Trouble in FX Land

As bad as I think things are as to how animated productions are organized, they're not as bad as they are in the visual effects field. Variety reports how schedules are shrinking to the point where parts of films are being locked before other parts are edited and how the industry is coming perilously close to missing a delivery date. How long will it be before a film scheduled to open in thousands of theatres just doesn't show up?

Effects are treated more like a commodity than animation. Productions routinely split effects work up between several studios. Furthermore, the pressure on budgets and schedules is resulting in very long hours, which is causing some of the most experienced artists to leave the field. This is another case where the "needs" of an industry are counterproductive to the long term health of that industry. Sooner or later, all bubbles must burst.