Twas the night before Christmas, at the VFX house

Everyone was still there, 'cause shots "HAD" to go out.

The clips were all loaded, ready for playback again,

With hopes to be home by a quarter past ten.

The artists all wiggled, back and forth in their chairs,

Confident that "Finals", soon would be theirs.

VFX sup at the ready, their anticipation grew,

As they all settled in, for one last review.

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,

They sprang from their seats to see what was the matter.

From through the door a producer screamed like a loon,

More shots just came in, due tomorrow afternoon!

"How could this be, do they know it's Christmas eve?"

"We've been on OT for 6 weeks, and now we can't leave?"

"For my family I've bought, nothing at all!"

"On the way home, I was going to stop at the mall!"

Sadness and anger took over their minds,

But soon they were off, they dared not get behind.

Back to their desks, away they did flee,

Anxious and worried, what kind of shots would these be?

No new characters or props, a bit of good news,

A new environment, no time, an old one they'd re-use.

More rapid they typed, as they got back to work,

They drank coffee, and yelled, and started to curse!

"Screw Maya and Nuke and this proprietary crap!"

"Wake me when that file loads, meanwhile I'll nap!"

"Ok, it loaded, but my assets aren't showing!"

"Where the hell are those files, there's no way of knowing!"

After while they all settled, back on the right track,

They had to make haste, there was no going back.

Hours and hours they slaved at their screens,

Pushing every pixel, every red blue and green.

And then, via email, a bit of joy after all,

Donuts in the office, at the end of the hall.

Pushing and shoving to claim circular delight,

Glorious sugar and frosting, some fuel for the night.

With simulations and renders, out on the farm,

A slight glitch here and there, no cause for alarm.

Keeping tabs on their renders, frame by frame,

Soon they would finish and freedom they would claim.

By four the next morning, all tasks were complete,

Freshly animated and lit, then composited neat.

Shots uploaded and queued, so they gathered once more,

Tired and haggard, the team was drained to it's core.

The VFX Sup stood up and looked over his crew.

A wave of pride rushed over, and immediately he knew,

These people had families that soon would awake.

These words he spoke so loud, the ground it did shake!

"Get away from this place, another minute do not spend."

"Be with your spouse and your kids, go home my dear friends."

"If during review the client says these shots do not pass,"

"I'll turn to him and say, why don't you kiss my ass!"

They looked at eachother, then started to cheer,

Finally it was time, they were all in the clear.

They got up and walked out, goodbye they all waved,

Racing home in their cars, Christmas might have be saved.

Back in his office the VFX sup awoke from his slumber.

Where had everyone gone, out loud he did wonder.

Up on the roof, old Santy morphed back to himself,