Upstart

The Digital Film Revolution Managing the Unmanageable

De: Scott Ross, JoAnne O'Brien-Levin

Narrado por: Scott Ross

Over the last couple of decades, a new generation of startups born from creative industries but enabled through new technologies has invaded the business world, stamping their mark in fields as varied as virtual to human avatars, augmented reality, video games, and even artificial intelligence. However, many such budding entrepreneurs lack the experience and knowledge to manage or scale such enterprises. Upstart sheds light on the many successes and some of the challenges involved in navigating a top creative business in an ever-changing technological landscape. While it provides insights for those within the industry, this book also offers broader lessons intended for all entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Scott Ross, former general manager of Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), senior vice president of Lucasfilm, and co-founder of Digital Domain, brings unmatched experience to this discussion. Under his leadership, ILM transitioned into the world's leading digital VFX Company, winning five Academy Awards. Founding Digital Domain with partners James Cameron (Avatar, Titanic) and Stan Winston (Jurassic Park) Ross led the company to three Oscar wins for Titanic, What Dreams May Come, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

While many see the VFX revolution as a technological milestone, Upstart places equal emphasis on another critical dimension: the human factor. Ross explains how the character of those wielding the technology makes all the difference in the impact created—much as King Arthur's character defined the legend of Excalibur. This book dives into the blend of technology, human imagination, and leadership, presenting insights that are humorously engaging, honestly incisive, and aimed at a vision for a better world.

©2024 Scott Alan Ross (P)2025 Scott Alan Ross

Review of Upstart by Marty Shindler

I just finished listening to Upstart: The Digital Film Revolution – Managing the Unmanageable by Scott Ross and recommend you buy it.

Having known Scott for a long time, it is, in essence, his bio which coincides in large part with the rise of the modern visual effects industry given his leadership roles at Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain.

Early in the book, Scott details his early career and the events that led up to him joining ILM where he hired me as a part of the turn around team to instill a solid business focus into a highly creative organization. We succeeded.

My front row seat at this stage of Scott’s career enables me to state with confidence that the book accurately reflects Scott’s description of the events, albeit nearly 40 years ago.

While I did not have the same front row seat for Scott’s work at Digital Domain, my various industry roles during that time provided a lot of insight into the events that Scott described in detail.

I did have another front row seat regarding some of the travails of the visual effects industry that Scott discusses at length, accurately and with a passion.

The commoditization of the work and the significant rise in global competition, spurred in large part by the producers’ chasing ever increasing tax subsidies and the ease with which digital technologies enabled work outside of Hollywood, became a race to the bottom for way too many companies, many of which ultimately and perhaps needlessly, failed.

If you were working in the entertainment industry during the 80s, 90s and 00s, this book is a must read. It foretells what we are experiencing today. If you were not involved in the industry, you will be intrigued by the story and you will still find many lessons to be learned.

What an enigma this industry is…

Not an easy subject to tackle. It seems to have evaded all norms in its infancy,and now its a middle aged disaster. Will AI leave it in the dust and make it a stepping stone, or will it be rescued and take it’s rightful place in history? I hope the winners write the history. The brilliance that brought this industry to fruition deserves its chapter in the history of an important telling of the story. And it’s an important one. Here’s to the next chapter and the hero of the story. Final? Not yet!

Outstanding

Fascinating story about an industry few people know well. Well written, great narration, and I learned a lot. It’s balanced (open about mistakes made and gives deserved credit even to terrible people) and the author is very self-aware. It tells an easy to understand story about the brilliant people who have made our movie going experiences amazing, but these talented people are being unnecessarily exploited unfairly by the film industry. The prescriptions at the end are crisp and I hope the industry can act on them. Excellent book.

Upstart The Digital Film Revolution

Just finished Upstart: The Digital Film Revolution – Managing the Unmanageable by Scott Ross, and I have to say—it hit home. As someone working in virtual production and VFX, I’ve seen firsthand how rapidly our industry is evolving, and this book perfectly captures the chaos, creativity, and challenges that come with it.