ABSTRACT
In 2013, British union Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (BECTU) launched a campaign to organize people working in visual effects (VFX). In the whole of London, there were maybe less than 200 people working in visual effects in film, and that seemed a lot at the time. The two main companies then, CFC and Cinesite, had to write their own software, build their own computer workstations and films scanners and recorders. That created a great technical expertise base in London. The main problem with the film visual effects facilities in London is that they have one business model: how to get people to work for free. In Los Angeles, they have fantastic visual effects knowledge and expertise, but the facilities are miles apart. Because of this close-knit community, London was ideally positioned when about fifteen years ago, visual effects became so vitally important to the economy of Hollywood.
