[Chapter 533: Will They Go Public?]
Eric tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondering for a moment before asking, "Out of all these people, what is the ratio of model effects artists to CG effects artists?"
Stan Winston hesitated and replied, "I haven't had a chance to gather that data yet."
"Then do it immediately," Eric instructed. He watched as Stan turned to summon his assistant to take care of the task and then turned to Ed Catmull. "What about you?"
Ed Catmull said, "Things look good on my end. Our competitors aren't really interested in our regular programmers. They primarily want to approach mid to senior project leads. Although some of these individuals are bound by non-compete agreements preventing them from working in related fields for a year after leaving, I believe the commercial prospects shown by Jurassic Park are enough to prompt our competitors to take the legal risks."
After Ed spoke, Eric shifted his gaze to John Lasseter.
John shrugged and said, "I think everyone here has seen the completed version of A Bug's Life. This 3D animated film is just as good as two years ago with Toy Story. Given the experiences in Digital Domain, I believe Pixar should take some preventive measures to avoid a mass exodus of staff."
Once the three had finished sharing their thoughts, Eric looked around the room at the executives. "Does anyone else have anything to add?"
Michael Lynn interjected, "Eric, Rhett gathered some intel. Let him share."
Eric nodded toward a stocky white man in his forties, who spoke up, "Mr. Williams, based on the information we've gathered, about a week ago, Michael Eisner from Universal Pictures, George Lucas from Lucasfilm, and Carol Bartz, the chairwomen and CEO of Autodesk, had a meeting at Autodesk's headquarters in San Rafael. Shortly after, Autodesk announced a partnership with Industrial Light & Magic and Universal to enter the film effects software market. However, no specific details were mentioned in that announcement. Additionally, several mid-sized effects companies in Hollywood have recently received significant investments and are aggressively hiring."
Once Rhett finished speaking, the assistant who had just been directed by Stan returned to the conference room, placing a prepared document in front of Stan.
"Eric, the data is in. Among the 169 who submitted resignation requests, there are 112 model effects artists and 57 CG effects artists," Stan reported. He felt a wave of relief wash over him as he conveyed this information. Although he had started in model effects, Stan was certainly not a traditionalist. He had heard Eric explain numerous times that CG effects were the future of Hollywood's mainstream visual effects trend. The success of CG-heavy blockbusters like Terminator 2, Twister, and Jurassic Park had proven this point. With close to two-thirds of the departing employees being model effects artists and only one-third being CG effects artists, the situation was not as dire as he had feared.
Everyone in the room seemed to exhale collectively. Eric had intuitively expected this outcome, and now that his suspicions had been confirmed, his last shred of worry dissipated considerably. The reason there hadn't been an exodus of CG effects artists was primarily due to the fact they used proprietary effects software developed by Digital Domain, which was not available for sale outside the company. Without access to these tools, even the most highly skilled CG effects artists would have to relearn various third-rate effects software available in the market. If exit companies didn't provide irresistibly attractive salaries, these individuals would likely never take the risk of leaving.
After organizing his thoughts that he had formed during his time in London and on the plane, Eric clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention. "Alright, let's discuss how we are going to address this issue. First, we did consider collaborating with Autodesk to develop Maya back then, but that partnership didn't succeed. Since they weren't interested at that time, now that Autodesk wants to get into the lucrative effects software market, it's too late. However they jumped in, we will kick them out just the same."
A few light chuckles ensued in the conference room, yet no one underestimated Autodesk. With its flagship AutoCAD industrial design software series, Autodesk had essentially cornered the industrial drafting software market. There were many overlapping aspects between film effects software and industrial drafting software, which meant it wouldn't be too challenging for Autodesk to develop the corresponding film effects software. The development timeline would also be significantly shorter than that which Digital Domain took to develop Maya and the other tool software. In this universe, Autodesk had monopolized the film effects software market due to being the first to seize the opportunity.
At this point, preventing Autodesk from entering the film effects software market wasn't solely about that piece of software sales profit; it was more important to ensure that Digital Domain maintained its leading position in the film effects industry. Any company that only invests without earning a profit is bound to face closure eventually.
