Agora.Community

Ready to hear the origin story for Agora.Community? 💙🙌⁠In the latest episode of our podcast, Alejandra sits down with the one-and-only David Hubert (CEO & Co-Founder at @Agora.studio-mtl )⁠David has over two and a half decades of experience in both the VFX and animation industries. He spent a lot of his early years at DreamWorks working across multiple projects, and moved on to direct at Eidos for "Deus Ex" and "Tomb Raider."⁠Along the way he discovered how remote work could revolutionize the animation industry, which led to the creation of Agora.Studio, and in turn Agora.Community.⁠

In our latest podcast, Alejandra chats with Nicholas Cabana, Founder and Co-Creative Director at Claynosaurz 🦖🦕Nic has helped establish studios like MPC and Rodeo FX (Montreal), and has a long history with visual effects and animation. Recently, he and his team have ventured into uncharted waters with Claynosaurz, reshaping the way original content is created and reimagining IP development.This podcast is perfect for artists developing their own characters and seeking advice on taking them to the next level!

In our next conversation with animation industry professionals, Alejandra sits down with Agora Animation Supervisor, Marco Foglia. Marco has been in the industry for over two decades and has worked on some hit franchises such as Transformers, Planet of the Apes and the Tomb Raider video game reboot. In this episode, Marco and Alejandra discuss leaving the VFX industry, how work from home and the internet completely changed the industry, and how his priorities changed when he became a parent.

The next guest of our podcast is Fernando Herrera. Fernando is an Annie Award winner and VES Award nominee, currently working as a Senior Animator at ILM. In this conversation, Fernando give his perspective on the anti-VFX movement and shares his perspective on what its like to animate for films like Detective Pikachu, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, and the hit TV show His Dark Materials. As a first time father, he also talks about how work from home has affected his family.

Agora Animation Supervisor Alejandra Alvarez was lucky to sit down with Virginie Lavallée, a Producer from The Happy Producers. This is definitely an interview not to miss if you've ever wondered what's going on in the production side of things. Virginie answers all the questions we have been wanting to ask a producer. She has a team-centric approach to production. She takes us through how to build trust with a client, how to plan for the unplannable and offers solutions on how to stay within the scope of work agreed upon. A breath of fresh air!If you like to watch this episode, you can do it on the Agora.community website here - https://agora.community/content/virginie-lavallee

We have another fun interview in store for you this month! This time it's with Agora Animator, Valerie Lim. With a decade of experience in the animation industry, Val has worked in both games and feature film, her most recent project being none other than Nimona.In this chat, Val discusses fighting against "grind" culture, the pride of working in an environment that supports representation, along with topics such as burnout and sexual harassment in the workplace. This is a very open and vulnerable conversation, and not to be missed. Get first access right now on our website.

If you've been around the gaming industry for a while, you should have heard of Richard Lico. Richard is an Annie Award-nominated Animator having worked at Bungie, Polyarc, and teaching online with iAnimate, along with his own set of tutorials through his website Animation Sherpa.In our latest interview with Agora.studio’s Animation Supervisor, Alejandra Alvarez, Richard discusses the transformative impact of AI in gaming compared to motion capture's early days, strategies for navigating industry volatility, including avoiding layoffs, and the evolving recognition and education of game animation.

Ere Santos is an Animation Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios, ex-Pixar animator, Instructor at Animation Mentor, and TEDx Speaker. He and Alejandra dive into a variety of topics, including what it was like working on Across the Spiderverse, the future of AI in the animation industry, and more!⁠

If you missed our live Q&A with the animation supervisors of Love, Death & Robots Season 3 episode, Jibaro, you can catch up here! Some great questions are asked about the time that went into reference vs animating, was any mocap used and how long did it take to finish the facial animation? Don't miss our next live stream, and follow us on Twitch. https://www.twitch.tv/agoracommunity/Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

