Despite its massive budget, Avatar: The Way of Water concept artist Logan Preshaw has called out the unfair wages at VFX company Weta Workshop. James Cameron’s sequel has gotten a lot of attention thus far for its visual effects. Initially, the Avatar: The Way of Water trailers saw some division for its special effects from viewers, who said that they had not been updated enough since the original film in 2009. VFX artists have since proved this fact wrong, highlighting the revolutionary nature of the water effects in Avatar: The Way of Water. Since then, the reception of Avatar: The Way of Water’s trailers has been far more positive, and press regarding the VFX in Avatar has been generally positive.
However, ahead of the film’s release, Avatar: The Way of Water VFX concept artist Preshaw took to Twitter to reveal mistreatment of him and other workers by VFX company Weta Workshop. According to Preshaw, his pay on the “multi-million $$$” project saw a $10/hr cut from his previous job as a lead animator on a children’s cartoon show. Preshaw made sure to point out that this was not the fault of Cameron nor the Avatar: The Way of Water production itself, but Weta Workshop, the VFX company that Preshaw describes as “world-renowned.” Check out the Twitter thread below:
2022 Has Seen Multiple VFX Controversies
Preshaw’s story is disheartening yet unsurprising within Hollywood’s current landscape. This year alone, Hollywood has seen a number of VFX controversies arise regarding major films. Films under scrutiny include Avengers: Endgame, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and many others under the Marvel Studios banner. Complaints have included exploitation claims, accusations of overburdened working conditions, and a lack of transparency between Hollywood timelines and the VFX artists’ schedules.
Preshaw isn’t even the first Avatar franchise team member to come forward surrounding the treatment of the visual effects team. VFX artist Nick Sinnott took to Twitter this past fall to cast a harsh light on his experience working on the original Avatar. Unlike Preshaw, who graciously exempts Cameron and the Avatar: The Way of Water team from blame, Sinnott is more direct in his criticism of Cameron and the Avatar team. According to Sinnott, the VFX workers for Avatar were not unionized, leading Cameron to “exploit” their work by requesting “endless unpaid revisions.”
How Hollywood Can Treat Artists Better
From stories like that of Preshaw’s Avatar: The Way of Water experience, Sinnott’s Avatar experience, and those of other VFX artists this year, one fact is glaringly clear: Hollywood needs to do better by its VFX artists. In the blockbuster films fans know and love today, the visual effects are critical, and thus the pay should reflect the vitality of the artists that bring these effects to life. Additionally, individual Hollywood projects could do better work to oversee third party companies that they outsource to hire talent, which could have partially solved the Weta Workshop issue, for perhaps a different company could have been employed to meet these needs had Hollywood used further oversight. However they get there, improving Hollywood’s VFX conditions will take a major overhaul in practices that have led to the mass-exploitation of workers for years.
Source: Logan Preshaw / Twitter