AndyC

Hey Brodie, We are hiring, but NW, PM me if you are interested or want to chat. Thanks! Andy

Hi Everyone, One of the great advantages of CGArchitect is that it will put you in touch with a lot of very senior and experienced members of our community and industry. It gives us all a chance to vent and question what, who, how and why we are. Often we get a chance to hear the real story from its source. I want this to be one of those times. So, at this juncture I should probably step up to the platform and address a few points made in this thread. When I woke up this morning I checked my emails to see a message from an ex co-worker from a few years ago, catching up on life and work. He mentioned this thread so I hit the site to see what is going on. I have read the thread through and want to address a few points made here and clear up a few questions. The Job Ad was written to show full clarity and honesty. I have worked in this industry for 16 years for some of the most recognized names in architecture, arch viz and design. In all my years I haven't worked in a single company that everybody walked out the door at 6pm. Not out of requirement, but out of choice, mostly through taking pride in what they do. Occasionally, a project gets pushed through a weekend, and often staff will make a contribution to getting that done. This is typical of what we do and I don't think anyone here should be surprised. The job ad is making that point. Nobody is 'expected' to put in extra time. Its asked of when it will further the company and therefore further all of our careers, folios and future opportunities. Working artists too hard will burn them out and asking them to do extra work is calculated risk, believe me, I need them to have a life and get some free time. Nobody is 'squeezing more work' out of an artist. We discuss this kind of work together and make the decision to work longer hours together. We work as one family and one team. We are only seeking the same energy and enthusiasm from a new member. There is no 'stealing of your life'. We specifically want people that love this work and want to be proud of their best work on each project and we give people the chance to do that. People are hired because we want to make sure that our work is as good as it can be and done in the most effective way possible. It's not just about profit. We didn't get into this industry for money, believe me, I would be a surgeon if I just wanted a boat load of cash. We go into this to do something in life which is fairly unique. We do art for a living with like minded people and get paid for it. So it's not just about using people for profit. We work with people so we can get a better shot at the best projects out there. There is no extra hours built into any contract. Its just a preference of a persons willingness and professional commitment. And in every case and occasion, life comes first. Period. The ad isn't sloppy and it isn't shameless, its honest and upfront. Our industry is a result of peoples passion and commitment. For those of us who have done this long enough, we know that this industry exists because of a huge commitment we all made a long while ago, before Vray and Max even existed (it wasn't called max back then). I would hope that the commitment and passion still exists and will continue to do so for that is where the best projects come from. A project manager will tell you that most projects and clients can be looked after within a budget of time and cost, however on occasion, you really want to help a client out and be the best you can be for them, this takes extra effort and is needed to back your client up and make sure you are there for them when they need you. Its a team spirit. With all of this said, I am happy to know that this week I have spent several hours getting better benefits for all the staff and asking for a wish list of anything they want. We pay for everyone's lunch every day, we all have flexible working hours, brand new offices, education programs, the latest equipment, oh and we are even all going hiking this weekend with our families (I hear its meant to be beautiful weather). We even have an company event planned next week so lots of fun for all. So with that said, I better get on as I'm hoping we can all finish early today and get some 'refreshments' together at a good local. Believe me, the beer is mighty fine round here. Obviously this is a bigger topic than just one company, but I wanted to validate and contribute to this thread in the spirit of total disclosure and full access. Thanks guys! Andy Catterick President PIXELPOOL INC

Hi, just saw this, madly late for something but PM me and ill write back. Speak soon!

Further to this point, right now is a tricky time to be a specialist. Times are tough and we all have roll up our sleeves to contribute generally these days. Give it time.

Two possible answers. 1. They want to encourage everyone to apply, they can quickly determine what your best skills are. While you may think you are awesome at one thing, you may not be relative to their expertise. OR, you may be a lighting god, whereas you somehow think your skills shine somewhere else. It really depends on what they are looking for and their upcoming workload. 2. They are a small firm or a generalist kind of company. Small firms need all rounders, everyone has to be dynamic and effective at every level. Everyone has to be able to contribute. Generalist firms are usually not high end and to be honest a talented all rounder is good enough for the level of work that they are producing.

