CG Garage

Steve Griffith's impressive IMDb page includes The Matrix sequels, Captain America: The First Avenger, Ant-Man, the Watchmen TV series, Jungle Cruise, and many more blockbusters. Over the course of 20 years, he's gone from intern to VP of Production at Legend, taking in stints at major VFX studios including Rodeo FX, MPC, Luma Pictures, Atomic Fiction, and Digital Domain. In this podcast, Chris and Steve reminisce about some of the projects they worked on together, including I, Robot and Stealth, before tackling the current state of the visual effects industry. They track the evolution of virtual production from Gravity and Oblivion to Murder on the Orient Express and The Mandalorian and discuss how real-time and AI are changing the way studios work.

Jack Evans' illustrious VFX career has taken him to some of the biggest studios in LA and Vancouver, including Digital Domain, ILM, Disney, and Image Engine Design. His impressive roster of credits includes lighting on Speed Racer, TRON: Legacy, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Fast & Furious 8, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Mandalorian, and Aquaman. In this entertaining podcast, Jack talks about his career so far, from his early days of creating TV graphics with Photoshop and 3ds Max to learning Nuke, V-Ray, and Gaffer. He also discusses working from home in the pandemic, goes into depth on shots for TRON: Legacy and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and gives insight into different cultures at visual effects houses.

V-Ray won an Emmy! And joining Chris this week is Craig Weiss, a committee member on the board for the Engineering Emmy Awards. Craig explains how Chaos' rendering engine has changed the way TV VFX are made and why the board chose it to win this prestigious award. Craig also delves into his role as CBS VFX's executive creative director, from his humble beginnings in stop-motion animation to the high-resolution, cinema-quality CG home audiences have come to expect. It's a fascinating journey into the past, present, and future of the technology that helps bring stories to life.

The big wide world can be a scary place for neurodiverse people — but Exceptional Minds can help them find their place. Founded in 2011, this remarkable non-profit training academy trains individuals on the autism spectrum to become visual effects and animation professionals. It also runs its own studio, which has put graduates to work on Black Widow, Loki, and a whole animated segment for Sesame Street. In this podcast, Exceptional Minds' Executive Director David Siegel explains how his six-year-old son inspired him to join the academy. He also describes how he works with studios and software companies to give students the knowledge they need for a career. Joining him is VFX Studio Supervisor David Wolgemuth, who discusses finding common ground with students and helping them make the most of their skillsets.

AJ Jefferies' art is unmistakable. Whether he's indulging in passion projects or designing campaigns for companies including Cadbury's, Virgin Atlantic, and MTV, this UK-based 3D illustrator and animator's work is eye-catching, playful, and colorful — and large, sometimes up to 10K in resolution. In this conversation with Chris, AJ breaks down his career so far, from how Toy Story inspired his early adventures in computer graphics, learning 3D and illustration in Bournemouth, and joining a two-person studio in Norwich where he remains to this day. AJ also talks about the essential tools in his workflow, how V-Ray helped boost his render times, and the future of rendering technology.

Real-time CG is quickly taking over the film industry — but learning about its virtual cameras, lenses, and sets can be tricky. Tackling this is "Becoming a CG Pro," an online virtual production course aimed at filmmakers and CG artists hosted by Edward Dawson-Taylor and Jacqueline Cooper, a pair of VFX industry pros with credits on Jurassic World, The Jungle Book, and The Lion King. In this podcast, Edd and (returning guest) Jackie talk to Chris about what he learned through taking the course, and how virtual filmmaking brings back on-set collaboration and puts CG tools in the hands of traditional filmmakers. They also discuss the history of filmmaking, from Eadweard Muybridge to The Matrix, and the applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the real world.

