Oscars 2014: new VFX protest planned

Influential members of the visual effects (VFX) artists community say they are planning another protest to coincide with the Oscar ceremony on 2 March. This follows a 400-strong demonstration against the industry's treatment of VFX artists last year.

According to the Wrap, Daniel Lay, author of the VFX Soldier blog, is among those planning the new protest, which is being termed March in March. According to their Facebook page, their aim is to "bring awareness and show support for our effort to levy duties against VFX subsidies".

Last year the VFX community focussed its attention on Life of Pi, as the company that supplied its visual effects was forced to file for bankruptcy despite winning an Oscar for best visual effects. The mood was further hardened when director Ang Lee failed to acknowledge any VFX artists in his speech on receiving the best director Oscar.

Now, however, the protest is aimed at subsidies, which enable non-US VFX outfits to price US companies out of the market and the work to migrate to the UK, Canada and New Zealand. "We're trying to focus on the destructive impact of the subsidies race," said Lay. "It's great that there's an Oscar party going on, but a lot of us are being hurt by this subsidy."

Lay has also co-founded an organisation called ADAPT (Association of Digital Artists, Professionals and Technicians), which will agitate for a levy to be charged to films that benefit from such subsidies. Lay told the Guardian: "Many international artists are hurt by subsidies."

Dave Rand, who last year chartered a plane to fly over the Oscars towing a banner reading "Box Office + Bankrupt = Visual Effects vfxunion.com" said: "The march is going to be a less angry demonstration…we don't want to be disruptive or disrespectful to the Oscars ... We want this one to be more focused. Basically all of our jobs in Los Angeles have left, so that issue is moot unless we can bring the industry back."