Next time you’re negotiating a raise or a new job, be sure to look at this spreadsheet from ‘VFX Soldier’ that compiles salary data across the vfx, animation, and gaming companies.
The Animation Guild conducts a voluntary wage survey every year. There is also a website called VFX Wages that also encourages artists to voluntarily submit their wage information. My information comes directly from the facilities. It does not include bonuses, stock options, or weekly guarantees.
I feel this information is useful to get a better understanding of what artists and technical directors can expect to be paid when they are negotiating their next deal at facilities such as DreamWorks, or ILM, etc.
I’m still looking at the data myself, it’s pretty extensive. I’m still looking at the numbers myself, but he’s already noticed a few interesting trends:
I deliberately separated PDI and DreamWorks Glendale so it’s a little easier to compare wages. DreamWorks has two facilities, one in Glendale, and PDI in Redwood City. The Glendale facility is under a contract with The Animation Guild while PDI is not. The wages are generally higher in Glendale which begs the question:
If unionization is so costly, why doesn’t DreamWorks send more of it’s work to PDI? It’s only a few hundred miles up north.
You always hear the argument that if a place goes union they’ll just send the work elsewhere but the irony here is that the Glendale facility is massively expanding and has been doing about 2 out of the 3 films DreamWorks produces each year.
He’s sharing it as a Google Spreadsheet, but it’s generating enough traffic that Google is dropping back to ‘basic’ mode. If you want an offline version to review, I’ve uploaded a PDF version (27Meg) you can look at.
via Wages In The VFX, Animation, And Games Industry « VFX Soldier.