Ruairidh "Roo" MacNeill's love for 3D modeling began with sandcastles in Lightwave—and now, he's working in London on blockbusters including Thor: Ragnarok, Alita: Battle Angel, and Wonder Woman 1984. In this podcast, Roo brings fresh insight into the trends reshaping the way VFX are produced, with procedural tools such as Houdini removing the industry's reliance on hard-surface modelers. Roo gives some candid tips about working in VFX, including his thoughts on getting a VFX-related degree, the importance of attending dailies, and why he's on a race to the bottom of Rotten Tomatoes scores. He also dives into why he loves Modo—and talks about taking a rabbit across European borders.

In this week's podcast, Chris digs into the relationship between CG and archaeology with world-renowned archaeologist Bernard Frischer. Having studied Classics, Bernie discovered a passion for the past and led excavations of Horace's Villa in Licenza, Italy. At the same time, he maintained a keen interest in the evolution of computing technology and used it to reconstruct Rome for his Rome Reborn project. Bernie reveals his vast knowledge of ancient history, explaining what made ancient Roman and modern American societies similar, how chariot racing was the spectator sport of its time, and why he prefers Rome to Athens. He also tells Chris how he founded Flyover Zone and reveals his plans to bring history to the world of videogames.

Liz Montes bumped into someone at an LA party—and landed a job at Digital Domain. Here, she worked alongside Chris on movies including Real Steel and Oblivion. Then she moved to visualization specialist The Third Floor, where she worked as a production manager and producer on blockbusters including Edge of Tomorrow, Solo: A Star Wars Story, and Avengers: Endgame. In this podcast, Liz talks about how The Third Floor's expertise in previs has made it a perfect fit for the emerging world of virtual production. She delves into how The Mandalorian's immersive set, Volume, helped the cast and crew create incredible worlds in real-time. She also discusses The Third Floor's work on Loki, how gaming graduates are taking over VFX, and how working from home has changed the industry.

Chris Harvey's brief encounters in biology and theater set him up perfectly for a thriving career in VFX. After taking an animation course, he went on to work on movies such as Chappie, TRON: Legacy, and Zero Dark Thirty. Then, he helped Neill Blomkamp launch independent production company Oats Studios and now he works as a freelance VFX supervisor. In this podcast, Chris talks about striking a balance between working hard and raising a family. He shares the lessons he learned from working at the ahead-of-its-time Oats Studios, covers how easy it is to tighten pipelines and make filmmaking more efficient—and reveals why Neill Blomkamp's new production house is called Stability. You'll also find out about Chris' upcoming sci-fi film projects, including Neill Blomkamp's Demonic, and 65, from the team behind A Quiet Place.

Want to know the secrets of a successful VFX career? In this week's podcast, Andy Boyd tells Chris how he worked his way up from VFX artist to head of 3D at MPC and then became co-founder of his own company, Jamm VFX, moving from Johannesburg to London and Los Angeles in the process. Andy gives useful insights on getting noticed and securing promotions. He also talks through the nerve-wracking process of founding a company and taking it from desperately seeking clients to being in a position where it can turn down work. Andy finishes with his thoughts on how AI will change the future of VFX and sheds a little light on Jamm's upcoming projects.

Introducing the CG Garage podcast's first-ever virtual guest: PHIA, AKA Sophia Bollinger. In the space of little over a year, PHIA's "The Virtual Reality Show" has amassed over 100,000 YouTube and Twitch subscribers who tune in to find out about the latest tech and trends in VR. At the same time, she's become a virtual celebrity, and running the show has become her full-time job. In this podcast, which is better watched than listened-to, the enthusiastic VR expert tells Chris why she started the channel. She talks about how the virtual world can offer a haven from the real one and discusses some of the more unusual phenomena that come about as a result of fooling your brain into thinking the virtual is real. You'll learn what the best tech for a modern VR setup is—as well as PHIA's ambitious plans for the future.