In this conversation, Brent and Jacob catch up with Tomáš Jech, indie game developer and co-founder of Studio Tandemi. Tomáš is currently developing the spooky, top-down, co-op game, Begone Beast (link below). In this chat the gang discuss Tomáš' rocky beginnings as a pixar intern, through to animating at studios such as Riot and Blizzard, and the current state of being a game developer. You can learn more about Begone Beast at https//www.begonebeast.comAlso, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

Pierre Perifel, Director of The Bad Guys, joins us again for a deep dive into the making of the fil and talks about creating the style of the film, developing the characters and answer questions from the fans!Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

Get ready to meet video game actor, Shawn Baichoo. Shawn has provided a large amount of work for Assassin's Creed II from motion-capture work to voice acting, as well as starring as Antonio Maffei in Assassin's Creed: Lineage. Other games inShawn’s CV include the Watch Dogs series, Outlast, Far Cry. In this conversation we chat about Shawn's career in both film and video games, the differences between the both of them, overcoming doubt and finishing off with a Q&A from the chat!Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

In our conversation with Aaron Gilman, CEO of Steamroller Studios, the gang speak on some great topics like leadership in animation, not taking things to heart as an artist and answer some questions from the chat.Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

In this episode of our ‘A Conversation With’ series, David and Brent catch up with video game actor, Amber Goldfarb. In this chat the gang cover topics such as recognizing predators in positions of power, overcoming self-doubt as an artist and what life is like as an actor in video games!Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

In this 'A Conversation With', we’re catching up with Dony Permedi! Dony is currently Animation Director with Nickelodeon. HOWEVER, you most likely know Dony from the 2006 animated short film KIWI. (Yes, we are shedding a tear as well). Dony was the mastermind behind this touching short film that won Youtube’s ‘Most Adorable Film’ in their first Annual Youtube Video Awards, going on to receive widespread media attention. In this conversation, we’ll talk to Dony about the short film, how it’s helped him grow his career to where he is today, and how creating personal projects could potentially do the same for you!Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

Our next guest on our ‘A Conversation With’ series is Mary DeMarle. Mary is the Executive Narrative Director of Eidos Montreal. She's recently finished up on the Guardians Of The Galaxy Video Game and helped introduce a new generation of gamers to some of the industry's most amazing franchises. We’ll be having a chat with Mary about her 20 years of experience working as a writer in video games, how to stay true to an already established franchise, and how to create games with a deep, engaging narrative that keep you playing for hours!Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

If you're considering kickstarting your career in animation and want to know more about animation schools, this is a stream not to miss! We'll be hanging out with industry veteran Wayne Gilbert, current Head Of Animation at VanArts, Vancouver BC. Even if you're in the industry, this is one not to miss! Wayne has worked on some amazing franchises throughout his career such as Star Wars, The Mummy, and Jurassic Park.Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

In this live event, we'll be caught up with Emile Ghorayeb, Animation Director at MPC. Emile is taking time out of his busy schedule on Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts to chat with us about his career spanning over 20 years working on some amazing projects such as the Shrek and Transformers franchises, the epic Avengers: Endgame, and his time in video games working on Halo 3 and Batman: Arkham Origins.Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

In this ‘A Conversation With’ we’re hanging out with Stephanie Desforges, Cinematic Director at Ubisoft, Montreal. Stephanie started her career in games in 2004 working as an animator on trailers and cinematics. Her most recent project is Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, directing over 16 hours of design content, directing mocap shoots, and establishing pipeline tools and guidelines to ensure a smooth process across the department.In this conversation, we’ll talk about her progression in the games industry, her learnings when it comes to directing cinematics, and her personal experiences in the gaming industry.Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!

Khai Nguyen has been working as a professional artist for pretty much forever! He started his career as a 2D Animator on projects such as All Dogs Go To heaven II and Space Jam. In the early 2000’s he transitioned into Video Games where he has pretty stayed ever since, working as a senior concept artist and now Art Director/Animation Director.In this conversation, we’ll be discussing his beginnings and moving from animating into a different position in a different industry, moving up the professional ladder in video games, and the current state and the future of video games.Also, check out Agora.Community for daily content, free rigs, and assets, and order an animation review from one of our industry experts:https://www.agora.communityThanks for listening!