18 replies to this topic

[KushDesign]

As much as 30% of Digital Domain's VFX and stereoscopic conversion will be student interns PAYING to work there. Thoughts?

Edited by KushDesign, 30 May 2012 - 09:42 PM.

[Sao_Bento]

Welcome to capitalism (healthcare not included).

[destro]

What a complete shit-head.

[devnull]

What a complete shit-head.

Yup. Someone should sink his ship.

[jaypeeare]

I've been following this for quite awhile. Definitely doesn't sound fair but if you think about it Doctors do pretty much the same thing when trying to get residency at a hospital, but of course visual effects artist aren't paid nearly as great, ha.

Digital Domain is doing this as well:
http://www.google.co...1645d82f50200ac

[mgrvsh]

Is that why stereoscopic conversions look like shit?

[AromaKat]

Everyone who "has the honor of having Digital Domain on their resume" will raise eyebrows of future employers, for sure. The bosses reviewing the resumes will see that they can get that person for pennies on the dollar.

Those poor schmucks who opt-in for this program are probably fucked in the long run.

Edited by AromaKat, 31 May 2012 - 09:00 AM.

[kitkats]

Well, if you're rich or stupid enough to pay someone else to work for them then you probably are fucked anyway. And paying someone to do stereoscopic conversion!!? I mean who in their right mind would do that thinking its any kind step on the ladder? You'd be better off going for a job in the kitchen or on reception.

[florio]

yeah this guy totally deserves to be punched in the dick


just sayin

[anothername]

There is an FXGUIDE podcast where they interview him and give him a chance to clarify/justify his comments.

His basic point in that interview can be summed up as: I had to sound like an exploitative asshole when talking to investors because investors want companies to be run by exploitative assholes, but really this program is no different than any unpaid internship and probably way better value for students than full sail.

My guess is that these internships will end up being totally exploitative but even if they are not, Textor has succeeded in tainting the value of every graduate from the program, the reputation of Digital Domain, and made comments that are tremendously damaging to an industry struggling to develop sustainable labor practices, what a dumbass.

[krpdesign]

ALTHOUGH THIS MIGHT BE THE WAY MOST INTERNSHIPS GO, THIS IS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAW.

THIS LINK SHOWS A TEST FOR WHEN "FOR-PROFIT" COMPANIES MAY USE UNPAID INTERNS, LEGALLY.
#4 IN PARTICULAR APPLIES HERE...

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;

http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm

[vozzz]

digital tutors is $50 $45/month

Edited by vozzz, 31 May 2012 - 09:01 PM.

[SFBurning]

Unpaid internships are sort of a scam any way you look at it. If the company is really putting their interns to work on real projects, they're exploitative because that's the kind of work that they should be paying people to do. Conversely, many interns just end up hanging out around the office waiting to be told to get coffee, and that's just a waste of their time.

Although they're scarce, paid internships are the only real solution. Just give me minimum wage and I'll be happy to push your pixels in the morning and take your trash out at night. Interns are generally understanding of the fact that someone in the office has to take the semi-janitorial duties and --let's face it-- everyone else's time is too valuable to be wasted on those sorts of tasks anyway. What I can't abide is when a company will only offer those sorts of duties to interns without compensation. Interns too often end up spending the time they could otherwise be using to sharpen their skills or earn some cash just waiting to get someone else's lunch. Paid interns are probably less likely to get caught in the hurry-up-and-wait trap, since time they spend idling about is an actual expense to the company.

[Colin@movecraft]

Is paying college educated, soon-to-be graduates minimum wage really that much of a burden? sigh.

c

[aspekt]

I think they're missing one key element in all this...Professionalism. What level of that can they expect to see from Students ?

[Kmksunfire]

Don't hate the player, hate the game...

[Zickar]

A friend of me told me about someone who was willing to pay one of the big players on the freelance scene to work for him .. So basically its a paid internship where the intern pays his boss to work at his firm (instead of it being the other way around) ... Amazingly I wouldn't do it now but maybe I would've if I was just starting and looking to build my resume just like I accepted a project that isn't paying much at the moment based on the sheer promise and hope that I will be part of this guy's team in the future on projects with bigger budgets ... Sometimes you have to take radical decisions .

[SFBurning]

No one should have to pay to someone else for the privilege of providing them with free labor. It's rough enough trying to stick it out with an unpaid internship and holding down a paying day job on the side.

If it ever comes to that point, I think I'd rather do some pro-bono work for some nonprofits who don't have deep pockets for fancy design work. I'm sure there are plenty of pro-social organizations who would be more than happy to accept some free MoGraph sex appeal if it was offerred. At least then you'd be building your portfolio and working for a good cause. Plus, you know, open briefs are pretty tight.

[destro]

No one should have to pay to someone else for the privilege of providing them with free labor. It's rough enough trying to stick it out with an unpaid internship and holding down a paying day job on the side.

If it ever comes to that point, I think I'd rather do some pro-bono work for some nonprofits who don't have deep pockets for fancy design work. I'm sure there are plenty of pro-social organizations who would be more than happy to accept some free MoGraph sex appeal if it was offerred. At least then you'd be building your portfolio and working for a good cause. Plus, you know, open briefs are pretty tight.

Exactly.