#like is common in a lot of industries to meet insane deadlines

[thunderon]

if the yjs keeps its 5 season plan and continues dropping a new season at the rate of every 2 years, they’ll have to shift from a wilderness-teen timeline to a post-crash young adult timeline. or else we’re going to be seeing 38 year old kevin alves and the others in their mid 30s in s5 (2029 release) out in the wilderness like

[rwbyconversations]

Rooster Teeth Glassdoor Crunch/Overtime Accusations #AnimatorsFirst

EDIT: Georden Whitman, former creator of Nomad of Nowhere, has come out and publicly confirmed the Glassdoor reviews are true.

Original story:

Rooster Teeth’s Glassdoor reviews have recently made serious allegations against the company, with people who work for the company claiming that the company engages in practices involving heavy crunch periods, a resistance to providing benefits, eighty hour work weeks, a management team trying to justify crunch and unpaid overtime that, according to some, led to as much as a third of RWBY and gen;LOCK’s recent seasons being made effectively for free. 

Below are screencaps and exact quotes from the pages. Any emphasis made is done by me.

From May 23rd this year, as written by an employee with three years experience at RT:

Cons

Program scheduling department has no idea how to time budget for animation, has resulted in unnecessary, preventable crunch Company takes on projects that are too big for it to manage effectively Not the highest pay compared to Anim Guild standards Open office space, gets noisy

Advice to Management

Management has been using a weird method to try and deescalate hard feelings about crunch. They’re acting like counselors who are “there to talk” and to try and find “coping mechanisms” to deal with crunch. This is a terrible idea considering that none of them are trained counselors as far as I’m aware, but more-so, they’re obviously going to be biased in favor of what they want from us. It makes me want to communicate with them even less. This past review, my manager criticized me for having “negative energy” during a terrible crunch period where we were working over 80 hrs s week, and told me I should “look for the silver lining” which is just bad advice. Advice to management is to stop pretending you know anything about mental health and also be less passive - fight harder for your team.

From May 13th, an employee with a year’s experience at Rooster Teeth:

Cons

The management is terrible. Artists are lead on with the promises of "full time employment and benefits" dangled in front of them without ever being addressed and ultimately are never given, there is no paid overtime, artists had to fight for their right to time off between productions, and good luck getting any form of benefits despite them being plastered on the wall.

Advice to Management

You're not a group of guys playing halo in your apartment anymore. Please run your business and look at what's happened to it.

From June 11th this year, from an employee who has been working at the company for five years:

Cons

- Extremely poor management (Some of it is negligence, some of it is just accidental from the sheer amount of work. Upper management is also extreme bro/friends club.) - Insanely high expectations (animate a 10-14 min episode in 2 weeks) - Very low compensation (I've worked here for years and make entry pay. Some people have gone MULTIPLE years with no raise) - No overtime pay (Every season of RWBY and GL gets about 1/3 or less made for 'free' because no one gets paid over time and it's not uncommon to work hundreds of hours of overtime) - Toxic work environment (there are a lot of cliques, complaining and even making fun of other people and depts here. It never gets punished so it always happens. Not professional)  - You know something is going right when after many complaints HR reminds everyone you have "unlimited" mental health doctor appointments... I could honestly go on and on like an emo on Myspace in 2007 but I'll reign it in. I'll leave it at this since I've seen many fans read these and be skeptical. It's not great. You can deny it but there is a lot of evidence if you just accept it. And the reason you work here is cus you get stuck and are promised "It'll get better". The work is low quality (hard to get jobs elsewhere), pay is low (can't save money) and life/work balance is a joke. We have a bit of balance now but it's only for a couple months out of the year when production isn't in full swing. Then it's back in the meat grinder.

Advice to Management

You NEED to listen to the workers and make hard decisions and actually fight for better conditions. It's been far far too long of "it'll get better" or "we know what to do next year". This isn't sustainable and I think we all know it. But someone has to be the guy to say "no" when things aren't good enough. If you don’t say no, hundreds of people suffer. Please.

From May 18th:

Cons

Crunch has gotten to an unacceptable level. Productions have been completed with over half of total hours unpaid overtime, especially impacting the comp and editing department. Management cares more about their ego than the quality of the work they put out— letting the crunch caused by their irresponsible decisions fall solely on the shoulders of the artists while they enjoy a forty hour work week. Pay is laughable compared with the amount of mandated, unpaid hours of labor. No career advancement, and contract workers are given empty promises of full time employment before being shown the door once production is done.

Advice to Management

Stop saying the crunch issue is “getting better” or that you’re “working on it”, and start actually owning up to your mistakes.

From May 19th:

Cons

-A lot of employees brought on, if not all, before the last development cycle were promised permanent positions after a 90 day trial period. As those dates approached those artists saw no change, asking their leads what was going on. The guidance from higher ups was vague at best, and some felt like they had been forced to lie to employees during the interview process. - A lot of processes went over-scope due to poor planning. -Lack of actual production experience in the management side of things is no longer something that can be glossed over as the company tries to take on more industry vetted employees. -Crunch is extreme and overtime is not compensated for, nor is that time given back in any fair amount.

Advice to Management

-Clear and concise communication -Re-structure your upper level management

From May 12th:

Cons

Crunch here is out of control. No Paid OT. Expect to work A LOT for free. 70-80 hour work weeks. Mandatory 10-12 hour work days sometimes with no days off. Management is more interested in telling you what you want the hear as opposed to the truth.

Advice to Management

Fix the crunch issue and stop saying 'we're working on it'.... because you're not. Layoffs are certain. Will layoff bad employees and good employees in the same breath, completely eliminating any reason to work as hard as you're required to do. Fix your transparency issue and stop overworking your employees otherwise your reputation will severely suffer.

