sent from: London, UK. destination: Brooklyn, New York, USA

“Based on true events”
There have been a number of stories this week where artists in various disciplines; musicians, photographers, painters, have pushed back loudly and publicly against the notion that they should be ok giving away their work for free to large, profitable, well-funded companies.
The notion that “there’s no budget” for it is absurd and insulting.

This comic has been brewing away for a few weeks in my mind as I processed something that happened; “based on true events”.

It sits at the intersection of a number of realities – the chasing of foreign audiences by studios for their profits while simultaneously benefiting from (and demanding) subsidies for film production. The downward pressure on vfx facilities to lower their bids, and then at the artist level the unchallenged notion in the business culture that it’s ok to ask people to donate images for free to commercial projects that will go on to yield their clients lots and lots of money. 

Lastly, that odious phrase “we can’t offer any monetary compensation”, with its suggestion that there is some other kind of compensation that will also pay the bills.