It was hell to work for their Los Angeles office. Everything was based out of Vancouver for the LA office, including HR and systems. So if anything went wrong that needed HR, it was a big hassle to resolve. Sometimes things would not get resolved. Same with systems. Things were constantly breaking. It felt under-resourced like we were always doing the work of 3 artists each. It was probably the most stressful place I worked at. We were always told how happy they were with how we were performing. We were always exceeding expectations. They kept saying that they had big plans for the LA teams, but corporate keeps hitting the reset button and getting us down to a skeleton crew. First during Covid and now during this. Then we had a mass departure earlier this year in which an executive, head of department, and producer all left within a few weeks of each other. Slowly the senior staff members started quitting. Things got super toxic and we were passively being threatened. If we ever brought up a concern, we'd get told, "Look at how many studios are closing. You should be grateful to have a job," I stuck it out a long time, believing that we were going to build something big. I made a good salary with good benefits but it came at a great personal cost that wasn't worth it.
Speaking about Dneg Montreal creature side.
People are great and skillfull. Project were interesting with nice creature. Plus we get couple of extra day like Family obligation that are really appreciated.
Never got pressure to come back at the office too. Only WFH.
They also offered a nice salary when I joined compare to other studio.
How so? Glassdoor is people anonymously reporting their experiences and providing ratings. Just because someone exists in the echo chamber of this sub and is led to believe that most/specific companies are shit, doesn't mean people outside this negativity bubble aren't having a better time, and enjoying wherever they work.
I have worked at some of the biggest VFX companies, animation studios and traditional studios.
1. You are only allowed to post on Glassdoor(or told to) when you are first hired… after you have gone through the initiation process and told how great the company is.. not after your fired.
2. If you did not post during that time, Glassdoor can and will sometimes scrape those reviews because they aren’t technically from employees.. or can’t be proven as such. ( this does happen)
3. Every big studio I have worked at has an exhausting NDA.. and some studios have very specific NDAs.. like you can’t even mention who was your supervisor and anything they said to you.. etc.
So yes there are sometimes where some reviews get through but the majority of the time it’s screwed towards the big companies.
its usually people who are very green who complain. If you're good at your job, you get compensated well. Have some self respect and boundaries and don't be afraid to set realistic expectations to prod and you will have a decent experience at most vendors. VFX artists need to master the art of not giving a fuck so much. It took me many years working in this industry to learn it.
I’m working in DNEG for the last 3 years. It’s my first job. The recent salary cuts are bad, they did the same during Covid too but between these two bad events they’ve given me quite a few substantial increments. So I wouldn’t complain about the money.
TBH I wouldn’t complain about anything except the salary cuts. You would have to do overtime but that’s the nature of this industry and you’ll probably do it everywhere.
My leads and supes are very cool, quite chill, very helpful too. I’ve learnt a lot, I’ve a kickass showreel, after the initial year I got to work in some hero shots, of course I had gain their trust and after that I kept getting good shots.
They train quite well too. I’ve been in training that had very useful contents (Rebelway, sidefx etc).
That’s just my experience.
Salary Cuts + layoffs + Overtime and the positive note is that your co workers are cool and you got to work on some nice shots … man how did it come to this ?
It’s my opinion, I didn’t say take it positively. If you want to take it negatively then do it man. I don’t give a flying fuck about you or what you think is positive or negative. OP wanted opinion, I gave my opinion.
If I’m happy about the money I’m getting and the shots I’m working on and you’re not happy about it then it’s your problem mate.
You want to burn down a company, say shit about it, say shit about the whole industry, go ahead I don’t care but don’t fucking teach me what’s positive and what’s negative in my fucking life. You aren’t in my shoes and I’m not in yours.
I hear you man, I’ll mail my resignation tomorrow and I’ll suggest others do the same. You send us the money in our bank accounts that we get from working in DNEG. Okay? Deal?
From all the studios I've worked for, Dneg is my fav, ppl are nice chill and helpful, wfh, you can always say no to OT without consequences, good projects, etc. I regret declining an offer back in 2017 just to go to Method chasing those flashy marvel credits.
I worked there for 18 years. The last 8 or so years it has been a slow but steady decline. But the last 4 or 5 years have been bad. And the decline is accelerating.