From April 5th:

Cons

-No paid overtime. -Crunch is a major problem in the animation department due to unrealistic deadlines, poor planning, and indecisiveness. (Mandatory 10 to 12 hour days for multiple months are common.) -Stress levels are often very high due to harsh deadlines -Some of the producers tend to lie. -Promotions are used as a morale booster, not actual career advancement. -Hardly any time for Professional Development -Professionalism can be a bit scarce (for example people would draw penises on the boards throughout the studio)

Advice to Management

-Management needs to seriously figure out how to deal with the crunch issue. A question was asked at an all hands meeting: "How are you going to handle crunch this year?" Instead of giving a clear answer, the head of the RT animation department completely dodged the question. If you don't know how you are going to tackle a problem, try saying, "I don't know. I will get back with you ASAP." Then actually pursue a solution to the problem. Dodging questions makes you look shady and untrustworthy. -Improve production plans and make sure you have enough resources to complete your projects. If you are going to work on two shows at the same time, then you need to double ALL of your teams along the pipeline, not just one. If you can barely get one project done with your current resources, you certainly cannot finish two. If you can't get the resources needed to complete the projects, then it's probably best to keep them small or to simply not do them at all. Pushing your teams beyond the breaking point is not the wisest decision. If you continue with your overambitious ways, it will backfire in the long run. Telltale Games' closure and Bioware's Anthem debacle are examples of what's to come if you do not improve your production practices and get crunch under control. -Get more training on how to manage people. There are plenty of programs out there that can help management understand how to work with various types of personalities. There were some situations where I noticed that some leads and producers simply did not know how to talk to a person when there was a problem. Despite all of the criticism I just wrote, I feel the majority of who work at Rooster Teeth Productions are decent people. However, the management is just terrible. Put some of that ambition you have into fixing your problems internally instead of putting it into meeting those unrealistic deadlines.

From March 25th:

Cons

- Massive amounts of unpaid overtime. All while touting the importance to the company of a life/work balance. They promise to give you the time back, but it will be impossible to take. - Management is just a joke. They can’t schedule or stay on track to save their lives. Total amateur hour. - Zero followthrough on promises made. How about a pizza party? - Pay much lower than standard. Don’t expect real raises. Promotions with increased responsibilities don’t come with comparable pay bumps. - Most promises of advancement and opportunities are hollow wishful thinking. - Almost zero followthrough with meaningful investment in employee education. You can access a Udemy account and that’s about it. - Management will blame the artists instead of taking responsibility and will even through people under the bus to cover themselves. - Internet celebs are more valuable than artists.  - Their awards are called “cockbite of the month/year” and it’s what they call their employees. You may not want to be called that but that’s too bad. It’s their culture. A few guys draw penises everywhere to be funny. - Not very much diversity in management. Feels like you need to be a straight white male to be appreciated.

Advice to Management

Hire some actual seasoned industry professionals to upper management in Animation. And demonstrate there are some consequences for them, instead of taking it out on employees.

From April 11th: 

Cons

-Overtime, and hours will cause any person to slowly become something they don't like. -Management is typically made up of "talent" and treats other employees poorly, not to mention 0 years of previous managerial experience. -Management also blames other employees for the problems they create, and don't show actual leadership. -Echo chambers within management. -Stress levels incredibly high -Lack of professionalism

Advice to Management

-Get rid of "talent" in managerial roles, it's clear they're costing the company serious problems and money. The ones who end up being hurt are the employees who knew and constantly warned about problems ahead of time that were ignored. If the company stays the same a huge incident is bound to follow. -Try to respect creatives that aren't "talent" within the company as well. It's clear management doesn't and goes against the entirety of the company's "core values." those who have had previous industry experience should be listened to and considered instead of being shrugged off and given responses like "Well that's just how we do things." -Collaboration doesnt seem to exist for a majority of managment here. If this one massive change happens the company could really grow far and do much more than create crude content with a lack of care/heart for the final product. -If people are able to sleep and have a normal schedule more thoughtful input will also happen, and your content can only get better. -A multitude of people and lives have been hurt from management at this company, from in house employees being mentally abused to freelancers that are ghosted. So many immature and poor practices have taken place within the animation department I'm amazed a lawsuit has yet to happen. -Management should be leaders not bosses.

It’s almost darkly funny that most of the positives are just “They give you free food on Mondays and the people are nice.” 

But these are all from just the last year alone. Most reviews from before the start of 2019 don’t speak of crunch barring one from April 2018, one from March 2018 and one from June. This is a problem that has been affecting Rooster Teeth for at least an entire year, and since the start of the new year, the problem has magnified tenfold. Most reviews mention that the heads of departments are aware of the crunch and unpaid overtime but refuse to do anything about it beyond offering platitudes or dodging the question on what the company is going to actually do to fix the crunch problem.

Crunch is a problem plaguing many companies, especially in the western hemisphere. In gaming development there’s a story nearly every month about what apathetic upper management think they can get away with by forcing employees to spend dozens of hours every week slaving away on their product. I hoped that Rooster Teeth would not be one of these companies, but I am saddened to see that they were not. 

Crunch’s negative effects on mental and physical health have been well documented, alongside the basic fact that crunch isn’t worth it and doesn’t work. Employees forced to crunch are unable to work as well as employees who are well rested and have time to go home to their families. 

To anyone working these impossible crunch hours at Rooster Teeth right now, I hope your suffering ends soon, that eventually basic human empathy wins out and hours are lessened while you receive your just rewards for your work.

For @roosterteeth? This is appalling and a slap in the face to the fanbase you conned into thinking that you were a company that cared for everyone within as a huge family. Your entire management team should be ashamed of the environment you signed off on. No profit margin is worth the suffering you have subjected your crew to. Shame on you. 