The globally renowned RealTime Conference couldn't have been founded by anyone other than Jean-Michel Blottière. From a young age, Jean-Michel has been at the heart of both the games and media industries, beginning with gaming magazines and TV series in his native France, and moving into CG and animation conferences via Imagina and FMX. Today, Jean-Michel runs the RealTime Conference, which has proved spectacularly successful—despite starting when the pandemic hit last year. He talks about the joy of organizing the conference, from finding generous sponsors and talented speakers, to presenting live in front of a global audience. He also discusses the exciting upcoming edition of the RealTime Conference—The Rise of the Metaverse: Populating the Metaverse.

This week's podcast guest, Carlos Fueyo, checks all Chris' boxes for architecture, VFX, and real-time. After working alongside theoretical architecture legend Lebbeus Woods, Carlos provided stunning visual effects for movies including Priest, Super 8, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. He then set himself up as a studio working on VFX, architectural, virtual reality, and real-time projects, including evil base compendium, LAIR. Today, Carlos is investigating real-time filmmaking via an intriguing short film entitled "Replica" while working on effects for a yet-to-be-revealed Marvel project. Carlos gives his thoughts on how real-time is turning filmmaking on its head and some of the new challenges it presents in keeping content fresh.

After making stop-motion videos as a kid and studying furniture design, Ross Denner found his way into VFX via stints at Bermuda Shorts and The Mill. He then moved from London to Los Angeles to work for MPC and now lives in New York, where he helped set up boutique studio ArtJail. Ross talks about how SideFX's versatile Houdini software is usurping Maya in traditional pipelines and empowering smaller VFX houses. He also gives invaluable advice on getting hired by VFX studios and what to do when you start, and he and Chris talk about working with dyslexia.

Over the past few years, Gravity Sketch has made its way into the workflows of everyone from individual artists to large corporations, including Ford and HP. This unique software allows designers to intuitively create and perfect their visions in a three-dimensional, virtual space. Gravity Sketch Co-Founder and CEO Seyi Sosanya talks about how his team used influences from outside computing, such as dance, kitchen design, and London's underground system, to develop the software's accessible-but-minimalist interface. Seyi offers a fascinating insight into what it's like to run a startup company and how users are making use of Gravity Sketch—including lobster-influenced footwear.

No one knows the virtual world like Solomon Rogers. From an academic background, Sol decided to found his own company, REWIND, to specialize in creating immersive and meaningful VR experiences for an impressive array of companies, including HBO, Lyft, Sony, and Microsoft. In this podcast, Sol tells Chris how VR has evolved over the past decade, explains why we're yet to see good VR architecture, and goes behind-the-scenes of REWIND's terrifying in-car VR experience with holoride technology for Universal Pictures. He also talks about how the entertainment industry is catering for digital natives, who prefer esports and zero-gravity concerts in Fortnite to watching movies. It's a fascinating and authoritative glimpse into the incredible potential of future technology.

Patrick Osborne grew up with a passion for Nintendo, Jurassic Park, and Wavefront—and he got to see behind the scenes of movie merchandising via his dad's job as head of design at Kenner Toys. After attending the prestigious Ringling College of Art + Design, he joined Sony Imageworks, then Disney, and polished his skills as an animator. While at Disney, Patrick directed the short film "Feast," which won an Academy Award, and then moved into directing full-time on the sitcom Imaginary Mary. Patrick talks about the tools he's used throughout his career, what it's like to become a Hollywood director, and his favorite part of the filmmaking process. He also gives a sneak peek into his upcoming experiments with real-time, VR, and in-progress shorts for Love, Death & Robots, and Apple.

Hard-hitting documentaries and cutting-edge VFX rarely go together, but for David France's Welcome to Chechnya, it was necessary to marry the two. The film captures the flight of LGBTQ citizens from the Russian republic of Chechnya, where being gay can lead to beatings and murders. To preserve his subjects' anonymity while allowing the audience to connect with them emotionally, David turned to VFX expert Ryan Laney to digitally swap faces with willing "donors" from around the world. Ryan explains how he developed new techniques to replace faces without the limitations of traditional methods such as blurring and pixelation. He also discusses his 20-plus-years in movie VFX, including The Matrix, The Aviator, The Day After Tomorrow, and many more. It's proof that VFX's role in filmmaking now extends far beyond Hollywood blockbusters— and it's had a surprising effect on Ryan's outlook, too.

