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
2.0
Jul 10, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The artists on the floor are talented and really trying to overcome the hardships that have become commonplace to the processes there.

Cons

The management, processes and pipeline act as blockades instead of fueling progress, creativity and innovation. Most of the hardships you see mentioned about this company, the management, processes, and pipeline have created. I was at RFX for a number of years and saw the pipeline team turn over twice. How can you get anything going if the technical backbone is not consistent (which also speaks to lack of vision for the pipeline structure and support.)? Management lacks communication/ directives for the teams and appear truly uninspired by anything other than their own political and financial agendas.

1.0
Jul 6, 2012

Wasted Potential

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- fantastic people and amazing artists and supervisors - artists and supervisors on the floor truly care about one another and passionate about the work - the artists work hard to collaborate and share ideas on a daily basis - the artists push to make their work better on every project - great inside of the building and open workspace - lots of potential for what the studio can be because of the talent in the building - those who start here and leave do very well at the big studios because of getting used to hard schedules and forced efficiencies - living standards are good in Texas - food and dining are great in Texas - people are really nice in Texas

Cons

- senior management continually make the exact opposite decisions that the rest of the company can see as common sense. - leadership's decisions baffle and defy logic - REALLY bad decisions for the choice of directors on the first film due to come out next year. -Whoever is making those decisions should be fired right now. No telling how much money has been wasted from their director mistakes - just overall bad decision making about bidding shows and trying to squeeze every drop out of artists - majority of senior management have never been on the floor as artists or production, and those that have obviously forgot what it takes - seems to be an old boys club with select members who are actually allowed to make the decisions - horrible political climate among senior management that is so bad it easily makes it to the floor - people on the floor are not respected and treated well, as if they can all easily be replaced - floor is always very overworked with long hours and weekends being the norm - no overtime - EXTREMELY underpaid compared to the rest of the industry - only a very small chosen few get paid well, and not surprisingly those are the ones that are way overpaid for what they do - senior management finally tried to put in a bonus structure, but screwed it up. They don't fundamentally understand how to be fair to the artists - some of the most important people the company has ever had, those who knew how the company should run, have left over the last few years - they put more resources and money into an old broken down production tracking system than they do the pipeline or R&D to actually get the shows done - weather sucks in Texas....insane hot. - Deep Ellum (where the building is) is an armpit and crappy rundown area for a studio. It doesn't have "character" despite what they say - It is literally the only place to work in the STATE that does high quality animation work. All other places in Texas are small crappy boutique commercial houses. People are just stuck here if they want to do this kind of work - senior management not only uses this fact to their advantage, but exploits it

2.0
Jun 24, 2012

Overworked, underpayed, and not respected

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Most of the technical, rigging, and fx department employees are extremely intelligent - Great first place to work. You get your feet wet fast - Texas is cheap, and decent for families

Cons

- Puts way too much focus on the team of people developing the Production tracking software, instead of the pipeline. - Antiquated pipeline and technology - No one is willing to take ownership of there work. Everyone just throws it over the fence and hopes that the next people can work with it. - Pipeline is so convoluted that instead of developing new technologies/efficiencies the TD's have to be baby-sitting the artists shots/assets. - Pay is attrocious. No overtime pay. - Management works the artists/TD's to the ground. 60-80 hour weeks are the norm.

Viewing 151 - 153 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.