Nerd Corps Entertainment Reviews

Pros

Great place to work as a director

Cons

The Spaarcx system was not ideal

Pros

Nerd is a decent place, especially for people looking to get a start in the industry. The company will always have work, I have yet to see them let anyone go due to lack of projects and that means a steady paycheck. The people you work with end up being a great part of the experience there as well. Since being bought by DHX, there have been many moves by upper management to improve the atmosphere and attitude of the company, which is a refreshing change from previous years. Things are more upbeat and positive than last year, which was more upbeat and positive than the year before. Its a company that has had some growing pains but seem to be striding forward right now (2015).

Cons

The pay scales and upgrades need some review, and the question of paid overtime is most of the time, a laughing matter. The scheduling also is a bit in the hands of the coordinators and a spreadsheet, being 'behind' can result in an employee working lots of O.T to catch up which can frustrate and burn out a lot of people. The projects are for children so if you are looking for something more adult, that would not be Nerd's target audience. Its not a bad thing, just not what some people might be looking for.

Pros

This company is a good stepping stone for people coming into the industry. You get to move around and try different things. And build up your skills if you can handle the work load.

Cons

Unfortunately, the good things about the company creates a negative effect, you often have to multitask too much, expect you to do work that is beyond your title/pay grade. Hard to get proper training since your supervisors,leads, seniors are often so busy and juggling so many different tasks. Experienced artists are hard to come by in the company since they often move on to other companies. They tell people they are paying a 'competitive wage' when the way you pay their employees hasn't changed for almost 10 years... They don't often recruit experienced people because they claim they were being 'unreasonable' and asking too much.

Pros

Hugely talented ground troops.

Cons

Where do I begin. Tracking system( SPARX ) is grossly misused in order to instil fear in ground troops. Whole sets are given 2 days for completion. Management is clueless and also don't listen when technical problems are flagged, even though solutions are ready to deploy. Supervisors are behind closed doors and NEVER held accountable, have been using the same tools for 10 years. Salaries are well below standard. Frequent use of "high technology" exemptions of emoyment standards act of canada ( overtime, ect... ). They hire from outside, overtop of employees of several years, then expect them to train thier new boss (who doesn't speak English). Frequent, almost daily network crashes resulting in hours of lost time, which is not compensated on SPARX. I'll stop here because it's pointless to go any further. Will be looking for new job shortly.

Pros

The people are great and the teams you build while you are on a project are amazing. Everyone feels like a family at times in the sense that we are all pulling through times to get things done and encouraging each other.

Cons

Sometimes, management puts the pressure on people, especially newer people. I can't tell you how many times I've run across someone burned out from just stress and pressure, myself included. I know that TV has a tight turnaround but people are dropping left and right from the studios because they aren't being paid enough to put up with some of the mental things they have to go through.

Pros

One of the largest TV series animation Studio in Vancouver. People, co-workers and directors are great to work with.

Cons

Very unique and poor time management using a certain 'timer' for animators. Lacks balance of continuity and quality of work. No reviews or meeting for animators to communicate as a team. Very POOR Quota - average 60 sec per week, animators do layout aswell (no layout artists in the studio) all overwhelming quantity work to be done using overtime, which is ofcourse, unpaid.

Pros

There are many talented and driven artists who are great to work with.

Cons

To start you are made to do 3 jobs for the price of one. You model, texture, rig and set up your models for compositing. This is all fine if you were paid for such a job. But the wages, even for leads and seniors, are considered low for even one of those jobs. Definitely not enough to pay off your inevitable student loans and live comfortably in Vancouver. This studio is a trap, you cant earn enough to advance your financial situation, and with the tremendous work load you are left with little to no energy at the end of the day to work on your own demo reel. So you will find it very hard to find other work. You will be working under tight deadlines, and often with designs lacking necessary information and proper perspective. If you fall behind schedule, expect to be working late with no pay. This is quite common since the pipeline is very unorganized. Many times I do not get a design until 2 or 3 days after its due date, and the schedule does not adjust. In short Nerd Corps expects much, but gives you a poor paycheck and stress in return.

Pros

Team camaraderie and morale were high, which was the biggest positive factor in my time with Nerd Corps. Excellent opportunity for new graduates to get experience and climb the ladder.

Cons

Disclaimer: I did not work on all productions at Nerd Corps. Experiences vary from team to team. For anyone with experience outside the studio, Nerd Corps can leave a lot to be desired. No work environment is perfect, and I can overlook the little things. But the one critical issue with Nerd Corps is the message from leadership: "You should feel lucky that you have a job." This statement is the foundation on which the studio's culture is built. When you work at Nerd Corps, you do things the Nerd Corps way. They are not seeking to gain from your professional experience, but instead judge you by how well you fit their mold. Not surprisingly, reform, regardless of scale, is not only unsupported, but discouraged. Employee turnover is so high that it ironically creates a vacuum in which junior employees are sucked up the ladder - not climbing it.