Reel FX reviews

4.2

97% would recommend to a friend

(161 total reviews)

Steve O'Brien

84% approve of CEO

62% positive business outlook

Reel FX has an employee rating of 4.2 out of 5 stars, based on 161 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Reel FX employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Media & Communication industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

161 reviews
1.0
Aug 9, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's air-conditioned. The parking lot is gated and fenced to help prevent your car from being broken into or stolen (bad crime in area).

Cons

Well, I wrote a long, detailed review and then there was an error processing it. I'm not going to take the time to type it again. I will say that I have worked at MPC, The Mill, Digital Domain, Industrial Light & Magic, and a myriad of commercial houses in Los Angeles on movies and national broadcast commercials. ReelFX was the worst experience of my professional life, mainly due to management, severely overworking conditions (compared to EVERYWHERE else I have ever worked), extremely low pay, job instability, poor pipeline/tool sets, production ignorance, and being treated VERY poorly. The Dallas area is dangerous due to crime, dirty, and only cheaper than L.A. If you live a good distance away from the actual studio. There are many, many other specific issues with all levels of the company, but I don't have the patience to type all of them again. If you have an opportunity ANYWHERE else, highly consider it. ReelFX is the only real CG/visual effects company in Dallas or Texas for that matter, so when you loose your job to someone cheaper or even an intern, you will need to move or change careers. Work anywhere else where there is more than one possible company to work for. THERE IS NO OVER TIME PAY, WORK WEEKS ARE BASED OFF OF 40 HOURS. Work weeks average 60-80 hours, six and seven days a week. There is very little time to spend with the wife and kids, let alone pursue personal interests or projects. And they will not care or show appreciation for your efforts. ReelFX is one of only a few companies in the U.S. That can underbid India, China, Dubai, or the cheapest Canadian companies. This is because the artists get paid so little for so much work they do. There is potential for improvement if they cleaned house of management and hired people with normal egos and actual experience, but a lump of coal can turn into a diamond, and you just don't have the time to wait for that to happen....

3.0
Aug 1, 2014

place to learn.

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

nice enviroment to work, flexible schedules (as long you keep up with your work) great place to learn and move on.

Cons

no job security. low pay. managment doesnt know whats going on, i mean reallyyou could as for a shot asset and will take 3 days to come back to you with the wrong information. after each project they get ride of the people and they bring interns, so they have to re learn everything back again for every project (as if they were paying them much lower)

2.0
Jul 15, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A good company for newcomers in the industry, lots of opportunities for personal development. Located in Deep Ellum so you get free accessible parking for all the pub crawling as noted in another review. Dallas is super cheap compared to LA. If you have experience working at other studios, you can be compensated very well here.

Cons

Schedules are intense and allow little to no work/life balance. Because there is no OT, production/upper management can afford to be incompetent and put pressure on artists. The studio hires experienced people from well known studios but does not value their input. Texas natives/newcomers are not payed well. Management makes false promises regarding compensation. Supervisors and upper management are not keen on making big changes to the pipeline, the studio is run extremely inefficiently. If you want something done, do it yourself. And after that, use the knowledge gained to go work for a better company somewhere else.

Viewing 136 - 138 of 161 Reviews

Glassdoor has 205 Reel FX reviews submitted anonymously by Reel FX employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Reel FX is right for you.