Indeed, Cubellis grew at a furious rate. While impressive at first sight, I can only imagine the indirect costs incurred by the understanding and transitioning of so many aquisitions in such a short space of time. I have seen other similar firms having to reduce aquired local firms/staff from their respective teams down to just the founding partners (who are on a guaranteed contract I'm sure). I think this is the saddest lesson of all. I can only imagine the dismay felt by those partners that sold their busineses to Cubellis. Sure the buyout was probably sweet but was it worth it? I think this is an example of decision making and planning that will studied for a while. As we now get used to our new economy, our new reality, its lessons like this we will all do well to learn from.

Hi again, Take a look at firms such as Space Syntax and it will give you an idea. Imagine Syms but in the real world. The conversations I was having years ago were with developers, leasing agents, urban planners, architects, user exp and Nottingham university. There was an idea that we would make a product that you could plug and play with buildings, elements, greenways etc and immediately see value change in an assumed cost per sq foot. Now imagine a billboard and the cost of putting your ad on there, you could see it up front and choose that one or walk around a site and coose another, see the cost, even reserve it. Then you could walk up to a building, see cost per sq/ft, but at this point you could request alterations to shell architecture, even how many floors on some occasions. Finally the much longer goal was to be able to show this experience to consumers, users, a particular demographic or people in the community and be able to asses their reaction, facial and neural in order to understand emotional reponse to environmental changes. It essentially gave an investor real evidence of value associated with changes.

Wow, you have just described just about every generic reel made. Specifics please . . .

I read the article as marginally positive nod to the arch viz industry. Perhaps a sniff of some good news.

I actually did this about 6 years ago. We used an engine that was written by one of the project gotham guys. It wasn't super hot but it did the job well and the transition from max to the native environment worked very well. We even used games designers to help us understand LOD's. Looking back I have many thoughts, my first is, if you are going to use it for visualizing only, dont do it. Its still fairly crude, very expensive and allows freedom where you may not want it. My second thought is what stood out as awesomeness. If the environment is interactive, can do cost calcs and can show advertisement opportunity by cost and effect and perhaps even interactive urban planning then you have a VERY valuable tool. Oddly much of this tech does exist, but to my knowledge it hasn't been put together that well. Too many people focusing on pretty stuff without thinking about the value of strategy.

I must admit, probably not the best approach . . .

Erm, yeah, its weird, one of those things some people cant get their head round. I still know artists tell me they are setting max to render at 300dpi. ?????

Hi Stan, Well it might be easier to define two distinct functions. First. Operations, from office protocol (answering the phone, typical staff task asignments) to production standards (software setup and product delivery). I would suggest you ensure this list is the bare minimum, the most obvious and ones that beyond question. Second. Process/strategy. Pull your team together, even if its two others, and have them write the full list independantly. Then, you write your full list. Give each list to one another and make each person justify another persons ideas while everyone else pull its apart. Once you have argued and concluded that list, ask two other outsiders (well experienced from another industry perhaps) to argue your list to you, and you pick holes in it. Eventually you will have a well considered plan of action. I know its a complicated process but its one that most enterprise firms use to plan strategy. You have to try and engage your team to feel ownership and also let go of your overwhealming rule that you have had for so long, even if something feels right to you . . . you now have to challenge your own instinct by assesing the biases that e all allow to cloud our judgement. Good luck with your planning, its an awesome thing to do! Beyond anything, the thing that make your business work of course is clients, clients, clients . . . . but dont let your scramble for work lead you down a road that isnt your vision. Again, good luck!!!

Sir, I bow to your upload speed or increndible patience!

I have just been burned by Mozy, be careful. I backed up 20GB of data, well i thought I did . .. So I went to retrieve it and only then found out it hadn't backed up properly. Mozy couldnt do much to help and have now refunded all my money. I have heard many people have the same problem, just google mozy problems and take a look yourself. Also be aware most of Mozy has been moved to India and you cannot call a CSR, only a tech guy that cant authorise anything but engineering. I now use dropbox for my live data, and only live data. The best thing about it, is that I can share any folder with anyone I choose. This makes working with others a breeze. Need to send someone 1GB of data, not a problem, its a right click for me! I echo what others have said here. Raid 1 or 5 is the best redundancy solution, I also archive to blu-ray.