The technical team led by Ed Catmull found themselves in this predicament. While Digital Domain was soaring, the downsides were not yet apparent. However, once the film effects companies entered an era of cut-throat competition, this unprofitable vast technical team would become a burden to the company.
After Eric's statements, everyone in the conference room started to propose their suggestions.
...
After three days of intensive meetings, Digital Domain held a press conference at Firefly Films headquarters.
At this time, the box office data for the second week of Jurassic Park had been released, bringing in over $71 million, with total box office earnings reaching $185 million. Despite this being a conference for Digital Domain, many journalists invited to the event were gearing up with a slew of questions about the sequel to Jurassic Park after learning that Eric would be in attendance.
There was no lack of intriguing information revealed at the press conference.
Ed Catmull, who held the position of Pixar's Chief Technology Officer, announced that Firefly would integrate the technical support teams from Pixar and Digital Domain, creating a standalone Firefly Software company. Firefly Software would primarily provide effects software and related visual effects solutions for target clients.
As soon as Ed finished speaking, the press conference hall erupted with about a hundred journalists buzzing in discussion. Some journalists who weren't well-informed were puzzled as to why Digital Domain, at its peak, would make such a self-sabotaging move. Meanwhile, others, who were perceptive to industry news, realized this was a counterattack from Firefly against the recent poaching incidents Digital Domain had experienced.
At first glance, this didn't seem logical. But even if the news of Autodesk collaborating with ILM and Universal wasn't mentioned, some smart folks would still understand that this move equated to a covert expansion for Digital Domain. Although Digital Domain's effects software had yet to leak out, the technical standards demonstrated in movies like Jurassic Park far outshone those of Hollywood's mid-sized effects houses. Therefore, if Digital Domain's software tools began to become available for sale, not only would former effects artists who left Digital Domain likely use them first, but other effects companies would also join the ranks of Digital Domain software users.
Moreover, Ed Catmull's comments revealed something very important: Firefly Software would also provide clients with specific film visual effects solutions. This measure not only increased Firefly Software's profitability but also indirectly constrained the development of those convenience-seeking effects companies through the licensing of solutions. After all, if a low-cost bundle of effects shot production solutions was available, most wouldn't want to waste time and money on technical research and accumulation. The solutions offered by Firefly Software would definitely rely on Firefly's software, once again limiting mid-sized effects companies from using other software.
After Ed Catmull made the announcement, the press conference transitioned into a free question period as hands shot up across the room.
The host scanned the audience and randomly selected a poised female journalist.
Unexpectedly, the female reporter turned with the microphone to Eric, who hadn't yet spoken, and asked, "Mr. Williams, I'm a reporter from the Los Angeles Times. Jurassic Park's North American box office has already accumulated $185 million. Fans are very concerned about what happens next on Dinosaur Island, but your original novel doesn't reveal any information about that. Will Firefly be developing a sequel?"
"Firstly, I want to say, ma'am, your question isn't relevant to this press conference. If anyone else brings up a similar question afterward, I won't answer it. However, I can tell everyone right now that a sequel is definitely in the works."
Just as Eric was about to hand the microphone over, the reporter quickly interjected, "Then, Mr. Williams, will Firefly Software treat effects companies outside of Digital Domain differently?"
"I'm not sure what you mean by 'differently.' Firefly Software is fundamentally one entity with Digital Domain. In terms of technical support, Firefly Software will undoubtedly offer full support to Digital Domain; that's indisputable. However, in other areas, such as the effects software held by Firefly Software, there will be no preferential treatment to internal or external clients. Even after the split, if Digital Domain wants to use the latest software from Firefly Software, they will still need to go through the proper process and pay the required fees."
The microphone quickly passed to another reporter, who directed his question towards Eric: "Mr. Williams, I'm from the San Francisco Chronicle. Will Firefly Software go public?"
"There are currently no plans for an IPO, but it will definitely happen in the future."
The reporter immediately followed up with a question of great interest to Wall Street: "Then will Firefly Studios go public?"
*****
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