Mar 13, 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak: Los Angeles animation studio is asking artists to work remotely (update)

The impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) on the animation world is widening. While events around the world continue to cancel or postpone their upcoming editions, studios are starting to take action too.

We've collated the latest information about major studios' policies on remote working. The situation is evolving fast, and this page will be updated to reflect new announcements. If you want to speak to us anonymously about how your company is handling the situation, write a comment below or email [email protected].

Meanwhile, some are approaching the crisis from a different angle. Indie studio Thinko says that it's “weirdly incredibly ready. We've been remote friendly from the beginning.” (See their full statement here.) And Rad Sechrist, the creator of Dreamworks Animation's series Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, is taking the longer view:

It's not clear at this point how service studios are handling the situation. Due to draconian security procedures implemented by many Hollywood studios, artists at service shops must rely on in-house servers and can't simply take their production work home. If you are working at a service studio in the U.S. or abroad, please let us know how your studio is handling the situation.

Here's what we know about individual studios in Los Angeles:

Nickelodeon Animation employees are being sent home on March 13 as a trial. When reached for comment, a spokesperson pointed Cartoon Brew to recent media reports about the actions taken by the studio's parent company ViacomCBS. The following is from The Wrap:

Netflix closed its main office in L.A. on March 12, after an employee was suspected to have caught the coronavirus, according to the Los Angeles Times. The paper reports that all L.A. employees have been recommended to work from home. Netflix declined to comment to Cartoon Brew.

UPDATE: According to social media posts by artists working at Netflix Animation, the studio has asked all artists to work from home until at least Monday, March 23.

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Television Animation, Pixar Animation Studios: A representative for the Walt Disney Company confirmed to Cartoon Brew that domestic Walt Disney Company employees who are able to work from home are being asked to do so, including those at The Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Television, ESPN, Direct-to-Consumer, and Parks, Experiences and Products. Artists at Pixar who are not in production are working from home, according to social media reports, but this is not possible for some artists who are in production.

Dreamworks Animation is not on a mandatory shutdown, but it is strongly encouraging those who can to work from home. Some Dreamworks Animation Television artists have suggested on social media that their crews have started working remotely, but others are still at the studio.

The company is following the overall policy of its parent company, NBCUniversal, whose CEO Jeff Shell sent out a memo yesterday.

The note from Shell was followed by a letter from Dreamworks Animation president Margie Cohn. Her letter is reprinted in full below:

Warner Animation Group and Warner Bros. Animation: Reports on social media suggest that some staff at Warner Animation Group, the company's feature animation division, are working from home. It's not clear how many Warner Bros. Animation television productions are asking their crew to work from home, but some of them are doing so. A representative from Warner Bros. Television Group, which oversees Warner Bros. Animation, clarified the company's policy in this statement to Cartoon Brew:

World of Warcraft game developer Blizzard Entertainment, a subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, is implementing a “work-from-home” policy for its U.S. employees in California and Texas. They made an announcement on Twitter a few hours ago:

(Image at top: Dreamworks Animation campus in Glendale, California.)

Additional reporting on this piece by Amid Amidi.