As a fan of RWBY, it disgusts me that a product I enjoy was made through blood, sweat and tears. And as a fan of RWBY, I wish to make a public call to the fanbase, be it on Tumblr, Reddit, Twitter or Youtube. I want to make a public statement to Rooster Teeth that we are willing to wait longer for new shows if it means that they are made ethically. I can’t in good conscience support a product if it was made by putting the workers through hell. Maybe I can’t change anything on my own, maybe ultimately we’ll just be ignored, but I refuse to stand by and stay silent on the matter, maybe even get Rooster Teeth to make changes in their workflow (I won’t say “I hope they respond” because they seem to respond in-house to complaints about crunch without ever actually changing anything) 

I encourage you to share this around as much as you can. Share the accounts of the Glassdoor reviews as far and as wide as you can. We love and enjoy media, we love the people who make it- the animators, editors, writers and voice actors, and we as a community want them to not have to resort to RT’s seemingly unlimited mental health coverage or “find a coping mechanism to deal with crunch.” As much as it pains me to admit, I’d rather see RWBY die instead of seeing continue to be made on the back of crunch.

Thank you for reading. Again, I encourage you to share this around as much as you can. Let your voice be heard if you stand against this. 

[chelssology]

CHAPTER 2017: IMPORTANT LESSONS OF LIFE

I can't tell you what the most important lesson learned in life is. But I can tell you that I'm really freaking excited for 2018. 

1993-2017 - I seemed to have adopted the common invincibility attitude of the naive. As if I'm going to live a happy go lucky life until I'm 200 years old where nothing bad or traumatic will happen to me. 2017 hit me hard and made me realize that time and life is not guaranteed. And with this realization came the humbling lessons from chapters of my story. A story isn't worth the read without a good plot and moral. I don't know about you but, I'm hoping to write a good one.

Here are some life lessons I have learned this past year that will hopefully make life a little easier.

1. TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE Every single year, my new years goal is to take control of my time management and be punctual. Who knew it's physically possible to get progressively worst at something after making a goal to do better. But it is. And I, Chelsea the 'Deadliner', am a testimony to that. It is so important to RESPECT PEOPLE'S TIME. Whether you think the meeting with your passive agressive boss, that date with the rando from that party your friend talked you into going on, or that dentist appointment which you avoid all year round is important to you or not - showing up late to a commitment shows that you are unreliable, irresponsible and straight up rude. And not only can it leave a bad impression on people, but you can also miss out on opportunities because of your poor time management. You don't want to miss out on the BIGGEST AUDITION OF YOUR LIFE because of this. Trust me on this one :(

2. TRUST THE UNIVERSE'S TIMING If the universe loves me so much, why would it put me through such hardships? Call me cliche or whatever, but I'm a firm believer in everything happens for a reason. I literally convinced myself that these certain things - good and bad - have happened to me because the world is preparing me for success. I believe that the strongest warriors are equipped by their past battles. You may feel like you're defeated and you've lost the fight. But don't give up. You have your secret weapon to life. You just have to find it.

3. TIME IS MONEY I hope none of us are investing our sacred time and energy in something we hate in 2018. Whether it's a relationship, job or lifestyle, everything you do is a choice. But more importantly, everything you do is an investment. Choose wisely.

I've done all the necessary research and made solid connections in 2017 to prepare for 2018 - my year of entrepreneurship. I'm working hard and making the difficult yet necessary cuts to limit my time working for others and in turn, find more time to work on myself. There's really no secret formula here... You just have to believe in yourself and your craft enough to take the risk and make the investment. To all you aspiring models - newsflash. Photo shoots aren't free. Your portfolio will probably cost you a pretty penny. Instead of aging your skin sulking over the hidden fees, use your energy to practice posing and marketing yourself in the industry. And this goes with anything. The best investment is the one you make in yourself.

4. DON'T SELL YOURSELF SHORT If you're embarking on the exciting path of entrepreneurship, congratulations! We're in this together. My intention of starting this blog was not to start an online business and capitalize off my posts. Not at all. But after a few random successes and the ability to reach and attract an audience I didn't even know existed nor cared, I thought hmmm, I need to place a price tag on my brand. If you want me to promote your business to my audience, expect to pay. If you want me to write an article for you, expect to pay. If you want me to model your designs, EXPECT TO PAY. Why give you my talent, skill and audience in exchange for a shorter day? At the end of the day, time is money and I AM MONEY. Idk... many people like to sit on their high horse and believe they are doing someone else a favour when hiring them for free by "putting them on" and giving them a "great opportunity". And don't lower your rates! I'm learning to actually charge 15-20% higher than the initial rate of pay offered. As long as you are delivering high quality work and offering your client great value, you should not feel guilty for having a high price tag, or even a  price tag for that matter.

5. COMPARISON IS THE THIEF OF JOY I spent all of 2016 comparing. Although I can honestly say I compared less in 2017, I learned that comparison is the thief of joy. Want to know how to instantly make someone genuinely upset? Show them a picture of their ex with their attractive new partner... Comparison usually robs me of all feelings of satisfaction, as we're constantly looking at what we don't have and what they do have. But comparison will happen inevitably, and instead of having it bring negativity, let's condition ourselves to elicit positive outcomes. I've learned that comparison is only beneficial when it fosters inspiration. Comparison now motivates me to do better and I place high value on my thoughts and the people, places and things I surround myself with, as I believe these things shape one's character and success. Who says you can't be traveling the world and being your own boss like your favorite travel blogger? Who says you can't be rocking the runway for Kanye like your favorite model? And who FREAKING SAYS YOU CAN'T LIVE LIFE AND ENJOY DOING IT. The only person who says it is you.. In 2018, let's strive to be compared to.

6. ACCOUNTABILITY IS KING This was a hard lesson for me this year. I hate to admit that I have a hard time taking accountability for my actions. Especially when I'm in the wrong. But everything is a work in progress, right? If we always "never did anything wrong", then how can one become better? As your chapters unfold and life is happening to you, you need to commit to a storyline and take ownership of your plot. And always remember that you are a character in someone's story - whether you're the antagonist or protagonist - recognize your role in someone's storyline and realize the effect you have on other characters. I've ruined many relationships failing to do so. Not everything is all about you, Chels. 

