The Allan McKay Podcast

For many of us, we want to make massive changes. We want the success we see others have. But it's hard to connect the dots that what works for others, could work for us. Or that in a creative industries such as Visual Effects, Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, or even the tools others use might even apply. This series of Podcasts -- and the accompanying Guide -- is your path to setting yourself up for big changes NOW and making massive impact in your career, life -- and getting you on track for getting the success that you want! Download the videos, exercises, and video tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/. Trust in the system, do the work, double down on the results that work for you and most importantly START NOW -- not tomorrow! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/117/.

For many of us, we want to make massive changes. We want the success we see others have. But it's hard to connect the dots that what works for others, could work for us. Or that in a creative industries such as Visual Effects, Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, or even the tools others use might even apply. This series of Podcasts -- and the accompanying Guide -- is your path to setting yourself up for big changes NOW and making massive impact in your career, life -- and getting you on track for getting the success that you want! Download the videos, exercises, and video tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/. Trust in the system, do the work, double down on the results that work for you and most importantly START NOW -- not tomorrow! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/116/.

Unit Image is a high-end 3D animation and VFX Studio based in Paris, France. It is specialized in full CGI and special effects for video games and commercials. Since being founded in 2010 by Maxime Luère, Léon Bérelle, Dominique Boidin and Rémi Kozyra, the studio has been creating impressive images and raising the bar with the quality of their award-winning work. The most work includes films for Ubisoft, Activision, Square Enix, Michelin, Cartier and many more. The studio has created trailers for video games Good and Evil 2, The Division, The Crew, Call of Duty, For Honor, ZombiU and several others. In this Episode, the creative team at Unit Image talks about the studio's history and its groundbreaking work in commercials and video games. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/115/.

For many of us, we want to make massive changes. We want the success we see others have. But it's hard to connect the dots that what works for others, could work for us. Or that in a creative industries such as Visual Effects, Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, or even the tools others use might even apply. This series of Podcasts -- and the accompanying Guide -- is your path to setting yourself up for big changes NOW and making massive impact in your career, life -- and getting you on track for getting the success that you want! Download the videos, exercises, and video tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/. Trust in the system, do the work, double down on the results that work for you and most importantly START NOW -- not tomorrow! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/114/.

For many of us, we want to make massive changes. We want the success we see others have. But it's hard to connect the dots that what works for others, could work for us. Or that in a creative industries such as Visual Effects, Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, or even the tools others use might even apply. This series of Podcasts -- and the accompanying Guide -- is your path to setting yourself up for big changes NOW and making massive impact in your career, life -- and getting you on track for getting the success that you want! Download the videos, exercises, and video tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/. Trust in the system, do the work, double down on the results that work for you and most importantly START NOW -- not tomorrow! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/113/.

In-Ah Mellor (Roediger) is a Senior Animator who has worked at places like Framestore, Sony, Double Negative, MPC and several others. After extensive studies of 2D and 3D animation -- at Gobelins, L'école de L'image in Paris, France and Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, in Germany -- her first job was working on Harry Potter, the Goblet of Fire at Framestore in London. Some of her credits include films like The Smurfs, Hotel Transylvania, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Where the Wild Things Are, Guardians of the Galaxy and many others. Throughout her career, In-Ah has received multiple awards, including VES Award Nomination for her work on the character of China Doll in the 2014 feature Oz the Great and Powerful. She has been teaching at several schools and workshops. Currently, she resides in Vancouver, Canada and teaches character animation at VanArts. In this Episode, In-Ah and Allan discuss subjects like working overtime, tips for a successful reel and how -- and when -- to negotiate a salary raise. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/112/.

For many of us, we want to make massive changes. We want the success we see others have. But it's hard to connect the dots that what works for others, could work for us. Or that in a creative industries such as Visual Effects, Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, or even the tools others use might even apply. This series of Podcasts -- and the accompanying Guide -- is your path to setting yourself up for big changes NOW and making massive impact in your career, life -- and getting you on track for getting the success that you want! Download the videos, exercises, and video tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/. Trust in the system, do the work, double down on the results that work for you and most importantly START NOW -- not tomorrow! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/111/.

For many of us, we want to make massive changes. We want the success we see others have. But it's hard to connect the dots that what works for others, could work for us. Or that in a creative industries such as Visual Effects, Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, or even the tools others use might even apply. This series of Podcasts -- and the accompanying Guide -- is your path to setting yourself up for big changes NOW and making massive impact in your career, life -- and getting you on track for getting the success that you want! Download the videos, exercises, and video tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/. Trust in the system, do the work, double down on the results that work for you and most importantly START NOW -- not tomorrow! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/110/.

Philip Trott has been recognized as a leading expert in both personal and business immigration. He has been listed in the Citywealth Leaders List 2017 as a leading immigration lawyer. He is a parter at Bates Wells & Braithwaite Law Firm in London, U.K. Philip heads a team of seven lawyers that provides specialist immigration advice to commercial, charity and individual clients. He is also a member of the Law Society Brexit task force involved in the making representations to the government. In this Episode, Philip explains the types of U.K. Visitor visas and the evidence required to support each type of application. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/109/.

