And just like that. its no more. 340+ jobs gone. This is a lot more than D Neg in 2016. And more importantly most of the local artists at ILM sg now are impacted more because some have young kids and HDB mortgages to pay.
I am hoping this post will help those affected make sense of what is going on and figure out what to do. (Everything written here are my own opinion and views. Take it for what it is worth)
Contrary to popular online rumors and logical speculations, it wasn't the end of government subsidies that caused them to shut down the Singapore branch. It should be already in plans for a few months for EDB, MDA to be aware of this. (unlike the D Neg situation)
Rather the "economic factors" in CNA news article were actually true.
They are same factors why LAS opened here in the 1st place 17-18 years ago. COST.
A that time we were going to be cheaper than the States, UK and pretty anywhere else with good IP protection and highly educated workforce for the level and quality of work needed. And more importantly, we were not unionised. Heavy incentives/subsidies by EDB were thrown and they were here.
But through the years, other countries offered more incentives and their animation/vfx economy developed and are cheaper than Sg. Plus more tax rebates offered. What kept ILM Sg going for so long was how competent the studio actually was.
At the point of announcement, ILM sg was still according to various trusted sources, one of the better run vfx studios in the world, not just within ILM. A important factor for this is the experienced local core that has strong incentives to stay here plus competent supervisors that have been here for quite some time too. But that counts for little as the tax incentives in Sydney and manpower/rental cost in Mumbai were too attractive to pass up. The moment the Mumbai studio was announced, that was it.
Cost of living in Singapore also made it very unattractive for foreign talent from US or Europe to come to Singapore. Aussies and kiwis left once Sydney studio opened or they realised how expansive it is here. Locals left too by the chance to go overseas.
And it was very hard to replace them as Sg by now was just too far away and/or expansive to work in when there are so many other studios now all over the world while the local educational institutes were not equipping their students with competent enough skillsets or attitudes to start at a junior positions. Also there were not a lot of junior jobs available.
The previously stopped Jedi training programs that were all govt funded by EDB but it was also stopped. Again economically it didn't make sense to use govt funds to train locals for a foreign company.
With the strikes happening in Hollywood, there were probably still shows to be done until next year, but easier to bite the bullet now.
Is this the end of tentpole VFX in Sg?
In a word, yes.
Bottom line is Singapore cannot complete globally being a service provider in a VFX race to the bottom. That race will extend to games, tv and eventually real time, VR.
Gut-wrenchingly are the surplus of extremely technical and highly skilled local artisans/technicians that have worked together for so long are going to be scattered. That amount of camaraderie and trust took years to build up and its going to be gone.
But the media industry locally or regionally cannot hire them at their rates. Even if they set up a Singapore vfx studio, they are never going to compete against those in Canada and Europe purely based on location and time differences to bid for shows. And vs regional studios in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia they cannot compete on costs.
More damningly, after 17 years there are no local producers or production managers inside there that have connections to film studios and executives to bid. So we don't even have a sit at the table.
Ideally EDB, MDA would invest in local studios to retain the talent in sg but I think that ship never left the port.
There are still a smattering of animation studios here creating above the line work with most of the production work done in cheaper regional studios. So there will be still be work here. But it will change.
What's next?
1. Take the severance package if you been there more than 5 years. and find another job overseas. This is probably the easiest. Those young enough or without too much attachment, leave. Do not transfer to Mumbai or Sydney unless you are financially strapped or only at the company for only a short time.
The experience you have should be able to get you a work visa elsewhere. And come back for holidays and the durian/char kway teow cravings. There are a lot of Singaporeans all over the world working in this industry. I think given an opportunity a good percentage would like to be able to be back home. Truly. But not without starting over. But if you cannot, go.
2. Quit the industry. Short term pain is better than dragging out long term agony. If you are young enough, get into something similar laterally that you can adapt to. Take the severance package and learn blender, Unreal etc.. Heck even IT system admin. Healthcare is a growing sector locally. And pays relatively well. And do animation as a hobby or side hustle.
3. Expectation management. If you still do VFX work here, it will either be for TCS or for China movies/shows, regional work. There are still some companies doing good work, and others that still owe staff salaries. Do your due dilligence.
4. Take a risk. Open a boutique studio with a few colleagues. This is ridiculously hard even if you do not have mortgages and kids to feed. But secretly that is probably appealing to quite a few people. Everything is online now. There is no need to have a physical office. There is also cloud computing and render farms. The skillsets and workflow are just obstacles that can be overcome. Running a studio isn't for everyone. Or approach local studios to expand. You might know someone who needs animation. You never know.
5. Animation globally as a tool is evolving so quickly. And the trends of traditional media have changed so much in the last decade and will continue to. And with AI coming in, who knows what is going to happen. Keep up to date, stay hungry.
But for now, shed some tears, take stock, talk to friends, family and rest. Then keep your eyes open and take the next step forward.
I leave you with Gregg Povovich's HOF speech.
"All those wins and losses fade away, but those relationships stick with you forever."
I can't remember the shots I lit or the assets I textured. When I looked back, I only remember the people.
Good luck everyone. Remember to eat some durian when you are stress, (this post is sponsored by the local neighborhood supplier)
