When you are the only player in town you get to make all the rules
Pros
The artists and production staff at Reelfx are great. Many are Texas natives who, like me, after having worked out in the California based studios have come back to Texas.
Cons
The artists and production staff at Reelfx are great. Many are Texas natives who after having worked out in the California based studios have come back to Texas. This may or may not have been their choice. California based studios are all but gone having left for tax incentives offered by other countries. Those who wish to remain in the States are left with very diminished opportunities and it is there that Reelfx has found their niche. A hungry fish will bite on a bare hook. Reelfx offers a chance for people to stay in the US and sells them that Texas is "30% less than LA". They then proceed to sell you that because Dallas is 30% cheaper than Los Angeles they are offering to pay you 30% less. How is that to my advantage? If bread is 30% less and you are paying me 30% less then how am I ahead of the game? If Reelfx offered only 20% less in salary then I'd at least see some real advantage to the cost of living comparison. They will also tell you that they respect a work/life balance, that family values are #1 in their studio culture and that they are stable. Don't believe them. Reelfx is in Texas and Texas labor laws are written in such a way that they do not have to pay their crew any over time. Their shows are bid with unrealistic quotas to land them and they then proceed to work the crew whatever it takes to get them done. It's easy to make a 100 million dollar movie for 50 million when you don't have to pay the crew for the OT that was required to get the production done as scheduled. It's a bit like saying you can drive from San Fransisco, CA to Key West, Fla for $30.00 then accomplishing that task by paying only for the initial tank of gas yourself and then charging the rest to someone elses credit card. "See, it only cost me $30.00", you can truthfully claim. As for family values, it's hard to enjoy quality time with the family and have that work/home balance when you are working 60+ hour weeks. Working 60+ hour weeks and bringing home a 40 hour paycheck. Do the math before you accept any offer, take their weekly rate offer and divide it by 60 hours. That's your real salary. It's hard to enjoy family time when you partner thinks your a fool for taking the terms of that deal. As to stability, on this point Reelfx is honest, they are stable because they are the only player in town. If a competing studio were to open up in Dallas; a studio that paid overtime to its crew then Reelfx's team would trample over each other to get onto that other studio's crew.
