Chapter 493： way out

Scott-Roth's personal resume is very impressive, and the identity of the former head of the special effects department of Industrial Light and Magic is also the cornerstone of his business.

As for the reason why he came out to start a business, it is not all for selfishness.

In order to shoot "Star Wars", George Lucas set up Industrial Light and Magic on a whim to be responsible for the special effects of the project. But he does not understand professional technical research and development.

It took five years for Scott Ross to lead the team to turn this unprofitable company into a slightly profitable company, from a start-up studio with no roots and technical reserves into a cutting-edge company. company of.

However, George, as the company's chairman, has basically never shown his face, and it's okay to be an invisible landlord. After the company entered the formal stage, he rejected the management's decision to buy the company's shares, which is equivalent to so many years, the management has It was because he was working for nothing, and the method of picking peaches was too domineering. In anger, Scott quit and decided to create his own special effects company.

Of course, what really made Ryman change his opinion of him was his thinking about the future of the special effects studio...

"Scott, don't mind me calling you that. Actually, I'm very interested in VFX. Can we chat for a while, if possible."

Scott Ross suddenly took a serious look at Lyman, and he knew that with his many blockbuster movies, he had become another Hollywood billionaire.

And now the situation in the digital field is not good, and it may be sold off by shareholders at any time. Maybe he can save the digital realm.

Thinking of this, Scott Ross became more enthusiastic in his heart and talked more about sex...

"…In 1994, I tried to create a special effects trade association, trying to bring together important people in the visual effects industry to increase the voice and customization power of the industry. However, in the end it failed.

Because in this industry, the managers who run companies are often not businessmen, and there is no capital behind them, and because there is no freedom of capital, everyone is scared to death and has no sense of security. Just like what George Lucas retorted, if you Give them enough beer and pizza and they can do anything... We have no reason to choose not to, because if we don't, we can't survive, so the special effects industry looks prosperous, but it's mercenary, short-sighted, and only Seeking short-term profits is not long-term. "

"Why do you say that?" Lyman clinked glasses with him, the mellow aroma of dark beer spread on the tip of his tongue, and he didn't seem to understand Scott's words.

"Because now the managers of every VFX company are fired on the grounds that the company can't make a profit, so why do they have to do something with a long-term plan? Everyone knows what their technical shortcomings are, but centralizing public relations is a big problem. If you want to spend money, there is no guarantee that it will work. In order to make a profit, you have to ignore it and not pay attention. This is a very painful thing.”

"Then what do you think we should do?" Lehmann asked with deliberation.

"In my opinion, the most powerful special effects studios at present include Industrial Light and Magic, Sony Graphics, Digital Domain, Weta Digital, Method, DoubleNegative, and Compa-Mondo. A few years ago, rhythmic colors were also added. If one of these leaders can raise $2 billion and buy several other companies, then they can completely control the entire special effects industry, which means that the pricing power is in the hands of our special effects company, not the studio. Therefore, in order to improve the status quo of this industry, the future direction is only to merge, lock the last talents and the best technology, and those studios can only negotiate the price obediently, not as much as they say. Because, the most powerful special effects blockbuster Must rely on world-class VFX technology..."

When Lehman heard it, isn't this an industry monopoly?

But it does sound like a good way out.

"You're very reasonable..." Lehman paused, "but no one has the strength to lock up all the technology, and the studio has mastered the right to speak. Even a company like Sony that started with technology, attaches great importance to it. investment in this.”

Scott said with a wry smile: "Yes, we missed the opportunity at the beginning, so I think the future of the special effects industry will be acquired by first-class studios, because the relationship between supply and demand is impossible."

Lehmann thought to himself: This standard will not be correct until later. First-class special effects companies are all in the hands of first-class studios, but now, Warner, Paramount and other companies have not made their efforts, because visual effects have not grown as important.

Of course, they have enough funds, maybe they are deliberately letting the special effects industry grow wildly, and it is not impossible to pick out the best among them to implement the acquisition plan.

Lehmann smiled and said, "In this way, Firefly Pictures actually needs a suitable special effects studio to complete the industry layout."

Scott changed his face to a more serious look and watched Lehman, the big money lord, struggling for a few seconds for no reason, but he was still a technician, not a businessman, otherwise he wouldn't have been nearly assimilated by George. In the end, he still said euphemistically: "I have seen the works produced by Firefly Pictures in the past few years. Maybe, Firefly Pictures does not need to support them. A special effects company, because most of you are feature films, it seems that you don’t use special effects technology very much. If you can’t have complementary effects, the idea of ​​​​the industry layout is impossible to talk about.”

Lehmann knows why Cameron would say that Scott is not a qualified company manager, and his face is too thin. No wonder he can't beat someone like Lucas.

The team brought out by one-handedly cannot have enough chips to fight against the major shareholders. If you change to a qualified businessman, believe it or not, the company's assets will be directly hollowed out for you.

However, when such people cooperate, they are not afraid of being stabbed. If they invest money, the technology patents developed as a result have nothing to do with Lehmann at all. That would be a joke.

"Don't worry, Scott, Firefly Pictures will have considerable resources to focus on special effects movies in the future. This is the future of the times. All I can do is follow the trend. Also, is Cameron going to leave the digital field?"

This matter is not a secret in the industry. Cameron even had a special interview with his old rival Industrial Light and Magic. As long as he has the heart, everyone knows that Cameron is going to sell shares in the digital field.

Scott replied with some embarrassment, "Yes, but not many people are willing to take over his shares. Cameron doesn't want to sell at a low price."

The reason for the embarrassment, of course, is the point of Cameron's standoff with the company, which is that the management denied that he wanted to change the company's CEO, the board of directors supported Scott, and Cameron had a lot of opinions. For this reason, Stan Wins Dayton also left the digital realm.

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