7.  WIN WITHOUT BOASTING & LOSE WITHOUT EXCUSES It's easy to claim responsibility when things go well, but we always seem to make excuses when they don't. I'm learning that my work speaks volumes and a voice isn't needed when your work speaks for itself. If you're finding success, that's amazing. Keep up with the strategy and keep grinding. It's definitely important to recognize your achievements and monitor your growth, but don't be afraid to recognize your faults and failures in the same breath. It's a lot easier to post yourself living your best life on the islands of Southern Thailand than it is to post yourself living the current broke life somewhere else. 

8. SAY LESS Again, your work speaks volumes. Definitely exercise your voice and speak your truth (or the digitally edited version). But don't let your talk overpower your walk. Just say less.

9. DON'T FEEL BAD ABOUT OUTGROWING PEOPLE It's insane to me how quickly my circle enclosed. Especially while living abroad. My childhood friends were on different paths of life and doing different, yet more conventional, things. For me, if you're not with me experiencing something, then that's kind of your loss. Don't expect me to help you relive it by continuously retelling the story. Or don't be a total bitch and totally ignore the fact that I've been away and we haven't seen each other in years, but then continue to fill me in on your lame boyfriend drama and not fail to mention everything you've done right in the past year. Truth is, I probably don't care. And if I'm not fucking with your vibe anymore, don't be surprised we lose touch. We've already lost touch, homie. And it doesn't matter if we were playing hopscotch at daycare back in the day. Everyone is in your life at a certain moment for a reason. And sometimes after a few chapters, that character may not be needed anymore. They're no longer helping writing your story, you know? Instead, they're giving you writer's block. 

10. IT'S NOT YOUR JOB TO GET PEOPLE TO LIKE YOU. IT'S YOUR JOB TO LIKE PEOPLE I am not in control of homeboy or homegirl's emotions. Their feelings are beyond me. All I can do is put forth my best self and give people the same opportunity I'd like to be given. Have an open mind when it comes to networking, friendships and even relationships (to an extent..). When I stop caring about what other's think of me and focus on being the most present and best version of me, then I usually come home winning. One way or another. Just don't be a bitch, please.

I hope some of y'all can relate and these life lessons of 2017 have resonated with some of you. If they have, I'd love to hear about it in the comment section. What was your most important life lesson so far? 

Peace & Love,

Chelsea.

[s3mag]

Make Something that Makes Something

I wish that, going into 2020, we had more people who set out to inspire… and less people who signed-up to influence. To influence is a self-serving interest… building one’s own ego first & foremost. To inspire is much more selfless, pure, & impactful. 

Therefore, influencer is not a word I’ll ever take seriously, and you shouldn’t either but I guess that’s your choice. Just because it’s somehow become a tolerated term DOES NOT make it fly. On the contrary, it shows a glaring problem with 21st-century digi-boy society. One that we’re just sweeping under the rug here. And that is: We’re not even self-conscious about our self-centeredness anymore. This social media era is diseased with ego & relentless self-promotion. And I promise if you’re led by your ego, you’ll end up unfulfilled, burnt-out, and resentful. 

 Look guys – we play with cars… it’s pretty trivial/superficial stuff. We’re not exactly changing the world here. BUT to contradict that… if we use our tools wisely, we can ABSOLUTELY connect with people, find the common ground, gain perspectives, and inspire one another. For those of us who really get it, we know there’s so much more to car culture than what’s on the surface. REAL car culture is a nucleus, and a lot of universally positive things circle that nucleus. Creativity, innovation, leadership, guidance, friendship… the list goes on & on. For us, car culture means camaraderie. It teaches discipline, and perseverance. It’s the way we express ourselves, and add our splash of color to the world. It’s our rebellion from normalcy & sensibility. And it’s therapy. 

  With this E30 M3, Cory Rowan was able to translate his love for cars into something bigger than himself. At this point in my life, that’s like… the ultimate win. He came up with the concept of Honest Assembly. And under that name, he put a team of college students under the leadership of auto-industry professionals & mentors. The lead sponsor/believer in the project was CRC Industries. And the goal, was SEMA’s Battle of the Builders 2018. That’s what they were working & competing for. Ravi from CSF Cooling (one of the mentors) volunteered to put the car in his booth at The Sema Show, front & center. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these students. And to double-down, Cory’s wife is a doctor, so being close to his heart, the entire project would operate under the umbrella of raising awareness & support for the Morgan Adams Foundation – a children’s cancer charity. 

  The M3 had belonged to Cory for a while before this idea ever sparked. He’d been holding onto the car since it’s a real E30 M3… and E30 M3 values are going up up & awaaaay. But it’d just been sitting in storage. It didn’t run. It was in ‘ok’ shape, but kind of forgotten. But – it was a great platform for the task at hand. 

The plan was to keep it fairly period-correct & pay homage to the essence of the early M3s. But as the Honest Assembly project started to get legs & Battle of the Builders became officially ‘on’… everyone involved knew they were gonna have to pull a rabbit or 2 out of their hats to capture eyes at an event like SEMA. 

Ravi from CSF also happens to be a BMW guy & a little bit of a BMW purist. Ravi & Cory both STILL felt it was crucial to NOT bastardize the factory M3 styling too much. Meaning – they didn’t want to cut up the OEM M3 widebody, just to tack on some trendy fiberglass suuuper widebody just because it’s the SEMA thing to do. But SEMA is all about the aftermarket after all. 

550hp/560tq F80 M3 engine (S55B30) and 6-speed transmission – First swap of its kind in the world.

Sooooo they decided to use their wild card under the hood, and Cory bought a wrecked F80 (2014-2018) M3 at auction, strictly for the motor-swap. The F80 runs BMW’s S55 engine: A twin-turbo, inline-6 making 444hp. To put BMW’s modern technology into the analog E30 chassis, was going to cause major pains in all the asses, respectfully. No easy feat. And no one had done it. Buuuut between the capable team of mentors on this project… they had the networks & know-how to theoretically get it done. And… it was gonna put these students straight in the deep water lol. If they could pull this off, everything else would be easy. Here’s how it went down: 

  Timeline

  Disassembly:

12/2017 – We disassemble & categorize every part, nut, and bolt on the donor E30 M3.

