If you’re in the film industry, you understand how hard the men and women in the VFX community work. They go around the clock to meet deadlines that are becoming more and more difficult to meet, creating a stress-riddled environment. Now, they are speaking up on social media. And specifically, it is Marvel Studios they are calling out.
Ever since Marvel increased their release schedule, going from two films to three or sometimes four, the company’s VFX projects are spread out through countless post-production houses. But even with a number of houses working simultaneously, audiences are still critical of the films’ CGI, even going as far as to call the films, “ugly.”
2018’s Black Panther comes to mind, whereas beloved as the film was, the climactic fight scene between Black Panther and Kilmonger was criticized for shoddy effects. Recently, fanboy and fangirl critics had a field day with the first trailer for Disney+’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Few were impressed with Bruce Banner’s cousin’s appearance of the Emerald Emissary.
Audiences are not the only critics of the VFX in Marvel films. Now, artists in the VFX community are speaking out, going as far as refusing to work with Marvel anymore.
According to The Gamer, many VFX artists are calling the company the “worst VFX management out there.” The allegations originated on a Reddit thread, where supposed artists who have worked for Marvel spoke about their experiences.
Titled “I am quite frankly sick and tired of working on Marvel shows!” the thread describes an anxiety-filled environment complete with sleep deprivation, exhaustion and eating badly.
REVIEW: Thor Love and Thunder’s many blunders
“Marvel has probably the worst methodology of production and VFX management out there. They can never fix the look for the show before more than half the allocated time for the show is over. The artists working on Marvel shows are definitely not paid equivalent to the amount of work they put in,” said Reddit user Independent-Ad419, adding, “I don’t give a sh*t if the Marvel fanboys eat it up and make Marvel billions (we don’t see any of that anyway)… All you get from Marvel movies is stress and nothing else.”
Another user, RANDVR writes about being frustrated with the studio: “I am on my third Marvel project in a row and literally just woke up 5:30 am on a Saturday with stress going ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. It’s 6 am now and I am making a reel to apply someplace that has projects other than Marvel because I can’t do this anymore.”
Dhruv Govil, a VFX artist who formerly worked with Marvel on the projects Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man, supported these complaints in a tweet. Govil spoke to The Gamer about his personal experience saying he was overworked, stating:
“Working on #Marvel shows is what pushed me to leave the VFX industry. They’re a horrible client, and I’ve seen way too many colleagues break down after being overworked, while Marvel tightens the purse strings.”
This Pandora’s box cracks open just as $250 million Thor: Love and Thunder has opened to mixed reviews, including our own. The film’s sometimes shoddy CGI has been discussed at length on social and now even director Taika Waititi jumped into the discussion, mocking the VFX on Twitter:
Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson poke fun at #ThorLoveAndThunder’s editing and CGI in this excerpt from a Vanity Fair interview pic.twitter.com/KKTW2UvaRW
— More Butter ???? (@morebuttertv) July 10, 2022
Marvel has not responded yet to the allegations yet. It should be noted that other studios are facing the same criticism from VFX artists. Thor: Love and Thunder is currently in theaters.
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