Originally hailing from Russia, Dmitry Vinnik's love for CG computer game cutscenes inspired him to learn 3D Studio and study at Vancouver Film School. He's gone on to work on VFX projects big and small, including Battlestar Galactica, Tron: Legacy, Final Destination 5, and Game of Thrones. Throughout his career, Dmitry has embraced technology and encouraged studios to use V-Ray—with spectacular results. This podcast serves as a deep dive into the past, present, and future of rendering technology, covering everything from 286s in the mid-90s to the versatile, superpowered hardware that powers today's CGI.

What do NFTs mean for professional artists? That's the question Chris explores this week with returning podcast guest David Levy, whose concept art has helped define the look of big sci-fi movies, including Tron: Legacy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the upcoming Avatar sequels. In this thought-provoking discussion, David talks about the potential NFTs have to revolutionize digital art and how this new way of attaching value to content changes the industry for well-known artists and absolute beginners. Chris and David talk about how NFT galleries are more like Las Vegas than The Louvre, discuss some of the ethical and environmental concerns surrounding NFTs and explain what cryptocurrencies mean on a larger scale.

Since its launch in 2000, CG content marketplace Turbosquid has amassed almost 1 million 3D models and become a go-to source for VFX, games and much more. In this week's podcast, Turbosquid's VP of Business Development, Beau Perschall, and Chief Creative Officer, Dade Orgeron, join Chris to talk about this unforgettably named company. You'll learn how the company uses clever tech—including V-Ray AppSDK—to catalog and display its vast array of content and ensure it works across multiple platforms. Beau and Dade also discuss Turbosquid's Pixelsquid and Kraken spin-offs, and the company's acquisition by stock photography giant Shutterstock. If you've ever wanted to create Turbosquid content yourself, Beau and Dade will tell you what's most wanted at the moment

Chris' exploration of NFTs continues with returning guest and virtual architecture expert Alex Coulombe and podcast newbie Samuel Arsenault-Brassard. Samuel has set up the Museum of Other Realities to display virtual works of art but lacked a convenient way to monetize and distribute them. Enter NFTs, virtual worlds such as Somnium Space and marketplaces including SuperRare and Foundation. In this in-depth discussion, Samuel and Alex cover the good, bad and ugly of NFTs. They break down what makes them so ideal for selling virtual art, how you could steal an NFT, what happens when an owner posts offensive content in virtual space and the potential for forging 3D artwork. They also cover potential solutions to the high energy demands of cryptocurrencies.

This week, Blur's Franck Balson and Gabe Askew join Chris to discuss the intricacies of cel-shading, which gives 3D visuals a unique cartoony look. You'll find out how Blur combined advanced hacks and simple techniques to create stylized animation for Love, Death & Robots episode "Suits," which features mech-touting farmers, and the frenetic trailer for Riot Games' Valorant. Franck also discusses his multi-cultural background and how he landed a job at Blur, while Gabe covers his previous job directing commercials in New York. They talk about what it's like to get hired and work for Tim Miller and Blur Studio, and shed light on some of the approaches to animation that can bring characters to life.

Our exploration of how NFTs apply to CG artists continues with esteemed NYU Stern professor, David Yermack, an expert in cryptocurrency. But don't worry, you don't need a finance background to understand this. David breaks down key concepts behind NFTs in the most accessible way possible, so you can figure out how they factor in your world. We get into issues of ownership, the value of digital copies and how NFTs are enabling CG artists to finally become part of the gallery system.

