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LeftField Pictures

Is this your company?

'Gulag' Would Be A Compliment (working title: Is Zero Stars An Option?) - Anonymous LeftField Pictures Employee Review

1.0
2 June 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Technically I did receive a paycheck. Other than that... um.... the free sunsets and water were just lovely. In all seriousness, the PM, Show and Post teams are incredibly smart and dedicated to their jobs. Everyone in lower to middle management positions is easy to work with and interested in open communication and finding ways to work together more efficiently.

Cons

The company pays well below industry standard. Unless you have worked longer than a year, you do not receive even paid government holidays (of which they only recognize 7 days total a year). You would have to work here for 2 years before receiving even 5 days of PTO. After 6 months and being given the amount of work for 2 people and significantly more responsibility, I asked for a title change/promotion/raise/anything and received nothing. I was told that it is company policy that employees can not receive a raise/promotion/title change within their first year. This is nowhere to be found in the company handbook. Leftfield will do anything to not pay its employees overtime or the money they are due. Even after you work more than 60 hours a week, they will fight your claim for overtime pay. Your weekly rate is made up of 40 hours at a very low hourly rate and 20 hours at a higher "overtime" rate (not 40 hours at a normal rate), but if you work less than 8 hours a day, you will be paid for those hours at the low rate. While the company grows, it expects people in every function to work on multiple shows. I worked on 10+ shows when I left. I have worked at a large corporation before, where I had more autonomy and it felt less like a sweatshop than Leftfield.

Explore other reviews about LeftField Pictures

5.0
13 Mar 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great people doing creating exciting TV.

Cons

The edit bays could be a bigger.

2.0
21 June 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

This is a good place to work if you're just starting out in the business. You will get exposure to Avid and other technologies used in video editing, so if you're into that, this might be a good place. They offer health care benefits for staff employees. There is room for growth if you put your time in.

Cons

The pay is bad. They lowball everyone they hire, and unfortunately so many people in the industry are desperate enough to accept their offer. The workload is immense. Expect to work 11 or 12 hour days often. There are several different sub-companies that are part of Leftfield, about 7 when I was there, and I was the post coordinator for all of them. They are notorious for underpaying and overworking their employees; my starting contract was for $950/week, 60 hours a week. Many of the employees at Leftfield are inexperienced. I noticed a pattern of hiring completely inept film crews who did not seem to know the basics. This is probably due to the non-competitive pay offered. The benefits are bad. They offered 5 days vacation after 2 years when I started. Luckily, my position was unionized and I got 5 days vacation after one year. Still bad. High turnover. People did not stay here long, not sure if because they left to pursue other opportunities or were fired.

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