Q: What’s better than slaving away on VFX jobs in downtown Detroit? A: Doing it all in an abandoned casino!
Seems like the tax breaks the great lakes state is offering have drawn some big VFX money. According to the Detroit Free Press, the facility called Wonderstruck…
would be the first of its kind in Michigan. Wonderstruck said it would deliver full-scale Hollywood productions from inception to state-of-the-art computer generated 3D software. Its content is mostly targeted toward families and young audiences.
They’ll be setting up shop inside an old MGM Grand casino so they better start trying to get the cigarette and spilled booze stench out of the carpets now. Oh, and there is the slight problem of not having anyone there to do the actual work.
Since Michigan currently lacks many workers with the skills Wonderstruck needs, Wonderstruck said it was developing an intense training program for potential new Michigan employees.
I wonder if they will keep the cocktail waitresses and nickel slots open for the new artists in training.
LINK to the full article
Man, with no clocks or windows (a trait of all casinos) thats going to be a bad place to work, hehe
Well it’s no secret to those of us currently in Michigan, though I guess it is to rest of the industry out there. But Michigan actually has quite a talented collective of CG artists already.
I work for the states largest VFX studio called, Speedshape (http://www.speedshape.com). We’re a Nuke/3dMax house working mainly with the car industry on broadcast and web. But there are also many other smaller companies like Armstrong and White, and With A Twist Studio to name just a few.
Everyone here is very excited for the new opportunities that this studio is hopefully going to bring. But also skeptical at the same time. Though with any luck, the artists in Michigan will finally get a brighter spotlight.
So the rest of the world may not know it yet, but we are here!
I definitely did not mean to give the impression that there were no talented artists in Michigan. Of course I’m familiar with Speedshape and the high quality work you guys do. The article (admittedly snarky in in tone but hey, that’s how I roll) was meant to point out an example of the speculation that is happening in the VFX industry as whole right now. With big closures happening all over the place (goodbye Orphanage) it seems that opening up a huge facility in Downtown Detroit seems a bit on the riskier side. I am from Michigan (born in Detroit) and the fact is you guys are going through some touch economic times making the city not the most attractive place to live at the moment. In addition, you’d be hard pressed to fill an empty casino full of VFX guys in LA the way the biz is headed right now. My point was, If they can’t do it in the biggest vfx market in the world, how can the do it in Detroit? The history of VFX is littered with this kind of “If you build it they will come” attitudes. I’m not saying it work work, just that unbridled optimism might not be the only correct response. Again, this in no way should reflect on the talent or level of dedication to VFX that any individuals in the Detroit metro area have. Sorry if I gave anyone a virtual bloody nose.
Oh no, I wasn’t offended at all. Sorry if I gave you that wrong impression. I found your article actually right on the nose and I’m a fan of your ‘snarky’ posts, ha. Skepticism I think is a much more rational reaction rather than the unabashed fan fare that this new facility is getting right now. I know our studio knows just as well as any of the others in Michigan, the huge difficulties Wonderstruck is going to face by setting up shop so far away from the main market. And frankly it’s going to be a miracle if the expectations for this studio are met. I just wanted to let you know that what that article wrote wasn’t entirely correct when it said that Michigan was lacking workers that Wonderstruck is going to need. And thank you for the compliment towards our work here at Speedshape. That means a lot coming from the caliber of artist that you are. I know I can speak for every artist here and say we’re all really big fans of Zoic Studios. So keep those ‘snarky’ posts coming!
No offense taken. Thanks for the props and I really meant what I said about Speedshape. That mustang piece is awesome!
Wow, thanks man. That’s really cool you’ve seen that. My fiancee and I Comp’d that job. It was a break neck 2 1/2 week deadline, but a ton of fun to work on. Anyways, thanks again. And if you’re ever in this part of the country again it’d be a pleasure to buy ya a Frogurt or something, ha. Take care.
The same thing will happen in Detroit that has happened in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, San Francisco, Dallas, Tijuana and elsewhere. Some places will sink (and disappear), others will swim and manage to eke out some sort of equilibrium. I can already speculate about who among the contenders is doomed. Here’s some advice: If you want to beat Los Angeles on price and quality, don’t hire people who can’t find work there.
snarky enough?
Unfortunately, as with EVERY new VFX company they are going to want to hire VFX artists with FILM EXPERIENCE, and IMDB credits. None of which live in Michigan. They will be bringing in people from California. So the unemployed artists here will still be unemployed. Everyone here should move to California. Fuck Michigan!
All you guys from Speedshape, and other companies in Detroit that have been working on cars fro the last 10 years, you’ll never get jobs there, NEVER. The so called thousands of jobs they’ll be “training” people for are janitorial, and support services. I know someone on the inside. Don’t fall for the hype!!!!