This week's podcast tells the fascinating story of Doug Wilkinson, who worked with Chris on Tron: Legacy and is now head of CG at global creative company Buck. Inspired by Jurassic Park, Doug helped create cutscenes for video games before moving from Boston to LA to join effects companies including Digital Domain, Sway and Buck. Doug recounts his numerous adventures in visual effects, including creating a David Fincher-directed Heineken ad starring Brad Pitt, working with Joe Kosinski on car commercials, and his latest work, including Apple's "Share Your Gifts" spot. Doug also shares his thoughts on the CG industry's future, talks about how Buck balances creative freedom with technical innovation and reveals surprising connections to Chris' friends and co-workers.

Over the past 15 years, Matan Abel has worked on lots of cutting-edge VFX projects, including the game Call of Duty, numerous car commercials and movies such as 2012, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Last Airbender, Red Tails and Fast & Furious 5. Now, Matan's getting into real-time via John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum's virtual pre-production and The Mandalorian's virtual sets. In this podcast, Matan tells former boss Chris how his laid-back approach and honesty have helped his career trajectory. He talks about how he loves lighting tail lights despite knowing nothing about cars; overcoming cultural, linguistic and time barriers when he worked in China; and the practical and financial reasons behind the rise of real-time in movies.

NFTs — or Non-Fungible Tokens — have hit the headlines recently after digital artist Beeple sold a JPEG for $69 million. But there are many questions about this new way of selling art: Is it a scam? How easy is it for artists to make millions with NFTs? What does "fungible" even mean? In this podcast, digital artist and returning guest Sally Slade tells Chris everything she's learned about NFTs in seven days. She talks him through turning one of her artworks into an NFT, beginning with buying cryptocurrency Ethereum to "minting" her artwork and listing it online. Sally digs into some of the ethical and environmental concerns about the NFT process and discusses what it could mean for the future of art and filmmaking.

Joining Chris for this week's podcast are old pals and seasoned professionals Leighton Greer and Paul Ghezzo. Having met Chris at VFX studio Sway, Leighton and Paul have worked for Rhythm and Hues, Zoic and Scanline. Today, they've been reunited at Technicolor, which produces visual effects alongside traditional post-production fixes for shows including Star Trek: Picard, Westworld, Snowfall and Bridgerton. Leighton, Paul and Chris reminisce about work they've done in the past, including Scion ads for demanding directors and the physics of power sliding minivans. More importantly, the trio shares the important lessons they've learned from one another. Leighton and Paul also discuss some of their upcoming projects, including Firefly Lane, Reservation Dogs and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as well as Technicolor's acquisition by the increasingly large Streamland Media.

VFX veteran Ari Rubenstein has quite a story to tell. After spending a few years in unrelated fields, he gravitated towards visual effects, where a cloth sim experiment landed him work on The Matrix Revolutions. He went on to work at Blue Sky Studios, the company behind animated movies including Horton Hears a Who!, Epic and Rio. At the same time, Ari has indulged his creativity and embraced new technology via short films. Ari talks enthusiastically about how he's always chosen creative paths, his deep-rooted love of music, and how individuals across the industry and around the world have helped him bring his visions to life. Since this interview, Blue Sky Studios has closed its filmmaking operations. Nimona, which was slated for January 14, 2022, is no longer being released.

Chaos' Key Account Group are unsung heroes of the CG industry. They understand the trends of the VFX, arch-viz and design industries; they're happy to be woken up at 3AM on Christmas morning to help customers solve problems—and they help gather feedback to help shape Chaos products. Heading up the Key Account Group is the dynamic and energetic "Mother of Dragons," Albena Ivanova. After studying business at university, Albena honed her skills in film production before joining Chaos. Albena discusses the unusual ways customers use Chaos software, reminisces about epic parties for clients and talks about her newest recruit—Chris Nichols himself.

