Compared to the 1990s when only a few visual effects companies were capable of doing film-quality work, the number of options has exploded around the world. It is fueled by the ability to achieve photorealism and the growing acceptance of CGI as a filmmaking tool.
As a consequence, the success or failure of a project is often dependent upon hiring the correct group of supervisors, producers, digital artists and technicians either through a single or several vendors who aim to achieve the same goal. In some ways, the vendor selection process has remained the same, but in other areas it has become sophisticated, reflecting the maturity of the visual effects industry as it travels further down the pathway once traveled by the crafts of cinematography, editing, production design and costume design to become entrenched members of the entertainment establishment. (VFXV)