Marvel VFX Worker Exposed Inhumane Working Conditions On First Disney Plus Series

In an interview with IndieWire, Alexandra Rebeck, whose work includes visual effects on «Loki,» «Moon Knight,» and «Godzilla vs. Kong,» expressed frustration towards the unacceptable process and treatment of VFX workers. «I don’t know how this is acceptable,» she said. «I don’t know how you can work people like this.» While making it clear the problem isn’t exclusive to Marvel, she said that on her first MCU project, «The Falcon and Winter Soldier,» people worked 75 days in a row and were only given time off once they had mental breakdowns. Looking at the long hours and substandard pay for working on these projects, which are parts of billion-dollar franchises, it’s understandable why so many VFX artists feel so unappreciated by Marvel and other big studios.

As Rebeck says in the same interview, she realized how significant the pay disparity was between how much money was taken home versus the experience on each project, noting the studio’s main goal seemed to be how much money they could save rather than offering an effective and hospitable working environment. It seems inevitable that more VFX workers will follow Marvel’s special effects team and unionize (Walt Disney Pictures VFX workers recently unionized as well) so that in the future, they aren’t overworked, underpaid, and taken advantage of and are instead given the fairness they deserve. With VFX teams being one of the most important cogs in the machine in making big-budget movies like MCU films, it’s time they were treated as such.