Curse the darkness????

Or light a single candle?
I just finished reading articles in last week's Daily Variety and the Hollywood Reporter as well as numerous blogs; all of which note the proliferation of vfx studios opening Vancouver and Toroto and Montreal (seduced by generous tax incentive programs!!) To say nothing of work going to New Zealand, London, and Mumbai.
I must admit, the prevailing tone of the bloggers, including Eric Roth of the VES, is pretty pessimistic. In five years, these folks predict, there will be absolutely no vfx work done here in Southern California. Might as well put your house up for sale and move!! Or, check and see if MacDonald's or Starbucks is hiring?
Did you want fries with that, sir??
I prefer to take an optimistic approach! Sure, work is going to Canada. And the UK. and India. but, miraculously, lots of local facilities have recently hung out "Help Wanted" signs too. VFX work is being done in Culver City, Venice, South Pasadena, San Francisco and Redondo Beach.
And I, for one, figure that as long as that work remains here, the people doing that work deserve to have a few crumbs tossed in their direction.
So, lets focus on the positive, shall we?? ILM and Pixar and Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues and Stargate are still open for business. And, will be required in the near future to provide medical benefits to their workforce. When that happens, we believe the IATSE benefit plans will prove to be the most efficient way to obtain those benefits. And we will responsibly address the working conditions so that hours, overtime, and weekend work will be scheduled with a modest amount of compassion. As long as LA remains the home base of the movie industry, I'm betting we'll be around to stay.
Jimmy
vfx@iatse-intl.org