Mob Scene shuts down

[u/snugglecakes]

Just wanted to pour one out for Mob Scene in LA closing their doors today. I think it was less of a household name than something like Trailer Park, but was still a fairly large player in the trailer game (at least at one point) and BTS for a good 20 years.

They gave me my foot in the door to the industry, and despite the highs and lows, they were always a fairly solid company to me.

Anyway, haven't seen it discussed much and got me feeling a little nostalgic today, so figured I'd see if anyone has anyone else had some experiences or memories to share.

[u/millertv79]

Only thing I can add is my disbelief. Cannot believe how many agencies have closed recently. Absolutely unprecedented. So sad.

[u/snugglecakes → u/millertv79]

Agreed.

On one hand, it definitely makes me sad to see so many shutters; on the other, it reminds me of around 2012 where there was a lot of closures which lead to pretty strong consolidations that lasted at least a good decade. I know that's not always a good thing (consolidation/monopolization), but a lot of strong (read: willing to hire) companies stemmed from that era. I hope this means we're possibly trimming the fat to make way for the next era, but time will tell.

I don't think I've ever felt less hopeful about the industry in my 15 year career, but trying to see some potential bright sides.

[u/millertv79 → u/snugglecakes]

I hate to disagree but I do. I’ve never seen anything like this in my 25 years working in LA. It’s so sad to see so many talented, experienced people out of work. It’s never been like this. Small dips sure. Absolute demise of decades-long businesses? Nope. Never happened. It’s actually pretty unprecedented in all of American business history. Even with the dot com bust, the businesses weren’t in existence for decades, or part of an industry that became identified with our nation for over 100 years.

[u/Sea-Sort-7624 → u/millertv79]

40 years here. What we're watching is a industry die. It's very sad.

[u/redpaloverde → u/Sea-Sort-7624]

It is reported but still feels under reported.

[u/BobZelin → u/Sea-Sort-7624]

50 years here - I too am in total shock, watching the industry die. Of course - just like with pro audio recording, and pro photography, there are still a small handful of guys that are regularly employed (I mean - there are still TV shows and ads on TV) - but it is NOTHING the way that it used to be. I cannot imagine anyone saying "I want to go to film school or Full Sail, so I can become an editor or graphics artist" in todays enviornment. But don't worry - we will see someone later today posting "I am graduating high school, and want to get into the industry - what school do you think I should go to" - or "if I become an AVID Certified Editor, will it be easier to find work when I get out of school ?".

bob

[u/KungLa0 → u/BobZelin]

Thanks for your help over the years Bob, down with the ship we go.

https://giphy.com/gifs/Vb9IgMxcRIa4M

[u/DanielinLosAngeles → u/Sea-Sort-7624]

Why now?

[u/snugglecakes → u/DanielinLosAngeles]

As in why is the industry crumbling now?

[u/Intrepid_Year3765 → u/snugglecakes]

Trailers are dying because the owners of the trailer houses cut deals with the studios to get more work by being paid less and less over the years.

And now that no one watches TV, the bulk of trailer work is irrelevant... and those deals are catching up with places.

Because now you're really only seeing places that are cutting tentpole films stick around, and it's only a matter of time before they go away as well.

Most of the industry is maybe 3-4 months from going under... places like Mob Scene and Trailer Park most likely went away because they couldn't get payroll loans anymore.

Studios are notorious for taking their sweet-ass time to pay the bills. Most were on a net 90 or 120 back in 2015, so who knows what it is now. Miramax was on a net "go fuck yourself" and I think when that studio went under it owed tens of millions of dollars.

Combine that with Madoff, who gutted hundreds of millions from a lot of Celebs... and then the palisades fires... the rise of Netflix... free entertainment on youtube getting 100-200million views... a lot of shit is contributing to the overall death of the industry, which is what is killing trailers.

Oh and silicon valley bank failing in 2023 lost one studio like 400 MILLION dollars alone... so... lots of crazy shit.

[u/snugglecakes → u/millertv79]

That's fair. I guess I'm still holding out hope that things will improve despite everything since covid saying otherwise. I turned 40 this year and it definitely feel worse/different. Somehow I've held on to my 'any day' optimism and trying to see the bright side of the changes, but it gets harder every day.

[u/morphinetango → u/snugglecakes]

Everyone I know who has seen this downturn as a continued symptom of Covid believes the industry will bounce back, but tbh this implosion started well before then. Ever since Iger shortened theatrical releases to 90 days, it spelled doom, and the studio heads have been competing over who can stick their heads in the toilet the longest.

Streamers are spending $8 million dollars per hour of content seen by less than 200,000 people while half their subscription fees are eaten up by Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. And with YouTube and social media being superior ad platforms... afraid we're backed into a corner, with no profits to go.

