Reel FX Reviews

The problems with Reel FX start with management. They are so aloof and disconnected, you'd think they'd be on the TV show Dallas. Favoritism among the management is rampant; some departments were left bloated during a year of relative inactivity while others were so bare-bones that they had to put in consistently long weeks just to keep up with the projects that were 'invented' to keep people around. Speaking of hours, if you're on the floor expect long weeks and expect nothing for them. Although it's been known for a while that Reel FX doesn't do paid overtime for salaried employees, it had in the past given comp days instead. This practice hasn't happened since post Book of Life. Personally, I had a terrible life-work balance at Reel FX; I routinely found myself working on weekends and at odd hours...some of that came with the territory, but Reel FX was not even remotely interested in altering the environment so that it was healthier for me. Instead, it was a round-robin blame game with management blaming the lack of work and show budgets not supporting it. Salary-wise, Reel FX tends to prey on fresh out of school juniors while over-paying a small select few due to bringing them from Cali. This means that unless you're one of the few that can command six-figures, odds are you'll be extremely underpaid. Merit raises or even cost of living bumps are hard to come by. Every year there's some excuse ranging from lack of work for the studio to no funds due to a legal battle; every year they'll say they'll address a few months down the road but nothing ever comes of it. In years past, one of Reel FX's selling points was that it was stable. Stability tends to go a long way in counteracting or at least tolerating the shenanigans. However, this is no longer the case. Yes, sometimes projects get canned or slip, but in the past few years RFX made a nasty habit of not diversifying, which management fumbled repeatedly. This fumbling ended up with an abrupt couple of rounds of layoffs. Many employees, the ones that can, are seeing a sinking ship and are jumping for dry land. The ones that are stuck in Dallas are just holding on for dear life.

UPPER MANAGEMENT. They are the number one reason for the inefficiencies, horrible communication, and general mismanagement of resources. Quite a few of them do not actually possess the skills required to adequately perform their job - in fact the one thing they all seem to have in common is their church membership and graduation from Texas A&M. Actual previous experience in their position? Not needed when you fail upwards. DEEP ELLUM. It's a crappy area with a high crime rate and loads of homeless people. I was literally scared to walk to my car when working late for fear of being mugged or harassed. Its not artsy, its not cool, and its certainly not safe almost all hours of the day, but especially after 7pm. NO OVERTIME PAY. Artists work so hard because of equipment and or management inadequacies that the promised 40-50 hour work week is typically 60+ even before you hit a crunch period. Giving "discretionary" days based on favoritism is not a way to reward people for working extra hard. If you insist on not paying people for upper management's continual poor decisions, than at least put in an adequate bonus structure or give people a reason to stay. Not seeing your children and significant others for weeks at a time and watching executives fly out of the building at 5pm or earlier is not a great morale booster.