it comes to working on Disney’s many Marvel movies and Disney Plus series.
The initial grievance, titled ‘I am quite frankly sick and tired of working on Marvel shows!’ was posted a few months ago, but has made the rounds all over the internet again this week. The thread was started by user Independent-Ad419, and has spawned many responses from other alleged VFX workers over the past few days.
Marvel has probably the worst methodology of production and VFX management out there.
They can never fix the look for the show before more than half the allocated time for the show is over.
The artists working on Marvel shows are definitely not paid equivalent to the amount of work they put in.
The charm for working on a Marvel movie is way over rated now and I would rather be happy working on a TV series after decades and decades of this.
Sorry but had to get it off my chest. 😉
Disney uses several FX houses for Marvel production, so it needs to be made clear that it’s not employees working at Marvel / Disney per se, but rather employees of the various FX houses the work has been outsourced to.
Regardless, the complaints are all eerily similar.
From reddit user RANDVR…
I am on my third Marvel project in a row and literally just woke up 5:30 am on a Saturday with stress going ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s 6 am now and I am making a reel to apply someplace that has projects other than Marvel because I can’t do this anymore.”
From reddit user statusvfx…
“Marvel movies have been nearly all my worst experiences working in comp for the many years that I have. The unlimited money they have and the power they get from this combined with their endless lineup of movies have made them the worst clients out there. I avoid Marvel shows like the plague now having had my fill of them. They are ALWAYS without doubt a miserable working experience. I can cope with OT, but its the wasted time, work and effort that is lost to bad planning and too many voices in the approval process.”
Things had gotten so out of hand with Marvel projects, that artist Dhruv Govil claimed on Twitter that he left the industry over it.
Working on #Marvel shows is what pushed me to leave the VFX industry. They're a horrible client, and I've seen way too many colleagues break down after being overworked, while Marvel tightens the purse strings. https://t.co/FacGBfnYmG
— Dhruv Govil (@DhruvGovil) July 10, 2022
With Marvel projects being planned out years in advance, there is no shortage of VFX work to be done. But will these allegations keep young artists away from Marvel projects? Time will tell, but the allure of having “Marvel” on your resume straight out of college might be enough incentive for some to at least give it a shot.
[Source: reddit]
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