Digital Domain CEO brags about using student labor for profit.

[Krynn72]

Thought some people here might be interested in this.
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/cgi/digi...about-exploiting-animation-student-labor.html

The blog VFX Soldier has obtained a speech that Textor gave last November to investors in which he revealed how the company’s new animation schoolDigital Domain Institute will be integrated with the Tradition studio. Textor told the audience:

Classes starting in the education space, what’s interesting is the relationship between the digital studio and the college. Not only is this a first in a number of ways that we’ve talked about, but 30% of the workforce at our digital studio down in Florida, is not only going to be free, with student labor, it’s going to be labor that’s actually paying us for the privilege of working on our films.​

Now this was the controversial element of this and the first discussions with the Department of Education, ’cause it sounds like you’re taking advantage of the students. But we were able to persuade even the academic community, if we don’t do something to dramatically reduce costs in our industry, not only ours but many other industries in this country, then we’re going to lose these industries .. we’re going to lose these jobs. And our industry was going very quickly to India and China.​

​

Students, in other words, will pay up to $105,000 for the “privilege” of working on Digital Domain’s features, the first of which will be The Legend of Tembo. As VFX Soldier points out, “It’s one thing to work for low pay, it’s another thing to work for free, but it’s unfathomable to be expected to pay to work for free.
If all of this sounds a little fishy, that’s because it is. The Animation Guild in Los Angeles is exploring whether Digital Domain might be in violation of state and federal labor laws. They’ve tried to communicate with multiple Florida government agencies, including the state’s Department of Education, with no luck yet. Federal labor laws, however, would appear to be in favor of artists as they clearly stipulate that interns cannot “perform productive work” (i.e. work on the production of a film) without being compensated with at least minimum wage and overtime pay. (Minimum wage, by the way, is $7.67 per hour in Florida.)

 

[Warped Dan]

Fire his ass! What a jerk

 

[Maestro]

This is why I don't do free internships. If you assholes are making cash off me, then you better cough up. The only exceptions I'll make are for small nonprofits that need my expertise.

 

[dfc05]

^yep, hopefully people interested in this "school" will read about this and avoid it like the plague. I've heard that for some majors though (like law), unpaid internships are pretty much required.

 

[Maestro]

Hence my reason for becoming an engineer. Engineers get paid in more than monopoly money because they aren't usually hired by assholes who specialize in bilking people of their money (like the film and legal industries).