  2/2018 – Body work on the E30 M3 begins with Cars Remember When.

  2/2018 – F80 M3 bought at auction, & complete disassembly of that car.

  3/2018 – E30 M3 goes to bare metal.

  3/2018 – 325E test car arrives & is torn down. This car acts as the template for the transplant.

  4/2018 – Initial S55 engine fitment in the 325E.

  5/2018 – Students travel across country to Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Georgia to work with mentors from CRC Industries, BimmerWorld, and Motion Control Suspension.

  6-9/2018 – Fabrication & electronics to make the S55 engine run.

  9/2018 – The S55 engine runs for the first time inside the E30 325E. The team is elated!

  Reassembly:

9/2018 – The E30 M3 returns, and the mad rush begins. SEMA is 6 weeks out. The drivetrain has to be transplanted along with a full reassembly. Any sense of a normal life ends for the next month.

  10/28-29/2018 – The M3 is as close to finished as it’s been, and the chassis transition & drivetrain transplant are complete. While working on the car at each fuel stop, the drive through the night from Denver to Las Vegas begins.

  SEMA:

10/29/2018 – The car arrives at SEMA minutes before the first round of judging for the Battle of The Builders. The car is complete, but totally untested. At this point, the team is simply relieved to make it to Las Vegas. They’re exhausted. The honor to be judged for the BOTB is a monumental achievement.

  10/30/2018 – Tuesday, the first official day of SEMA. The car is dramatically displayed in CSF Radiator’s booth. To our surprise, the car is announced as a Top 40 SEMA BOTB finalist. The car ran in testing, but not in its final configuration. Everyone knows that a running car is required to move forward in the competition. This kicks off the fury of late-night testing. Some basic issues are found & resolved thanks to help from local BMW shop, Sin City BMW. There would be a slight sense of relief if an electrical issue hadn’t reared its ugly head while servicing the clutch.

  10/31/2018 – The Honest team makes their way to the lunchtime Top 12 announcement of the Battle of The Builders in the SEMA Grand Lobby. It is a Hollywood style affair on a lit stage with TV cameras and SEMA executives. Our team was announced as a Top 3 finalist in class. Moving to the next stage of competition means that our car has to drive across the SEMA floor and onto a TV stage for thousands of spectators no later than Friday at 8am. The celebratory atmosphere quickly fades & was replaced with the anxiety of prepping the car. There would be no sleep for the next 44 hours.

  10/31 – 11/1/2018 – A strict rule of SEMA is: No running cars inside the building. That means the team can’t confirm if the car actually runs. So every sensor and connection is physically checked by the team with help from Ryan of BimmerSpeed, and ECU communication to each connection is remotely confirmed by the tuner, Mike at BPM Sport.

Non-stop work continues through Wednesday & Thursday night as new issues surrounding the wiring migration from the ’85 to the ’88 are discovered. The team is given a deadline of 9pm on Thursday by the contest organizers.

  9pm rolls by and the car only sputters. The deflated team is visited by many of the other Top 12 contestants. Maybe it’s seeing the words of encouragement from other builders in the Top 12, or maybe the show organizers just realize how hard we’ve worked to get this far, but we somehow get a second chance. The producer of the television show covering the contest, Bud Brutsman, extends our deadline to 8am.

  One more all nighter for the Honest team seemed to be a strange gift, but we were grateful. Reinforcements were brought in again from BPM Sport and BimmerSpeed to help diagnose the issue.

  11/2/2018 – It’s 6:30am and only a handful of the team are still awake. The first crowds of show employees and presenters start arriving for the day. There is no choice but to fire-up the car & pray. A few stumbles & it fires! Immediately an announcement is made over the PA system, “No SEMA cars are allowed to be started in the convention center.” …but it didn’t matter. It was showtime!

  The car never makes the cut for Top 4 of the show. But that doesn’t seem to matter to a group of young builders and the mentors supporting them. In 11 months, the team had gone from average enthusiasts looking for junkyard parts to modify their daily drivers… to being in front of thousands of fans on television. All week, show visitors & industry icons stopped by the booth to meet the young team behind the car. The feeling when you’re mentioned in the same breath as your heroes was more than any member of the team could prepare for.

  And ladies & gentlemen – this is how we inspire! 

Think about the lives this car has touched, and the ripple-effect it will have. College students – who’s career paths & careers goals have been shaped, molded, and honed-in. These kids have found confidence, experience, and an insane surge of motivation to pursue their passions. Industry professionals & mentors – who were able to pass down what they know & who they know… and pay it forward to the next generation. Being able to give back like that, is a huge measure of success in my book. Children unfairly having to fight cancer at such an innocent age… are gonna beat it one day soon. They may be part of the first generation that never drives a gas-powered car. But their lives were touched because we did. 

  You say cars are superficial… materialistic. Maybe. But I’m not. And I don’t think the culture is either. 

You can say that baseball is just a game. Or that music is just a poem with noise. But for people who’s lives have been touched by these things… they’re so much more then the sum of their parts. 

The point is: It’s about shared mindsets… and shared character. It’s not about a car. You & I?? We speak through cars – yeah. Others?? they speak through baseball. Or music. Or whatever. And we speak to each other! We hear each other across demographics, and over the chatter. Maybe Cory’s Honest Assembly speaks to someone reading this mag who plays baseball. And that guy gets inspired to do something similar within his sport. And a musician catches wind of that in the stands… and is inspired to write a song. A song that comes through the speakers and hits someone who works at a bank, and inspires him/her to get creative & do more for their local community. And its current pace, social media is pushing us. Pushing us to become more & more dependent on likes, subscribers, and followers. Push back. 

  Engine / Drivetrain

550hp/560tq F80 M3 engine (S55B30) and 6-speed transmission – First swap of its kind in the world.

