Directions:
Find an online current events article/interview related to the animation/games/vfx industry.
Write a two page reflective essay in response to the questions below.
Use MLA format and cite your source(s).
MLA Format and Style Guide: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html (Links to an external site.)
MLA Sample Paper: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_sample_paper.html (Links to an external site.)
Questions:
1. Who wrote the article? Who was featured in the article?
2. What did you find most intriguing about this article?
3. What are 2 (additional) things that you learned from reading this article?
4. When was the article posted? When did the current event take place?
5. Where did the current event take place? Where was this article featured?
6. Why did you choose to read this article? (What is the importance or relevance of the event/interview? Do you have a personal connection?)
7. How does the content in this article impact you (or the animation/games/vfx industry)?
8. How will you apply what you\’ve learned to improve your educational experience/career (or someone else\’s/the industry)?
Reputable Sources:
Cartoon Brew: https://www.cartoonbrew.com/
Animation World Network: https://www.awn.com/
Animation Insider: http://www.animationinsider.com/ (Links to an external site.)
Animation Magazine: http://www.animationmagazine.net/ (Links to an external site.)
Animation Boss: http://www.animationboss.net/
Animation Views: http://animatedviews.com/ (Links to an external site.)
Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course
Date
Currents Events on Gaming and Animation
Introduction
Animation is an art that has grown rapidly over the years. Animation requires excellent skills in Visual effects (VFX) to make it successful. They go hand in hand to ensure the audience is entertained to their expectations (Lang). The purpose of this paper is to answer all the questions required for the completion of the assignment.
Who wrote the article? Who was featured in the article?
The selected article is “MPC London Scraps 2022 Raises, Introduces Color-Coded Alert System for Troubled Projects”, written by Jamie Lang (Lang). The article featured the leading global VFX and animation studio MPC Film, owned by Technicolor.
What did you find most intriguing about this article?
The president of the foremost global VFX and animation studio, Mr. Tom Williams, pronounced several ostracized transformations to pay arrangements and work-from-home conditions. MPC is among the top world’s VFX and animation companies and is involved in dozens of top Hollywood titles each year. The company publicized that it is scrapping pay increases in 2022 and amending its work-from-home policies (Lang). To that extent, MPC has initiated the RAG system. The RAG System is a new-fangled hybrid program that will determine the number of days the workers must report to the office based on the status of whatever project they are undertaking at a particular time (Lang). I find the scrapping of pay raises most intriguing because it is happening when inflation and the cost of living are increasing, thus not getting a raise, as perceived by many people, amounts to a pay cut.
What are 2 (additional) things that you learned from reading this article?
The first thing learned from reading the article is how the RAG system operates. It is a color-coded program that determines the number of days per week that the workers must spend in the office (Lang). The basis of the colors is the project status that a given employee is undertaking. The red color shows that the project has severe problems and one needs to join the team in-studio full time to get it back on its way, while the amber indicates that the project has some problems and one needs to enter the studio more (Lang). The green implies that the project is on its way. The second thing learned is that some roles such as client services, crew managers, heads of departments, or operations require special equipment in the studio (Lang). For qualified parts, hybrid work will mainly rely on the project one is working on and the business requirements.
When was the article posted? When did the current event take place?
The article was posted on 18th July 2022 at 12:55 pm. The author stated that “the event took place the last Thursday” (Lang). This could the Thursday just before the event was posted which was on 14th July 2022.
Where did the current event take place? Where was this article featured?
The current event took place at a town hall meeting in which MPC pronounced some disliked modifications to the pay structure (Lang). The article was featured in a thread dedicated to the MPC pronouncements in the r/vfx subreddit on Sunday.
Why did you choose to read this article? (What is the importance or relevance of the event/interview? Do you have a personal connection?)
I chose to read the article because it is fascinating, and I wanted to understand why the reactions have been primarily adverse and to get answers to the lingering questions. The event is relevant to the gaming and animation industries. Project managers can use the RAG System to show if a project is on its way or at risk (Gaur and Maheshwari 96). However, when applying the RAG system, managers must ascertain that it is not happening at a time when inflation and the cost of living are rising. It might make the company lose quality VFX artists looking elsewhere for more collaborative and less oppressive alternatives than MPC (Gaur and Maheshwari 96). Thus they are going to pick industries with fewer amber or red alert systems. I do not have a personal connection with the article.
How does the content in this article impact you (or the animation/games/VFX industry)?
The content in this article has a significant impact on the animation and gaming industries. Its basis is on a color-coded program that is red, amber, and green which signifies different scale ratings. You can point out, itemize, and group items in the weekly status report (Hopmer et al. 659). Therefore, the RAG system becomes a code to either forewarn or guarantee stakeholders of the project’s current condition. Again, the RAG color-coded program can be embraced across other fields, apart from managing a project.
How will you apply what you\’ve learned to improve your educational experience/career (or someone else\’s/the industry)?
According to research done by Soosaimuthu (350), alot of investments get wasted because of poor project performance (Soosaimuthu 350). Therefore, the RAG for every project is a perfect way to bring the management’s awareness to projects that require assistance. When the shore-up is accorded and the project gets back on its way, less of the investment will get wasted (Hagen and Stefan 458). That is how I will use the RAG system. It has become a convenient, visual means of communicating the status of a project.
Conclusion
The selected article is “MPC London Scraps 2022 Raises, Introduces Color-Coded Alert System for Troubled Projects”, written by Jamie Lang. The interviewee was the president of the foremost global VFX and animation studio, Mr. Tom Williams. It was an interesting interview. This paper answered all the questions provided.
Work Cited
Gaur, Shubhika, and Vibha Maheshwari. “Risk analysis and management in projects.” Knowledge Engineering for Modern Information Systems (2022): 96. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110713633
Hagen, Gunter, and Stefan Hager. “RAG post-2022.” Mining Report 154.6 (2018). https://mining-report.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/MRG_1806_RAG_ab_2022_Hagen_181210.pdf
Hopmere, Michael, Lynn Crawford, and Michael S. Harré. “Proactively Monitoring Large Project Portfolios.” Project Management Journal 51.6 (2020): 656-669. https://doi.org/10.1177/8756972820933446
Lang, Jamie. “MPC London Scraps 2022 Raises, Introduces Color-Coded Alert System for Troubled Projects.” Cartoon Brew, 18 July 2022, www.cartoonbrew.com/artist-rights/mpc-film-technicolor-work-from-home-raises-218839.html.
Soosaimuthu, Alexander. “Reporting and Analytics: Operational and Strategic.” SAP Enterprise Portfolio and Project Management. Apress, Berkeley, CA, 2022. 345-364. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-7863-5_5