Chaos Group is no more; long live Chaos! In this week's podcast, Richard Pay from design agency Uniform and Chaos' own Melissa Knight talk us through the year-long process of reinvigorating the computer graphics company's presence to reflect the increasing diversity of its products and customers. Rich explains why a brand is far more than just a logo, and how Uniform has united Chaos' previously fragmented elements into a more cohesive and colorful whole. Melissa also talks about the advantages of simply being called Chaos, the huge amount of work that went into the rebrand—and reveals a planetary secret hidden in the new logo.

This week's podcast guest is a true visionary in the CG world. Ash Thorp came from a humble background and perfected his artistic skills via a year-long stint at film title specialist Prologue. Since then, he's contributed to Ghost in the Shell, Ender's Game and Captain Marvel, while pursuing his love for cinema via personal projects including Ghost in the Shell homage "Project 2501," electric Ferrari concept "Evinetta" and short film "NONE." Ash offers invaluable advice on avoiding creative blocks, the importance of collaboration, getting great performances out of actors, and dealing with criticism and social media. It's an honest and inspirational discussion and, touchingly, Ash hasn't lost any of the humility he had at the start of his career.

Christian Debney's incredible career began awesomely and has only become more awesome: his first job was building lightsaber props for Star Wars: Episodes I and II. After learning 3D for his own short films, he created VFX for Farscape, directed music videos, made animations for the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony, set up a VFX firm and second-unit-directed little-known but much-loved Australian comedy Swinging Safari. Phew! Now, Christian is putting his 20-plus years of experience in the movie industry to good use as VFX supervisor on sci-fi thriller Ascendant and as director of three films (one in VR) and a documentary. In this podcast, Christian talks about his career so far and shares tips and anecdotes about how he's learned to create great work within budgetary and time constraints.

Andrew Murdock is a man of many talents. His career began in a recording studio, alongside Chris Isaak, and he went on to join Mondo Media to work on gaming projects including The Daedalus Encounter and Westwood's Blade Runner. After founding his company, Lots of Robots, he created his own short films, beginning with "Rocket Pants," while producing scientific animations for National Geographic. Today, Andrew still creates his own short films and he's recently joined forces with 3ds Max creator Gary Yost on his "Inside Covid-19" VR project. Andrew discusses his independent approach to his projects' sound and visuals, his passion for Chaos Cloud and tyFlow, and Automatron, his character animation plugin for 3ds Max

Over the past 30 years, Habib Zargarpour has helped create some of the most innovative and iconic VFX shots in cinema and pioneered virtual production. Beginning with The Mask's eye-popping protagonist, Habib went on to instigate Twister and The Perfect Storm's freak weather conditions, race pods for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and use game-engine technology to build The Jungle Book and Blade Runner 2049's captivating worlds. Today, Habib works as head of film development at Digital Monarch Media, a division of Unity Technologies. He deep-dives into how he helped director Denis Villeneuve and DoP Roger Deakins explore LA 2049's wastelands, and details the physics of pod racers. For VFX fans, this podcast is a treat from start to finish.

This week's podcast guest is Robert Durnin, a talented and agile technical director who can turn his hand to just about anything. He's perfected pipelines for movies including Pan's Labyrinth, The Mist, The Amazing Spider-Man and Tron: Legacy, and polished in-engine cinematics for Batman: Arkham Origins and Crysis 3. He's also helped build content for the Leia 3D holographic display and worked out how to create a theme park-size XR experience. Robert talks about his career so far, the numerous companies he's worked for, including Digital Domain, The Mill and Magnopus, and how he's wrangled multiple content creation platforms into working with one another. He also discusses some of the fun challenges he's faced, and the computer-vision AI training he'd like to tackle in future.

Intopolis aims to turn video game conventions on their head. Players assume the role of an art historian from the distant future, tasked with finding patterns in detailed, otherworldly artworks. In this podcast, the extraordinary talent behind the game, Kirsten Zirngibl, gives a fascinating glimpse into how she's translated her imagination into a tangible, explorable world. Kirsten discusses everything from her childhood in Ohio to her experiences working for companies including Google, Riot Games and Wizards of the Coast, as well as the real-world and virtual influences that have helped create Intopolis's psychedelic visuals. She also offers insight into the array of technology she's using to build her game's environment, and gives her thoughts on why bright, positive worlds have never been more tempting.