Custom coding & performance tuning from BPM Sport

6 F80 coolers & pumps with custom plumbing, 4 fans, and controllers

CSF charge cooler & heat exchanger

Differential machined for 4 clutches, custom ramp angles, and a 3.38 ratio from Diffsonline @diffsonline

Stainless steel oval exhaust from Ouroboros Fabrication

  Chassis

Chassis consulting & components from BimmerWorld, professional BMW race team & parts manufacturer/supplier founded while racing an E30 M3

Extensive chassis reinforcements 

Bare metal nut and bolt restoration with parts and consulting from James Clay of BimmerWorld and BimmerWorld Racing

Bodywork performed by nationally award-winning team at Cars Remember When

Fabrication consulting by VW factory backed Project Baja and Flaherty’s Fabrication 

Carbon fiber spoiler and Gurney flap

  Wheels / Brakes / Suspension

F80 M3 ABS (converted to 4-channel) 

F80 brake master cylinder/booster (modified pedal box)

AP Racing Radi-Cal calipers designed for the F80 from Essex Parts Services 

Motion Control Suspension (MCS) 3-way remote dampers and true rear coilovers 

Custom subframes

Tubular suspension with custom geometry from SLR Speed 

Forgeline centerlock wheels with offsets to accommodate customized suspension & brake components

  Interior:

Cardinal red napa interior

Napa black leather-wrapped dash, steering wheel, console, and pillars

New plastic, rubber throughout

Students:

Justin Bruch

Parker Brown

Reece Cochran

Isaac Gesundheit

Peter Golledge

Zach Lagarenne (lead student builder)

  Mentors:

Dori Ahart – CRC Industries (lead believer and sponsor)

Geoff Barrett – BMW CCA (supporting mentor)

Mike Benvo – BPM Sport (tuning and coding)

Nate Bourgeois – Ouroboros Fabrication (exhaust)

James Clay – BimmerWorld (lead project tech advisor and parts sourcing)

Fox Chung – BMW CCA (supporting mentor)

Dean Coccaro – Zendex Tool and GoJak (made our 1.5-car garage into actual usable space)

Ravi Dolwani – CSF Radiators (SEMA booth, cooling, and PR)

Dan Fitzgerald – Diffsonline (custom differential)

Erin Flaherty – Flaherty’s Fine Fabrication (oil pan and general awesome mentor)

Wyatt Gilbert – Motion Control Suspension (suspension consulting)

Jeff Jegelewicz – Cover Craft (developed custom cover)

Ryan Lindsley – BimmerSpeed (gets team out of jambs)

Sam Lopez – Gorilla Wraps (livery install)

Josh McGuckin – Gates and Project Baja (fabrication mentor)

Brian McGuire – Yardr.co (“make it work” mentor)

Alex McCulloch – Glen Shelly Auto Brokers (vintage BMW nut)

Jeff Ritter – Essex Brakes / AP Racing (brake tech consultant)

Cory Rowan – VisFire Creative (designer and project manager)

Steve Schardt – Forgeline Wheels (wheel fitment and design)

Scott Skrjanc – Lincoln Electric (welding supplies)

Andy Wall and Scott Morton – Cars Remember When Restoration (body restoration)

  Post SEMA:

The Honest Assembly team is expanding. They moved out of the home garage, and into a real shop more well-suited for the mentorship concept & technical builds. Some of the 1st-round students who are still in school will stay onboard, and new students will join them. The core focus of partnering student enthusiasts with industry mentors remains the same.

  An improved version of the S55 powered E30 M3 will now be offered as a turnkey restoration service. Several industry mentors and a few students from the original build team focused efforts since SEMA to refine the car. The was car town down for a full overhaul of wiring, suspension, and fitment. The prototype chassis has gone from an already highly technical motor swap to a comprehensive package with proprietary suspension, cooling, chassis reinforcements, ABS, and numerous modernized features hiding under the E30 M3’s skin. The team now considers it the most technically advanced E30 M3 in the world while still maintaining the core ethos that made the E30 M3 legendary. The cars will be built using the team’s original formula of pairing young enthusiasts full of fresh ideas, with seasoned industry professionals that made the team’s first build so successful.

Text by Wooley     Photos by Brian McGee

"With this E30 M3, Cory Rowan was able to translate his love for cars into something bigger than himself. At this point in my life, that’s like… the ultimate win. He came up with the concept of Honest Assembly. And under that name, he put a team of college students under the leadership of auto-industry professionals & mentors. The lead sponsor/believer in the project was CRC Industries. And the goal, was SEMA’s Battle of the Builders 2018. That’s what they were working & competing for. Ravi from CSF Cooling (one of the mentors) volunteered to put the car in his booth at The Sema Show, front & center. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these students. And to double-down, Cory’s wife is a doctor, so being close to his heart, the entire project would operate under the umbrella of raising awareness & support for the Morgan Adams Foundation - a children’s cancer charity. " Make Something that Makes Something I wish that, going into 2020, we had more people who set out to…

[jacobnobody]

