Pros
All the upsides of a growing company! Nobody is a nameless cog; everybody has a chance to know everybody. The chain of command is short, so you can escalate something to whoever you need with minimal effort. The other artists are not overly protective of their time or methods, and are open about sharing techniques if you reach out for it (and if they have the time). The benefit of all this face-time with the whole team is that you can quickly build a brand and become indispensable if you have a lot to share, or if you can learn fast and leverage what is being shared with you. How well you do at Gradient is very tightly correlated with what you bring, whether that's raw skill, dedication to your task, good attitude, or preferably all three. Attitude-wise, you definitely get out what you put in. Put in respect, you'll get respect. Work hard for the company, the company will work hard for you. Your contributions are noticed. They get some very high-end projects. You'll work on some great shots that are highly involved, both technically and artistically. This company punches way above its weight class. Production works hard to keep the company busy. They've been in business for 12 years and the CEO has been in the industry for decades, so they have a deep and well-positioned client roster. CEO is active on the artist floor and really knows his stuff. The CEO is not checked-out; the CEO is more checked-in than any you've ever worked with before. If you care about your work and you care about the company, the CEO will be patient with you and care about your growth within the company. You can learn a ton here and grow as an artist very fast. The CEO pointedly wants you to learn from him and the rest of the staff, so keep your eyes and ears open, and good stuff can fall into your brain every day. CEO keeps the fridge full of beer and doesn't mind kicking back and relaxing after-hours while renders are going. Cabinets are stocked with snacks to pick you up in the morning and keep you going when you need it. Speaking of pick-me-ups, coffee situation is on point with fresh beans provided by a locally-based boutique coffee roaster.
Cons
The flip side of the get-out-what-you-put-in coin is: put in demands and you'll get demands. Put in negativity and you'll get negativity. You've got to keep a finger on your own pulse, because goodwill can be destroyed faster than it was be built. It's a small company, so there's not a lot of room for unhappy people. I've seen people burn through their goodwill pretty fast, and it's both sad and unnecessary. If you think you already know everything, or you can't handle criticism, you're gonna have a bad time. If you care about your identity as a great artist (your idea of what's right for a shot) more than actually delivering good work (the client's idea of what's right for a shot), you're gonna have a bad time. If you're on the fence about being in the VFX industry, you're gonna to have a bad time. If you're more interested in strengthening yourself than in strengthening a team, you're gonna have a bad time. And obviously, if you're gonna have a bad time, you're gonna find lots of cons. If the above applies to you, then you shouldn't work here. Aside from that, work/life balance is typical for the industry, which is to say "not the best." Task overflow happens, delivery deadlines happen; this is more of an industry-wide problem, but don't expect it to be immune to it here. I've worked at places that are hard-out at 7pm no matter what; that's a mixed bag anyways, and it ain't here.