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editor's note A VFX industry in flux T By RANDI ALTMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF raltman@postmagazine.com he VFX industry is in turmoil at the moment. Studios are closing and Oscarwinning house (Life of Pi) Rhythm & Hues has filed for bankruptcy. While things have been shaky for a while now, the issue came to a head just before the Oscars, when hundreds of artists took to the streets for an Oscar-day protest. Then after the Oscars telecast, where the visual effects category seemed to take some blows to the head, including when Bill Westenhofer, from Rhythm & Hues, got cut off by the Jaws theme just as he was thanking his employer and co-workers. Visual effects producer and industry veteran Jenny Fulle of The Creative-Cartel calls it a perfect storm. "The primary issue is subsidized work versus nonsubsidized work, combined with too much supply and not enough demand," she says. "This results in companies in non-subsidized areas to not only discount their work, but compete against each other for the jobs that do exist. That is unsustainable." Fulle (pictured, right) is amazed at how fast the momentum has been building over the last few weeks, but she is also worried. "It's unfortunate we are fracturing into groups, because the swell is going to die and we are going to lose our momentum. I am afraid that nothing will come of it." In Fulle's mind, the first thing that has to happen is either ending subsidies or initiating subsidies for P O S T those companies that are located in non-subsidized areas so they can compete. "Now we are feeding that false economy, and I don't think it's the long-term solution, but it can stop the bleeding. Then we can let natural selection happen — some companies are going to fall away, because there is too much supply — so we can stabilize the business and focus on the other issues, like workers' rights and portable benefits. Unions can't help if there's no work to collectively bargain for, and if you can't bank hours you can't get benefits. We have to ensure there is work." Fulle believes the Call to Action letter last month from VES head Eric Roth, asking people to write to Jerry Brown and the California legislature, is a start. What about the film studios themselves? Do they have a responsibility? Fulle calls that a tough question. "They use a product, and just like you and me, if that product is on sale, we are going to buy it. And nobody is going to fault us for that. Do our schedules keep getting shorter? Yes. Do they want more for less? Yes. But it's business." Inside look: editor Andrew Weisblum By MARC LOFTUS SENIOR EDITOR mloftus@postmagazine.com 2 anhattan Edit Workshop launched "Inside the Cutting Room" last month with a sit down with editor Andrew Weisblum, ACE. The event looked at the vet's career as a film editor and his relationships with two very different directors: Wes Anderson (The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Moonrise Kingdom) and Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler, Black Swan). Weisblum got his start in film working onset, but quickly realized it wasn't for him. He was lucky enough to get an internship on Naked in New York, and later, assistant editor roles, including work on Chicago. The Fountain represents his early work with Aronofsky. "Everything was potentially a special effect," he recalls of the film. "We imagined 100 different ways in the cutting room." The Wrestler continued the relationship. "Darren, as a director, and person, is very loyal and interested in what you have to say; he wants your input creatively. We got along very well." For Black Swan, Weisblum's role was to continually escalate the unraveling of Natalie Port- Post • March 2013 Post0313_002-editRAV4FINALREAD.indd 2 RANDI ALTMAN Editor-in-Chief (516) 797-0884 raltman@postmagazine.com MARC LOFTUS Senior Editor/Director of Web Content (516) 376-1087 mloftus@postmagazine.com CHRISTINE BUNISH Film& Video JENNIFER WALDEN Audio BOB PANK European Correspondent bob.pank@virgin.net DANIEL RESTUCCIO West Coast Bureau dansweb451@aol.com BARRY GOCH West Coast Blogger/Reporter IAIN BLAIR Film MICHAEL VIGGIANO Art Director mviggiano@postmagazine.com A DV E RT I S I N G MARI KOHN Director of Sales (818) 291-1153 cell: (818) 472-1491 mkohn@postmagazine.com GARY RHODES Eastern & Intl Sales Manager (631) 274-9530 cell (516)410-8638 grhodes@copcomm.com LISA BLACK Corporate Sales Executive, Events, Custom and Integrated Print/Publishing Services lblack@copcomm.com (818) 660-5828 SUBSCRIPTIONS (818) 291-1158 S C R I P T M EDITORIAL man's Nina character, but in a way that viewers could relate to. "It had to be a gradual build," he recalls. "She could not start out insane." Anderson, he describes, as "very different, but trusting and collaborative. There's no rule book. Once you pick the take, it's far from over." The Darjeerling Limited was his first film with the director, and more recently they collaborated on Moonrise Kingdom. In this case, the challenge was implying that two 12 year olds were falling in love, even if the footage and dialogue may have suggested differently."The magic just didn't unfold in front of the camera," he notes, so the edit helped build chemistry. As an editor, Weisblum appreciates the power of storyboarding, noting it to be "an efficient way to plan what you want and try out ideas." He edits on an Avid, and uses After Effects and Photoshop to create quick mockups when needed. "I don't like having rules," he expresses, "but I know it makes things stronger some times. It's not a bad thing to have discipline." 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