A practical look at Automation and economics in Theatrical Lighting systems

So....I started doing theater as a paid professional when I was a scant 16 years old. Even then the idea of a three dimensional moving canvas of art appealed to me, and continues to do so to this day. I learned at a very young age that anything behind that fourth wall was possible, and I'm still doing it today twenty years later. I still love it, the people, the process and most importantly sharing a mutual concept and creation with the world at large. I've been very lucky to be alive and working in theater at this point in history, for many reasons, probably first and foremost because I was able to straddle the line between pre-automated theater technology and post automated theater technology. So I've been able to see first hand the direct effects of automation on a single industry, and in fact the development of a single product, which would be the theatrical lighting fixture. When I began doing lighting at the small theater up the street from my house there was an inventory of roughly 50-60) conventional lights. Conventional lights are what people think of when they think of classical theatrical or film lights. Fresnels, Pars, Ellipsoidals, Lecos, were all common names used describe these many different types of lights. A loose definition of these lights would be any single source light that can be directly connected to and controlled by a dimming system. Most theaters still have and continue to use a great deal of conventional lights in their inventory, and more than likely when you see a play or an opera today you will see roughly 200-to 250 conventional lights in play. However the problem with conventional lights or fixtures was that in order to alter almost any of the properties of the light, (Beam size, Color, Position, Shape or focus) required a technician climbing up a ladder or working from a catwalk in order make that change. In fact for almost a hundred years the only property of a conventional unit that could be changed on the ground was intensity (Whether the light was on or off and how bright it was) This was accomplished through a system called dimming which increased and decreased the amount of Voltage going to the lamp. In order to more economically use the time allotted (Remember theater will always be a deadline based industry.) Lighting designers began to create hand drawn blueprints prior to the production that would show where the position of the light would be where it would be directed and the color it would be. The color could be changed through the addition of a thin piece of plastic referred to as "Gel" however should the designer change their mind about the color of the light, the ladders would have to come back out. The designer was still required to come in and assure that all the lights were placed in the correct spaces, and that they were focused to the right playing spaces. This has become almost a sacred part of lighting called "the focus" And still with that designers occasionally made mistakes or changed their minds so a crew would be called in for notes to make any changes required as the designer was writing the cues. If one adds the fact that each dimming of each light was controlled on individual handles which required an operator to move them up and down one could that just the lighting department in the production of one's favorite play could require up to a hundred well individuals. Since Rock and Roll lighting developed a very similar path, and a lighting plot in the 1970's could include over four hundred conventional lights, one might wonder how employers could have managed to wrangle in the Army of people that it might take simply to put up and develop a show for a single night. But....you might be surprised. Prior to automation there was a lot less specialization of trade. A successful technician would also have to know how to build sets, hang drops, sew costumes, build puppets, arrange lights, and eventually install sound systems. So Preference was typically given to the workers who had the widest breadth of knowledge, not the worker who had the most knowledge in a specific area. Because the "total theater artist" was so rare it was difficult to find people with such a large working knowledge of theater as a whole, so those enormous shows would only hire small numbers of people (10-25) because that was all the job pool that was available. The work was typically long and difficult, so keeping people in the industry was also a problem. This system created a place within the the Theater where Automation was possible. In fact the first American patent for an "Automated light" was drafted out as early as 1904. The patent was never pursued because at the time the idea was not economically viable, but it was an old idea that would be kicked around later in the 1920's and again in the 1940's. A first successful prototype was created in 1968 and went on tour with the rock band Pink Floyd, and a year later a Yale Professor George Isenhour developed a means of moving a mirror in front of a lighting unit to control it's position. However it wasn't until 1980 ( the year I was born) when a small company called Showco landed a design contract with the rock band Genesis automated fixtures began to develop. Genesis contracted Showco to build fifty five lighting units with adjustable pan and tilt features. The company changed it's name to Vari-lite and met the order, out doing themselves by creating the VL-1 which had adjustable pan and tilt features, adjustable color, adjustable beam size and rotating template wheels. As Varilite developed the VL-2 and the VL-5 suddenly the controllable properties shifted from being able to control a single property, Intensity, to all properties, Color, Beam size, Position, shape and focus. And then....the problem of automation arose. Varilite realized two things, first that their system had to be independent from all the other conventional systems, and second that if their product hit the open market every hungry and intelligent lighting tech would be able to re-produce the technology and sell a variation on their fixture at a lower cost. In fact one company Martin Mac, working on rumors from Varilite and George Isenhour's Yale designs started doing just that, and began to develop and sell their own fixtures. Initially they were way behind Varilite, but as the technology advanced they began to catch up quickly. On top of that the Stage hand Union, IATSE registered formal complaints with Varilite as it's workers feared that the presence of a light that could focus itself would drive all Lighting technicians out of business. Departmentalizations had begun in the 1970's and the stagehands were concerned that Varilite would single handedly replace an entire department made up of thousands of people. In response to all of this Varilite developed a plan. First, it would not sell it's fixtures it would only rent them out. It would contract at a low rate with designers, so that designers and rental houses saved money, and still had to rely on their a stock of conventional fixtures. But in the contract it required specially trained Varilite technicians were hired to for repairs on the fixtures, as well as a special "Programer" to come in and write the designers cues along with the lighting designer to achieve the best look for the show. The idea of a "Programer" was actually not new, however having more than one on a show was an interesting concept. The idea of a "Moving light technician" however was incredibly new. Because Varilite was the only company in the world that had these units, designers flocked to them. Varilite would even go so far as to set up "tents" or booths backstage where the moving light technicians could work on the lights without fear of the inner workings being stolen. So...as opposed to killing jobs Varilite created jobs through specialization of trade. And as a strange extra bonus, because of the weight of the fixtures (one person could not carry a fixture alone, unlike most conventional units) the number of Union workers required to hang a plot now increased as opposed to decreased. So please note. Automation in the theater industry increased employment. Not decreased increased. How successful was this system? Insanely successful, and in fact played a part in what has been referred to as the golden age of touring. Think about it this way, Varilite shipped it's lights with it's technicians. And did not create a system where theaters had to buy new stock for their lights. In fact it's rental system allowed theaters to hold off increasing their lighting inventories and re allocate their funds towards employment. At the end of the gas crisis of the 1970's shipping costs plummeted to an all time low. And the trucking industry boomed. And because of the increased demand teamsters were unable to safely perform one of their duties ( loading and unloading trucks) and those contracts started going to IATSE and the theater Workers, creating another split in specialization of trade. Demand for off Broadway productions ( called yellow card shows) sky rocketed and suddenly broadway could meet that demand. Varilite began to develop regional