In a little over a year, Mondlicht Studios has made a global name for itself in CG advertising projects. Its large-scale, award-winning images for Netflix series literally wrap around buildings, and it also provides animation, retouching, AR and VR services. Here, co-founders David Schaefer and Dmitriy Glazyrin tell Chris the story behind the studio. You'll find out about the technology David and Dimo use to create 95MP images, how media and advertising are moving away from stills and into animation, and how new AI tools make their lives easier. They also share some useful tips they've picked up from working in automotive CG and photography, and talk about how they add character and story to their images.

Bilali Mack has always wanted to tell stories. Originally hailing from West Africa, Bilali was at Emerson College in Boston when he realized it was easier to make movies with computers instead of cameras. After graduating, he worked on Coca-Cola and BMW commercials, where he developed an affinity for Flame, Autodesk's VFX and finishing software. Today, Bilali is taking his experience to the next level as a VFX supervisor on feature films and TV series, including Let Him Go and Power Book II: Ghost. In this insightful and animated discussion, Bilali talks about the pros and cons of working with Flame, the creative differences between VFX for commercials and features, and how he directs smoke and blood to enhance the narrative. This podcast is a perfect upbeat start to 2021.

Is there anything Alessandro Cangelosi can't do? Over the past 20 years, this versatile generalist has contributed to games, movies, documentaries, film studio idents and commercials for everything from computer accessories to tourist destinations. To handle this wide array of work, Alessandro uses software including 3ds Max, Houdini and V-Ray. In this podcast, Alessandro tells Chris how he likes to get under the hood of his projects, embracing innovative tech and techniques to create stunning effects for movies including Independence Day: Resurgence and 2012. He also talks about his plans to invigorate Italy's visual effects industry with his own school, and the courses he teaches for Gnomon Workshop and Skyup Academy.

Babak Bina has carved out an illustrious career in VFX — and now he's passing his knowledge onto a new generation. Originally hailing from Iran, the band Tool's visuals inspired Babak to pursue graphic design in Toronto. He's gone on to work for visual effects studios Double Negative, Method Studios and Scanline VFX on movies and TV shows, including Game of Thrones, Black Panther and Wonder Woman. This year, Babak has also started teaching how to create weird and wonderful creatures at The Gnomon Workshop. He tells Chris what it's like to teach students he's never seen and the tools he uses to create believable characters. Babak also discusses his new role as co-director of short movie, "The Seahorse Trainer."

CGI obviously has a big role in post-production, but in this podcast, Chris talks to concept artist Dwayne Burgess about how it's used before filming. Dwayne was inspired by theatrical design to pursue his career path, and after a fortuitous meeting on a B-movie, he worked his way up to art director at NBC Universal. Today, Dwayne is a freelance concept artist, creating renders for TV shows including Fargo and American Ninja Warrior. He explains what his role is in a production, how he interacts with set designers and directors of photography, plus how V-Ray for SketchUp has improved his workflow.

With over 20 years' experience in the industry, Shannon Wiggins knows how to get employed at the biggest VFX and games studios. Shannon's early brushes with behind-the-scenes effects from Star Wars influenced her to learn Softimage and Nuke, and work in roto and paint for companies including Digital Domain, ILM and Dreamworks. Today, she heads up placement and alumni relations at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. In this podcast, Shannon shares how Gnomon achieves an incredible 97% employment rate for its students, and offers indispensable advice on preparing a winning reel and being ready for the interview process. She also talks about some of the big changes she's seen over her 10 years at Gnomon — and the skills students need for the VFX of the future.

