Jen Cantwell
510-542-4424
jen@paintcollective.com
www.paintcollective.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
100% Cloud VFX Company Launched
Albany, CA. July 29, 2011
100% Cloud Based
The Paint Collective VFX, LLC was launched in June as the first 100% secure-cloud based VFX company. Specializing only in VFX Paint, The Paint Collective brings together artists from all over California, a collaborative effort to offer top-level 2D and stereo paint to vendors looking to outsource without sending work overseas. Secure-cloud technology allows all client files to be stored in a central location while the artists have access to only a monitor and mouse from the location of their choice. This infrastructure allows artists to choose what location to work from, but doesn’t have the risks generally associated with sending work to a group of freelancers. The files are impossible for the artists to download; they can only view and work on the files remotely.
100% Top Talent
Allowing artists to choose their working location caters to the experienced, longtime VFX artist who, for one reason or another, cannot work the standard 10 hour day at a VFX studio. Many in the industry find that once they start families they are forced to leave the VFX world altogether due to the immense amount of time they are expected to put in in a studio environment. Artists working with The Paint Collective are paid on a bid-per-shot basis, allowing them to take as much or as little work as they want without jeopardizing clients budgets. There are no rules regarding putting in a minimum amount of time; speed and quality carry a logical reward. Compared with studio pay, in an environment where the number of hours spent sitting at a desk has more to do with a paycheck than the speed and quality with which work is produced, the level of skill which these painters bring to the table ensures that the work is completed with such speed that artists are generously compensated for their talent. The combination of artist compensation, flexibility in artist location and hours results in the very best painters in the industry offering their services through The Paint Collective.
Outsourcing
VFX companies of all sizes are beginning to experience the realities of outsourcing overseas; the prices may be good, but the work is often subpar and in need of revision after delivery. The lack of experienced talent overseas doesn’t change the fact that studios are being further and further squeezed budgetarily. The need for outsourcing may be real, but sending paint work to The Paint Collective allows studios to reduce their costs without sacrificing quality. All work is bid at a modest day rate. Studios can expect the costs to be similar to average artist pay without having to cover facility, insurance, IT, hardware or software costs. All work is kept in the USA, and all contacts are on west coast time, further facilitating client/vendor interactions.
Quality of Life
Artist quality of life is a real issue in the VFX world. A feast or famine industry, the studio VFX artist must go with the tide, often resulting in weeks or months of night and weekend work. With a good size, and growing, pool of available artists, The Paint Collective has the ability to expand and contract quickly to meet the needs of the client without compromising the chosen lifestyle of the artist. Moving forward, the infrastructure that The Paint Collective utilizes is seen by many as the future of the VFX industry; security, talent, fair compensation and reduced costs for studios while keeping work in the USA.
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