First published on LinkedIn on February 13, 2025
Reprinted/reposted/reblogged here with the permission of the Author!
Dear VFX Community,
Today, we face yet another devastating loss for the VFX industry, the closure of Scanline VFX Germany, marking yet another casualty in what has been an increasingly difficult era for visual effects artists worldwide.
My heart goes out to all the incredibly talented professionals who worked at Scanline VFX and to everyone in the industry who continues to struggle in these turbulent times.
Since the infamous Hollywood strikes of 2023 our industry has been suffering a systematic decline as studios prioritize cost-cutting over quality, outsourcing storytelling and visual development to wherever it is cheapest, regardless of depth, craftsmanship or capability. This has resulted in not just job losses but the slow disintegration of an entire creative culture, one that has defined the way stories are told for generations.
One point that particularly resonates with me from recent discussions is the shift to remote work. While remote work has its advantages, I personally grew up in the hallways of VFX studios, where teams of 20, 50, 500, or even thousands of artists worked side by side. The energy, the exchange of knowledge, the spontaneous problem solving, the mentorship and the shared ambition to create something groundbreaking, all of that is disappearing. The very essence of what made this industry an art form and a craft is being diluted in the name of efficiency and budget constraints.
We are reaching a breaking point.
It is time we stand up for ourselves. The reality is without us, there are no films and TV shows as we know them today. There is no time travel, no alien worlds, no superheroes, no historical epics, no cinematic universes, no imaginative storytelling that transcends reality. The studios need to recognize this and the only way they will is if we make them understand that without VFX, the industry collapses. Perhaps it is time to start considering a global strike, a coordinated effort across all studios and vendors worldwide, to remind them that our craft is not just a commodity, it is an art form that deserves respect, fair pay and sustainable working conditions.
Alonso Varela
To all my colleagues, past and present, to those who have lost their jobs and to those who continue to fight to keep this industry alive, I stand with you. We must believe in ourselves, in our creative passion, and in our ability to shape the future of this art form. We must not let the industry we built be reduced to the lowest bidder.
We are the industry and without us, there is no future for cinema as we know it. Stay strong. Keep pushing forward and let’s fight for what we love.