Tatiana Maslany and SHE-HULK Director and Head Writer Defend Marvel's VFX Artists and Their Work Environment

About a week ago, a report surfaced in which a Marvel VFX employee lamented the working conditions in the studio’s VFX department, stating that co-workers were crying and having panic attacks due to the insane workload. It’s understandable that Marvel’s employees would feel some pressure, turning out the top-notch cutting-edge work they do, but it also seems as though a company like Marvel would be open to the feedback like this to help the work environment improve.

In response to the chatter, some of the cast and crew of the upcoming VFX-heavy Marvel series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law have weighed in on their VFX crew. When asked by a journalist during a virtual panel at the Television Critics Association’s summer press tour about their experiences with the She-Hulk VFX artists and “how you feel about the finished product,” noting that “there have been numerous accounts lately that VFX houses … they are feeling incredibly crushed by the studios in general and Marvel keeps getting called out,” star of the series, Tatiana Maslany told reporters:

“I feel incredibly, like, deferential to how talented these artists are and how quickly they have to work, obviously, like much quicker than probably should be given to them, in terms of like churning these things out.”

Jessica Gao, who is head writer on the series, added:

“It’s terrible that a lot of artists feel rushed and feel that the the workload is too massive. I mean, I think everybody on this panel stands in solidarity with all workers and is very pro-good working conditions.”

She-Hulk director Kat Coiro noted that while she’s worked with VFX artists on the show, “we’re not behind the scenes on these long nights and days. If they’re feeling pressure we stand with them and we listen to them.”

During the TCA panel, Maslany defended the visual effects on the show, which themselves have been criticized, saying:

“I do think that we have to like be super conscious of how the work conditions aren’t always optimal and that they’ve made these amazing strides in this industry,” the actor said. “I watch it and it doesn’t look like a cutscene from a video game. I can see the character’s thoughts. I feel very in awe of what they do.”

Coiro also addressed criticism of how She-Hulk looks on the series:

“I do think that has to do with our culture’s belief in their ownership of women’s bodies,” she said. “There’s a lot of talk about her body type. We based her a lot on Olympian athletes, not bodybuilders, but I think if we’d gone the other way, we would be facing the same critique. I think it’s very hard to win when you make women’s bodies.”

I was really happy with the first trailer for She-Hulk. I think it looks like a really fun series, and I can’t wait to check it out. I also hope the talented VFX crew at Marvel is able to get the support they need, because they are doing some amazing work over there.

She-Hulk was pushed on Wednesday from its original August 17th debut to August 18th.

via: Variety