offices in New York, LA, Florida and it's native Texas. Rock Bands, which had always "Lived on the Road" were now able to decrease their time spent focusing, decrease their truck loads, and reallocate those resources to safety, and again increased labor, and specialization of trade. Meanwhile other companies were following Variltes example, and setting up larger rental shops and companies on their own. They would purchasing equipment from other moving light companies that cropped up like Martin, Grand MA from Germany High End fixtures, American DJ, and other companies that cropped up. All of these companies began to diversify and find new markets and began following Varilite's million dollar example. And the most important part the audience was able to walk away from live performances feeling that they had been part of something special and interesting, and so began to spend more money on live performance. Which drove production through the roof and increased demand. In 2000 Varilite (primarily in response to completion from Martin.) Began to sell their fixtures, and slowly moved away from the super secretive rental shop model. This was also because their new fixture the V-L 1000 was developed more as a theatrical fixture than touring fixture. Both theaters and rental shops began buying immediately, and growing market, Mega Churches. They could move into these new markets. because in 1996, the United Institute of theater technology settled on a universal theater control language called DMX. Prior to the agreement of DMX as a control language there were multiple manufactures working under multiple control languages. Dimming and automated control was a veritable tower babble prior to this, and while the "moving light programmer" was a viable position twenty years prior designers now wanted to have a platform with a single operator and single controls. With DMX as a universal language a Varilite fixture, a Martin Fixture, any type of moving light or Conventional unit or dimming system could now be controlled from a single console or desk. A new company called ETC which manufactured computer consoles picked up on this and ran with it, and developed computer console that would be marketed to educational theater programs across the country. Along with re developing their own line of lighter and easier to use conventional fixtures, ETC became an instant success in the lighting world, and is now along with Varilite is considered to be the primary lighting distributors in the world. Both have offices around the globe. ETC sent the Automated lighting world into the digital age, and established automation not as a new fringe idea, but instead a standard that could be attained by the most hardened touring professional or the most novice student. And it's still going. Automation is now a given in the theater industry. Today a show brings in automated lights that were hung on a truss in an Electrics shop, which are then pulled out of the truck and hung on motorized wenches by theatrical riggers. ( more specialization of Trade) Trusses are then connected together and flown out, where they are powered by portable power and control distribution boxes. Because of the increased show size a crew of five to ten specialized electricians make connections between the truss and distribution, or make modifications to the house plot front of house. Usually focus is so minimal it can be called by the stage manger. But those electricians still make the same or higher wages than they did previously. What used to be hand drafted Light plots can now be uploaded into a console saved edited and re-saved almost instantly. Rock and roll Designers can now create a majority of their shows in the shop taking the rig out for a single tech. Lighting fixtures can now be operated as single network devices, and the entire over stage can be focused by a single person. Ladders are still in use but they are far more scarce than they used to be and now most large theaters can afford the safer lifts to replace them. Crews no longer need to be called in should a designer change their color, and what was once a difficult and time consuming task, has now been Alleviated. And here's the kicker, there are more people working in this industry than have ever worked in theater and entertainment at any point in history. Specialization of trade increased the need for more workers in more places, and the number of opening markets provided an increased demand for labor. Because of departmentalization training a theater technician is now easier than it was before, so the job pool has been able to increase letting shows that once only used twenty five to thirty people employ hundreds. Worker employment has tripled because of Automation in our industry not in spite of it. IATSE began one hundred years ago in New York as a now represents millions of theater workers globally. The Lighting market which started in film and theater, now includes Rock and Roll, College theater, Business conferences, Expos, Mega Churches, smaller churches, Political Conventions, Museum installations, Night Clubs, and the list is growing daily. Now, if I ended this at this point, you as a reader could walk away and say..... "I see the point, Varilite succeeded because they made responsible decisions early on that hit on a rise at the right time. Wow, Automation did increase employment in this specific industry. If only everyone else had that type of foresight...." Varilite made the decisions that it felt was best, for automation and advancement but in terms of automation it does not have to be unique. Automation in the theater industry created more jobs and expanded markets across the globe. Part 2 Let's look at cars for just a second, and focus on Ford Motors. Ford motors is the birth place of automation. Ford developed his model A a year before the first patent for the moving light existed. Had it been produced at that point then automated lighting might have followed a similar path, but we will never know. In 1910 Ford created (or refined ) the assembly line. The creation of the assembly line was the first automation boom in history. It mirrored what happened with Varilite almost automatically. Trade became specialized employment increased and the nation experienced a boom in production unlike anything that had been seen before. Assembly line work was boring an routine however and more so, Ford predicted that an upheaval would occur if he did not raise wages for his workers, which he did. And he was set to do it again, in 1949 with the opening of new shop mostly automated shop in Cleveland. However at that point public opinion had shifted against automation. People claimed that the repetitive nature of assembly line work was "soulless" and at the same time created the opposing argument that those jobs must be preserved. People fought to hold onto a passing boom. The public began to attack the very system that had benefited them. Think about the potential benefits of a fully automated car production in 1949. This could have allowed Unions to increase their educational programs, and pull those factory workers from the floor into more meaningful jobs. Less soulless jobs. Just as it did in the Theater. It could have decreased costs across the board, if it was just as cheap to build a factory in an area then why bother shipping cars? This could have created more jobs across the nation. Most importantly I think, it would have allowed Ford the overall breathing room to look into alternative solutions to their engines, and decrease the global dependence on gas and oil. Not to mention dropping the cost of the car itself. And preventing stop gap measures like planned obsolescence. But again we'll never know. The Cleveland factory was semi-automated but not fully automated, and Ford stopped pushing the idea of automated shops. Now picture if Varilite had been asked to create a fully automated fixture with one exception, it could not automate color. We'd be looking at the exact same ladder problems, and extra crew calls we were before. Some things would be helped but the overall ability to expand would be greatly diminished, because those funds would no longer be fungible. They would be fixed. That's pretty much what has happened to Ford and it continues to happen to this day. Varilite found a solution that ended up helping both the workers and their profit margins at the same time. Ford on the other hand was unable to make a case for the advantages to their fully automated plants in the same way. Instead of going full in for automation, Ford has had to make half measures, partially automating over a long period of time. This means that unlike Varilite Ford was unable to tailor a viable business plan around growing technology. First let me say that there is a difference between analogue lighting systems (lighting systems controlled by voltage) and digital lighting systems. ( lighting systems controlled by a computer signal) While automated systems would not be as prolific or as advanced as they are currently due to the digital revolution rest assured that automation increases specialization in trade, which increases the work force as opposed to decreasing it. ( Possibly To be continued.)