Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/237968
OUTLOOK VFX Bob Lowery Vice President/Business Development Dive Philadelphia & New York www.divevisual.com Dive's credits include VFX for the feature After Earth. to fewer and fewer films, and all of them high-end, action-packed blockbusters, so this excludes a lot of people from that format. Everyone knows the margins are thinner, expectations are higher and timelines are shorter — for both advertising and features, so what's next?" OPPORTUNITIES: "New media and globalization has opened up so much opportunity out there that it's sometimes hard to forecast what's the next best move for us as a company strategically, but in the end you have to find the mode of communication that works best for your company and allows you to do things that are important to you. "We are very excited with the emerging landscape and think that we have seen a peek of what's over the horizon. I've been using the Internet since the day it came out, but, at the time, I didn't envision it to be the bazillion-dollar industry it has become today. We're optimizing the direction of the company to go after what's next, and we think that we are ahead of the curve on this. "Our international commercial work has also grown to become about 50-60 percent of our commercial business. We are currently working on spots/projects for Russia, Canada, China, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, France, Germany and Spain." THREATS: "There are so many amazing opportunities but also a lot of risk. At the moment, everything is a gamble. I think the successful companies will pick an opportunity that they think fits them best, research the variables and then throw the dice. But not everybody's going to make it through, which is part of the risk. Since 2007, a lot of good companies doing good work have gone out of business because they just couldn't compete or sustain their momentum. It's not that anybody made big bad decisions or did anything wrong, but nowadays not guessing right is going to get you in trouble." OUTLOOK FOR 2014: "I think the industry will be just fine; it could even be a banner year. Back in 2007 I was asked when I thought the American economy was going to be back on its feet, and I said sometime in 2014 we'll know that we are going to be coming back for sure — we might not be all the way back by then, but certainly on the way. Let's hope that I was right." 34 Post • December 2013 www.postmagazine.com Dive is the visual effects and picture finishing division of ShootersInc, led by veteran VFX supervisor Mark O. Forker, specializing in feature films, television shows and commercials. Recent credits include Silver Linings Playbook, After Earth, Chernobyl Diaries and HBO's The Leftovers. STRENGTHS: "The amount of projects that require VFX increases every year, so there is certainly no shortage of work, whether it's feature films, television shows or commercials. All of these mediums rely more and more on VFX for creative, cost savings and safety reasons. The possibilities are literally endless in what you can accomplish with VFX with the level of talent and technology that exist today." WEAKNESSES: "For film and TV work, which is our core business now, finding enough talented artists to do the projects when the amount of work exceeds a company's core capacity [is a challenge]. So is the increasing demand for high quality at a price that can't support the quality level. Studios and networks want to work with the companies they can trust to complete the job, but sometimes the companies need to take on more work than the core team can handle. "Also, there's a lack of understanding by the client of what it takes to produce this type of work at a very high level. Along with this comes a responsibility for companies to educate their clients on what it takes to give them what they want and to work with them early on to help them determine sufficient budgets and guide them through the schedule requirements to give them what they want, when they want it." OPPORTUNITIES: "Because there are so many projects that require VFX, there is no shortage of potential work. The companies that adapt, stay lean and continue to find efficient solutions to creative problems will prosper. Companies that can provide an all-in-one solution will be more successful as the budgets for all forms of content are getting smaller. The more you can do to remain efficient and nimble, the more value you can offer your clients and therefore remain profitable. "Another opportunity is to diversify your offerings [across] features, TV, commercials and digital. It's what we try to do: not get stuck in one area but work across all disciplines." THREATS: "Tax incentives drive the VFX industry for features and television shows. I believe there is a threat to the industry by nationwide tax incentives that aren't sustained. If a state offers incentives to drive business and create jobs, the incentives need to be secure and sustainable like they appear to be in Louisiana and New York. Many states don't have the needed support to sustain the infrastructure and grow the industry there. This forces VFX artists, in many cases, to be transient and go where the work is, which is very difficult for them and their families. It's caused splintering of talented pools of artists. Worldwide competition is also a concern. The quality level overseas is increasing.