When Push Comes To Shove
Sunday, August 31st, 2008
In yesterday’s Yahoo! Finance section, Anne Altman concluded her article “Tips From A Bitter Temp” with a passage that could have been written by any animator or TD:
Settle in. Master the language. Sip the Kool-Aid. But remember: you could be out on a moment’s notice. I was once denied a dollar-an-hour raise. At first I was insulted. But the next week two execs were canned with no notice, led down the hall like criminals, and spirited out with a “We’ll mail you the contents of your desk.” Young guys right out of college were speechless. Me? I poured myself a bowl of Corn Pops and sat back down in my Aeron chair.
There was a period of time during the 90’s when animation was booming, major studios were warring for talent, and each round of year-end bonuses turned parking lots into “new car dealerships”, with SUVs and BMWs sprouting up like daisies. The salad days, we called them. At the time, it seemed conceivable (particularly to the young ‘uns) that you could spend the majority of your career at a single studio, doing rewarding work with an ever-increasing standard of living, just like our grandparents planned to do with General Motors. Sounds quaint in retrospect, doesn’t it?
Well, the salad days are clearly over, yet many employees still find themselves caught like deer in the headlights when they are suddenly handed those cardboard boxes - especially those who labor under the pretense that they are working for a “family”. Sure, buying into the “family” line gives you a big warm fuzzy during the good times, but it’s all the more devastating when you are abruptly shown the door. Where the studio “family” is concerned, you’re better off regarding yourself as a foster child rather than a blood relative. Or else remembering that it’s the Corleone family. 
Even more shocking to many so-called “staff” is when they find themselves caught in the undertow of exiting “project hires”. I spoke to one such individual recently who was stunned to receive his exit packet along with the “temporary” employees. He thought he was “staff”, but learned the hard way that in an “at-will” world, we’re ALL temp. When push comes to shove, you will be pushed and shoved.
Which isn’t to say that you can’t remain gainfully employed (whether at one studio or a series of them), make a good living and create a satisfying career for yourself. Just don’t get lulled into the “security” of the Velvet Coffin (as one Burbank studio has been wryly referred to). As long as you’re mindful of the words of Charles De Gaulle, that “The graveyards are full of indispensible men,” you’ll at least see it coming.
In the meantime, have a bowl of Corn Pops and get back to work! 
