Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/24/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I hired Symbolic Arts FX to fabricate props and a costume for my short film. Their website showcases the work they performed for movies like Jurassic Park, Avatar, Black Panther etc, so it was an easy decision to hire Symbolic Arts for my film. Hiring them gave me peace of mind that my film would look great.They initially quoted me at $30k for six pieces. To lower the quote to $20k, I worked with them to reduce the number of pieces they were required to complete from 6 pieces to 4 pieces, and we also reduced the complexity of one of the pieces to make it a much simpler build. We received an invoice on Oct 18th and paid them IN FULL (as they requested) upfront via ACH transfer. He also agreed to fly 2 puppeteers to our set to work on our film. Initially we discussed having the pieces ready by Thanksgiving, but they requested an extension, so we pushed our shoot back to Dec 5th to accommodate. I was assured along the way that everything was looking great. I then found out that Symbolic Arts was sub-contracting the work to another vendor, someone who I didn't authorize. But I wasn't concerned, as I was assured everything was looking great. I was assured that the pieces we ordered would be mailed before our shoot so we could see them. A WEEK before the shoot, I was notified that several of the pieces were still not ready, and they wouldn't be mailed to us until TWO DAYS BEFORE THE SHOOT. We were also informed that we would be sent two new puppeteers, as the previous one had an injury and couldn't make it. The pieces Symbolic Arts mailed us looked like an 8th grader built them, and were built with inferior flimsy materials. It was clear they dropped the ball, and did a last minute job. Of the two "puppeteers" they sent, one had NEVER EVEN WORKED ON A FILM SET BEFORE. I have a document I can share with BBB that includes photos of the materials I was sent. Now I have to pay a VFX artist to CGI the pieces they were supposed to build, and we don't have the money.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/31/2024

  I can see that the customer is upset and regret that he feels disappointed. We appreciate the opportunity to address his request for a refund. We consistently meet or exceed our clients expectations and have built a good reputation based on service and dedication to our customers. In this case, we designed and built the requested effects in accordance with this customer's creative vision. The materials used were selected for their suitability to the specific design and were by no means inferior or flimsy. Our team, with a history of delivering high-quality work for major film projects, approached this project with the same level of professionalism and dedication. The feedback received on set was overwhelmingly positive, which contrasts with the issues raised in this complaint. We strive to bring our clients visions to life, and based on the customer's feedback prior to his completing production, thats what we did. We delivered the level of quality we promised, and we did it at a deeply discounted charge to help the customer with his budget. The on-set crew members we sent were a key and an assistant, as discussed with the customer ahead of time. They were prepared to make any necessary adjustments, and no issues were raised by the customer at any time until after the shoot had been completed. We would have welcomed the opportunity to address any concerns immediately had they been communicated to us. Currently the customer owes us an outstanding balance of $3,164.24. We understand this project was an ambitious undertaking for him, and as with any creative endeavor there are learning curves. While a refund is not warranted in this situation, what we can offer as a gesture of good faith and commitment to our clients is to waive the customer's outstanding balance, which will more than cover the $1,600 he's requesting. We take feedback seriously and will continue to strive for excellence in all our projects and to ****** clear communication and understanding of our clients' needs and expectations.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/13/2024

  Complaint: 21047714
  
  I am rejecting this response because 2 out of the 3 items Symbolic Arts was instructed to fabricate were not able to function as requested, and were crafted with inferior fabrication techniques. Please see the zip file attached with a detailed response addressing the severe issues with our order.
  Additionally, Symbolic Arts mailed our items to us only 2 days before our film shoot, and instructed us not to open them until the night before the shoot when the "puppeteer" (who has no listed credits as a puppeteer) and the puppeteer's assistant (who never worked on a film set before) arrived. This gave us no time to review or inspect the items, and in fact, the puppeteers still had to fabricate many of the items in our Executive Producer's garage at 10pm the night before our film shoot. Several items still needed to be painted and fabricated with less than 12 hours before the shoot. This gave our production team no time to make changes to our shoot or postpone our film shoot until we had satisfactory materials from Symbolic Arts, and as such, constitutes business fraud on the part of Symbolic Arts. ****************************** also never demonstrated the functionality of the Jack-in-the-Box or clown suit before sending, but instead continuously reassured us that the items were functioning and looked great.
  
  I still have the materials sent by Symbolic Arts, I'd like for BBB to review them with an independent 3rd party expert to make the determination of whether or not they were constructed with inferior fabrication techniques. I can send samples of the items sent by Symbolic Arts to BBB upon request.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************