In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Visual Effects Society (VES) is encouraging and advocating that all employers allow VFX artists to work remotely. This will go a long way toward helping to support the health and safety of the global VFX workplace.
The VES issued a statement which read in part, “Many visual effects practitioners are still hard at work at studios and facilities around the world, when they might prefer to work remotely in this difficult time. Municipalities worldwide have been enacting stringent public health protocols to help curb the spread of COVID-19, and that includes strong guidance for employees to work from home, whenever possible.”
While it is well aware of security-related concerns regarding protection of proprietary work product, the VES nonetheless affirmed that “right now is time for the utmost flexibility towards VFX artists and all practitioners as we try to figure our way through this crisis. Many companies are trying to take action, and we are optimistic that studios and vendors can find and enact workable solutions.”
To aid the transition to remote work, the VES Technology Committee has issued best practices and guidance for working from home, culled from studios, vendors and facilities. The recommendations are designed to help the VFX community by providing technical solutions to common problems that practitioners may encounter in preparing for and adapting to work from home workflows.
To access the compilation of best practices when it comes to working at home, click here.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More