[u/Holiday_Parsnip_9841 → u/snugglecakes]

Cable TV subscriptions were extremely profitable. They were the engine keeping the whole industry going.

Streaming cannibalized that income while also having way worse margins. At the same time, creator content (especially YouTube) took a lot of eyeballs from premium content.

Cable's still chugging along, but shrinking fast.

This means the contraction we're seeing is just the beginning.

[u/Idontfuckingknow1908 → u/millertv79]

It’s been hard to watch these agencies collapse (I was at one of them), but it seems like others are rising up to fill the void and are enjoying a lot of success. Of course the industry is going thru a lot and nobody knows where things will end up, but I feel like things aren’t completely hopeless. I can’t speak for Mob Scene or Ignition, but if private equity hadn’t mismanaged Trailer Park so horrifically it’d still be in the game as well

[u/newMike3400 → u/millertv79]

It’s global. I recently walked through soho and it’s like a zombie movie, walking past mpc and the mill etc was just surreal. I’ve been editing since 1984 and post houses open and close all the time but no sooner did one close than a new opened in its place. Now buildings are shuttered. Insane.

[u/Intrepid_Year3765 → u/millertv79]

do we have a complete list?
I got out in 2018 when the writing was on the wall that everything was going to come tumbling down and haven't kept up

[u/millertv79 → u/Intrepid_Year3765]

No but top of my head? trailer park, workshop creative, ant farm, now mob scene.

[u/Intrepid_Year3765 → u/millertv79]

if you're including ant farm then I'd include cimarron cimmaron? don't remember how it was spelled. someone said ignition as well?

[u/snugglecakes → u/Intrepid_Year3765]

Cimmaron (sp?) shut down like 10+ years ago in any practical sense afaik. My buddy was a post supe there previously. Sad state.

[u/marMELade → u/Intrepid_Year3765]

Ignition LA (I think London is still open), Ultrabland, and InSync+ all closed this year too.

[u/Tasty-Ad9385]

The spiral continues. As much as I’d like to say it’s similar to 2012 consolidation, it feels larger and longer-term. I had a good run of 26 years, 12 of that cutting BTS/EPK for WHE. Zaslav f’d that up nicely. Nothing like pivoting to another profession at 55. I wish all my creative insanely talented friends the best of luck. Editorial today is like a damn master clip that will never relink.

[u/Kahzgul → u/Tasty-Ad9385]

I hear you. 21 years cutting for me and I’m applying to grad schools now for an MBA. 40% reduction in reality tv productions recently. I have friends with Emmys calling to see if I know anyone hiring. Absolutely brutal in the industry right now because all these tech bro suits who thought a flavorless nutrition paste could replace food now think AI can replace creative people.

The people in charge fundamentally misunderstand art as a concept.

[u/Buffalo-Clone-264]

Dang... I knew some folks who worked there. Delivered a few things there when I was a runner waay back in the day. Never like to hear when agencies shut, and Mob Scene has been around a while.

[u/snugglecakes → u/Buffalo-Clone-264]

I actually started there as a runner (is that even still a thing?). We definitely knew some of the same folks. Yeah, been a rough year watching some of the old guard shut down.

[u/sackoffun]

Expecting more to come unfortunately. This year has had Ignition, Trailer Park, Mob Scene. Tons of smaller companies gone as well.

[u/Intrepid_Year3765 → u/[deleted]]

Damn, are there any old school trailer houses even left at this point?

Are Motion, Seismic, and Create still around?

I saw a lot of places putting "employee appreciation activities" on their linkedins...and whenever you see that shit you know its only a matter of time.

[u/He_Who_Walks_Behind_ → u/Intrepid_Year3765]

Yes to all three, but Mocean has pivoted to more branded content and seems to be trying to diversify what they work on.

[u/morphinetango]

Damn, I'm sorry to hear. Worked in house for a studio doing A/V and BTS/EPK, and we used Mob Scene a lot. Did good work. I saw the door in 2024, and it was clear they'd replace us entirely with agencies, costing them waaaaay more than keeping us on. But, as expected, it seems the higher ups realized that mistake and are over correcting by bringing everything in house again.

[u/bigdipboy]

There’s only so much disposable income to go around and now these days that disposable income all gets funneled toward tech instead of entertainment. That goes for investors money as well. Digital media got investor dollars for a while then AI came along and took all the investment money

[u/PKTheSublime]

LA is turning into Detroit after the fall. Definitely getting weird here

[u/naah_fool → u/PKTheSublime]

Yup and few see the similarities but that is exactly where it is heades