Ive been playing catchup the last few months from all the copies of cinefex that landed on the mat while I was in Canada for the last two years. Just about to start 100 and 101 pops through the door yesterday! Ive not looked at the thread re: issue 100 yet, waiting to read the issue first before I contribute, but given that its amassed 4 pages there must certainly be some interesting thoughts contained therein.
It gives you the impression that the only effects companies that survive for any length of time are the ones that specialize, i.e. Hatch or Matte World Digital.
As Tim Sarnoff (Imageworks) at the end of the interview suggests (and I translate), it comes down to the Artists and the quality of their work. No matter how you shuffle companies and company sizes, they're built around talent, even If you get the impression they're not.
But then, the talent needs the FX companies as much, right?