Al Quattrocchi is a man of passion and talent. From a young age, he's honed his artistic skills via typesetting, movie posters and Grammy-winning album packaging. Along the way, he's been taught by Jim Blinn of Blinn-Phong shading fame, worked with poster artist Drew Struzan and shaken hands with musical legend Art Garfunkel. At the same time, Al has indulged his love for fly fishing, which grew from exploring the waters near New York. He tells Chris about what makes fly fishing so attractive to artists, his book about catching the elusive California corbina and how he gets involved with the fly-fishing community. Al's Italian-American inflection and gift for storytelling make for an engrossing podcast.

Versatile and talented software engineer Yining Karl Li has taken an unconventional but successful approach to his career. He sideloaded a graphics degree onto his business degree and he was inspired to create his own renderer, Takua, by Alex Roman's "The Third and The Seventh" and V-Ray's rendering quality. He's also made leaps and bounds with the development of Disney's in-house renderer, Hyperion. Used to deliver large-scale environments for Big Hero 6, Moana, Zootopia and the upcoming Raya and the Last Dragon, Hyperion sets itself apart with a breadth-first rendering approach, similar to the techniques used by V-Ray GPU. Karl discusses the intricacies of production rendering on increasingly powerful hardware, as well as the future of real-time and ray-traced rendering.

You've probably seen Mike Campau's work without realizing it. Over the past 20 years, this digital artist has honed his style and techniques to produce eye-catching imagery for brands including Under Armour, Chevy and Specialized, and characterful portraits of Tracy Morgan, John C. Reilly and Dave Grohl. He also creates personal work to experiment with new techniques or skewer social media and politics. In this podcast, Mike tells Chris how he's grown from usual inspiration as a three-year-old, to learning from car campaigns, to the tools and collaborations that make his work possible today. If you've ever wanted to make the jump to becoming a successful freelance artist, Mike has solid advice on how to get established and manage your work-life balance.

CG Garage's 300th podcast features a true superstar of CG: 3D Studio and 3ds Max team leader Gary Yost. After working for an Atari magazine, in the mid 1980s, Gary became involved in software, eventually overseeing the development of 3D Studio from its early days as a DOS package to its limelight-stealing Windows release as 3D Studio MAX 1.0. He talks about how his five-person team (including one barely out of his teens) worked from home in the early-90s to create this pioneering, game-changing 3D software. Today, Gary is returning to his artistic instincts with a high-tech short film about the COVID-19 pandemic, using superpowered 360-degree cameras, 3ds Max, V-Ray and Chaos Cloud to produce an immersive experience. It's fascinating to hear about Gary's experiences in computing and entertainment over the past few decades. He's a rare character who can combine creative energy and technical know-how with a knack for choosing the right people for the right roles.

Returning podcast guest Lou Pecora was inspired by the Haunted Mansion ride, Star Wars, Sinbad and his love of taking things apart to pursue a career in VFX. His first work was creating morphs for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and he's gone on to work on big-budget movies and TV shows at Digital Domain and now Zoic. In this epic discussion, Lou breaks down some of the challenges that he's faced recently, from transforming a straitjacket into a man for Legion to a nightmare-inducing shot for Lucy in the Sky and COVID-19 shutting down production on Fargo. He also talks about how his career is progressing, how he's stayed upbeat and kept himself busy during the lockdown, and he delves into the pros and cons of real-time production methods.

This week's podcast guest, Scott Meadows, is the crown prince of previz. After graduating in architecture from Texas A&M University, Scott found his way into VFX as part of a two-man team working on the previz of Michael Bay's Bad Boys II in 2002 — and he's now Head of Visualization and Virtual Production at Digital Domain. In this fascinating interview, Scott shares tales and tips from previz on movies including The Chronicles of Narnia series, Tron: Legacy, Ender's Game, Black Panther, Ready Player One and the upcoming West Side Story. He talks about how he works with directors such as Steven Spielberg and Joe Kosinski, what post-viz is, and how real-time is revolutionizing the way movies are made — via Xbox controllers and iPhones.