Hollywood's Visual Effects Industry in Crisis

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

Not everything you see in Hollywood movies is real. Some of the beautiful, strange, scary images might have been produced on a computer. They are called visual effects. They once were produced only in Hollywood, but that has changed. New technology makes it possible for one film to include visual effects created in different countries.

Venkatesh Roddam is the chief executive officer of Reliance MediaWorks in India.

"In the last five to seven years is where you've seen an explosion of content getting processed in different parts of the world, Not just India, but China, Taiwan, Korea, India; these are all the markets that content from Hollywood is going to," said Roddam.

Dave Rand is a co-founder of the Association of Digital Artists, Professionals &Technicians. He says that sending visual effects work overseas hurts U.S. companies.

"I've been at 12 different visual effects companies. [I've] been on the staff of five, all of which have gone bankrupt for one reason or another; basically it's only two, the way we work and the subsidy race that's driven so many of them out of business," said Dave Rand.

Daniel Lay is the association's other founder, he believes U.S. federal courts should get involved in Hollywood's use of visual effects made by foreign companies.

"The United States government puts very strong anti-subsidy laws that have been around for years that allow for domestic industries that are being injured by these international subsidies to seek relief through the trade courts," Lay said.

Mr. Lay says he wants a tax ordered on work produced outside the U.S. Not surprisingly, Venkatesh Roddam of Reliance MediaWorks does not agree.

"It's not a progressive idea. You are actually artificially pumping up the cost. You are limiting talent availability," said Roddam.

Kunal Chindarkar works in Singapore for the visual effects company Double Negative. He says he learns a lot working on Hollywood movies with people from all over the world. His co-workers at Double Nagetive include people from Australia, France and the United Kingdom.

Venkatesh Roddam says working with Hollywood improves the quality of work worldwide. He says it is important for visual effects companies to have a presence in the U.S.

"You cannot survive in this marketplace without a physical presence here. So from that perspective, companies like ours will continue to create American jobs in America, rather than actually think about how much of this work is going to Canada or U.K. or India or China," said Roddam.

He says the visual effects industry will continue to develop. He adds that those who want to stay in the business will have to continue to change with it.

And that's the VOA Learning English Technology Report. For more technology stories, go to our website tingvoa.com. Give us a like on the VOA Learning English Facebook page. Follow us on twitter at VOA Learning English. You can also watch vedios on the VOA Learning English YouTube Channel. I'm Jonathan Evans.

词汇解析

visual

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

adj.视觉的;视力的;看的见的;形象的

n.画面;图象

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Her designs have a strong visual appeal.

她的设计在视觉上很有感染力。

executive

难度：2星扩展词汇，属常用10000词

英汉解释

adj.行政的;决策的;经营的;[计算机]执行指令

n.行政主管;行政部门;决策者

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

He is on the executive committee.

他是该执行委员会委员。

用作名词 (n.)

An executive should be experienced in administration.

一个管理者应有行政管理的经验。

explosion

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

n.爆炸;爆炸声;激增;爆发

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The atomic explosion is always accompanied by huge fireball.

原子弹爆炸总是伴随着巨大的火球。

After the explosion it was some time before the town resumed its everyday routines.

爆炸后经过相当一段时间，这个城镇才恢复了正常的生活秩序。

overseas

难度：3星常用词汇，属常用6000词

英汉解释

adj.海外的

adv.在海外

参考例句

用作形容词 (adj.)

Over the years, hundreds of overseas students have studied at that university.

几年来，几百个留学生在那所大学学习过。

用作副词 (adv.)

He qualified in London as a teacher of English overseas.

他在伦敦取得了海外英语教师的资格。

compromise

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.妥协;折衷;折衷案;和解

vt.妥协处理;危害

vi.妥协，和解;让步

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The agreement is a compromise, not a sell-out.

这个协议是双方妥协的产物而不是一方让步。

用作及物动词 (vt.)

Build the disorder that does not have the market to compromise project quality forthrightly.

建没市场的混乱直接地危害工程质量。

用作不及物动词 (vi.)

The agreement is a compromise, not a sell-out.

这个协议是双方妥协的产物而不是一方让步。

relief

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.减轻;解除;轻松;浮雕;救济(品);安慰;替代

adj.提供救济的;文本的

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The pills gave her some relief.

药片减轻她一些痛苦。

talent

难度：4星核心词汇，属常用3000词

英汉解释

n.天赋;才能，才艺;天才;人才;<英俚>美人

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

The mother found that her son had a musical talent.

母亲发现儿子有音乐天赋。

What they need most is managerial talent.

他们最需要的是管理人才。

bacteria

pinlv: hanyin:

英汉解释

n.(复数)细菌

参考例句

用作名词 (n.)

It is possible to multiply bacteria and other living organisms in the laboratory.

在实验室能够繁殖细菌和其他生物。