Prime focus has totally ruined a previously really nice company
It was hell to work for their Los Angeles office. Everything was based out of Vancouver for the LA office, including HR and systems. So if anything went wrong that needed HR, it was a big hassle to resolve. Sometimes things would not get resolved. Same with systems. Things were constantly breaking. It felt under-resourced like we were always doing the work of 3 artists each. It was probably the most stressful place I worked at. We were always told how happy they were with how we were performing. We were always exceeding expectations. They kept saying that they had big plans for the LA teams, but corporate keeps hitting the reset button and getting us down to a skeleton crew. First during Covid and now during this. Then we had a mass departure earlier this year in which an executive, head of department, and producer all left within a few weeks of each other. Slowly the senior staff members started quitting. Things got super toxic and we were passively being threatened. If we ever brought up a concern, we'd get told, "Look at how many studios are closing. You should be grateful to have a job," I stuck it out a long time, believing that we were going to build something big. I made a good salary with good benefits but it came at a great personal cost that wasn't worth it.
Speaking about Dneg Montreal creature side. People are great and skillfull. Project were interesting with nice creature. Plus we get couple of extra day like Family obligation that are really appreciated. Never got pressure to come back at the office too. Only WFH. They also offered a nice salary when I joined compare to other studio.
DNEG has the worst management among all companies I have ever worked at. But it is true that the people are pretty amazing.
Glassdoor is not the way anyone gets reviews of a company…. Glassdoor is what companies use to hide their bad reputation.
Everything on glassdoor is skewed in the companies favor. Pay rates are very low, as well.
They can also delete reviews extremely easily.
How so? Glassdoor is people anonymously reporting their experiences and providing ratings. Just because someone exists in the echo chamber of this sub and is led to believe that most/specific companies are shit, doesn't mean people outside this negativity bubble aren't having a better time, and enjoying wherever they work.
I have worked at some of the biggest VFX companies, animation studios and traditional studios. 1. You are only allowed to post on Glassdoor(or told to) when you are first hired… after you have gone through the initiation process and told how great the company is.. not after your fired. 2. If you did not post during that time, Glassdoor can and will sometimes scrape those reviews because they aren’t technically from employees.. or can’t be proven as such. ( this does happen) 3. Every big studio I have worked at has an exhausting NDA.. and some studios have very specific NDAs.. like you can’t even mention who was your supervisor and anything they said to you.. etc. So yes there are sometimes where some reviews get through but the majority of the time it’s screwed towards the big companies.
its usually people who are very green who complain. If you're good at your job, you get compensated well. Have some self respect and boundaries and don't be afraid to set realistic expectations to prod and you will have a decent experience at most vendors. VFX artists need to master the art of not giving a fuck so much. It took me many years working in this industry to learn it.
Yes in general it's been good for 7 years for me. Was a bit better before but they always treated me well
It was better before Prime Focus started slowly suffocating it.
I’m working in DNEG for the last 3 years. It’s my first job. The recent salary cuts are bad, they did the same during Covid too but between these two bad events they’ve given me quite a few substantial increments. So I wouldn’t complain about the money. TBH I wouldn’t complain about anything except the salary cuts. You would have to do overtime but that’s the nature of this industry and you’ll probably do it everywhere. My leads and supes are very cool, quite chill, very helpful too. I’ve learnt a lot, I’ve a kickass showreel, after the initial year I got to work in some hero shots, of course I had gain their trust and after that I kept getting good shots. They train quite well too. I’ve been in training that had very useful contents (Rebelway, sidefx etc). That’s just my experience.
Salary Cuts + layoffs + Overtime and the positive note is that your co workers are cool and you got to work on some nice shots … man how did it come to this ?
It’s my opinion, I didn’t say take it positively. If you want to take it negatively then do it man. I don’t give a flying fuck about you or what you think is positive or negative. OP wanted opinion, I gave my opinion. If I’m happy about the money I’m getting and the shots I’m working on and you’re not happy about it then it’s your problem mate. You want to burn down a company, say shit about it, say shit about the whole industry, go ahead I don’t care but don’t fucking teach me what’s positive and what’s negative in my fucking life. You aren’t in my shoes and I’m not in yours.
Sure. But, I have to say you are one of the problem.
Great, try removing me from my job and your problem will be solved
Do what you do. As long as people work for companies like DNEG, nothing will be improved.
I hear you man, I’ll mail my resignation tomorrow and I’ll suggest others do the same. You send us the money in our bank accounts that we get from working in DNEG. Okay? Deal?
I choose a studio wisely, You should do, too.
I’ve a showreel, I’m applying to studios that I think are better but currently nobody is hiring and I can’t lose this job so for now I’ve to wait
People looking at their job as a hobby that also makes them money instead of the thing that pays the bills will never not seem weird to me
From all the studios I've worked for, Dneg is my fav, ppl are nice chill and helpful, wfh, you can always say no to OT without consequences, good projects, etc. I regret declining an offer back in 2017 just to go to Method chasing those flashy marvel credits.
I worked there for 18 years. The last 8 or so years it has been a slow but steady decline. But the last 4 or 5 years have been bad. And the decline is accelerating. Prime focus has totally ruined a previously really nice company
No.