For many of us, we want to make massive changes. We want the success we see others have. But it's hard to connect the dots that what works for others, could work for us. Or that in a creative industries such as Visual Effects, Games, Design or TV -- that the money, lifestyle, or even the tools others use might even apply. This series of Podcasts -- and the accompanying Guide -- is your path to setting yourself up for big changes NOW and making massive impact in your career, life -- and getting you on track for getting the success that you want! Download the videos, exercises, and video tutorials as well as other resources INSTANTLY by going to www.allanmckay.com/bestyearyet/. Trust in the system, do the work, double down on the results that work for you and most importantly START NOW -- not tomorrow! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/108/.

Dave Walvoord is a VFX Supervisor at DreamWorks who has worked on films like How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Shark Tale, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. He was the Head of Lighting for the Academy-nominated film Kung Fu Panda 2. After receiving a Masters degree in Visualization Science from Texas A & M University, Dave Dave joined Blue Sky Studios where he worked on projects like Fight Club and Star Trek: Insurrection. He served as a Supervising TD on Ice Age and as a Digital Effects Sup for the Academy Award winning short film Bunny. In this Episode, Dave talks about the lessons he's learned throughout his career as a VFX Sup and the advice he would give to any up-and-coming artist. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/107/.

Redshift is the world's first fully GPU-accelerated biased renderer. It is built to meet the specific demands of contemporary high-end production rendering. It provides the most features and flexibility among all GPU renderers. In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks with Nicolas Burtnyk, Co-Founder and CEO, as well as Rob Slater, Co-Founder and VP of Engineering. They discuss the benefits of GPU vs CPU rendering, the software Redshift currently supports and the renderer's future direction. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/106/.

Ruben Mayor is a Senior FX TD at Weta Digital. Over the course of his career, he has traveled the world while working for giant studios like Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Mill, Mr. X. Ruben has worked on high profile films like Avengers: Infinity War, War for the Planet of the Apes, Dr. Who, Resident Evil, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and many more. Ruben began his career in 2011 when he worked for nWave Digital Studios in Belgium. Before he discovered his passion for visual effects, he was an engineer for BMW. In this Podcast, Ruben Mayor talks about the lessons he's learned throughout his career: to always learn and improve your skills; to work hard and to take risks! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/105/

Victor Navone is a Supervising Animator at Pixar Animation Studios. Since 2000, he has worked on such high budget animated features as Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars 2 & 3, WALL-E, Brave, Inside Out and many more. After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, Victor began working as a 3D artist at Presto Studios, a video game company. He continued to study 3D character animation in his spare time. In 1999, Victor's first animated short Alien Song, which was a result of some animation and lip sync tests, went viral. When it caught the attention of Edwin Catmull, the President of Pixar Animation Studios, Victor was invited for an interview. He joined the company in 2000. For his work on WALL-E, Victor has won an award from the Visual Effects Society. He has taught at Animation Mentor and Animation Collaborative. In this Episode, Victor talks about his career -- with its victories and detours -- tools of a successful artist and insider tips for a demo reel that's guaranteed to get you noticed! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/104/

Having the hunger, the passion -- the fire under your butt -- is a driving force that's essential for success! In this Episode, Allan McKay talks about change as the catalyst for new levels of growth in your career, artistry and finances; as well as how to welcome and create change -- while making sure you have a failsafe environment for success. After listening to this Episode, you will learn to: - Identify the way you measure progress. - Make sure you aren't overwhelmed by grandiose goals. - Eliminate excess. - Force yourself to have massive changes. - Create new environments and friendships. - Grow and achieve new levels of success! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/103/

Bay Raitt is a designer, sculptor, character lead, animator, animation director and graphic novel creator. He was one of the first 30 employees hired at Weta Digital. As a Creature Facial Lead, he was responsible for building the facial system for Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. In 2003, Bay received a VES Award for Best Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture, for his work on Gollum. Bay began his career working for Steve Oliff doing color separations for Image Comics. He has also worked for Protozoa, Nichimen Graphics, Weta Workshop and Valve Corporation. His current project is Nanite Fulcrum, a first of its kind, fully immersive Virtual Reality comic, based on the screenplay by Bay. In this Episode, Allan McKay and Bay Raitt discuss the history of CG animation, its future platforms (including VR) -- and how to get your dream job! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/102/

Ben Snow is a Senior VFX Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic. Since joining ILM in 1994, he has worked on such influential films as Twister, The Mummy, Pearl Harbor, Star Wars, Iron Man, Avengers and many more. He has also worked a VFX Supervisor on King Kong, at Weta. Ben recently finished working on Darren Aronofsky's film mother! which is his second collaboration with the director since feature film Noah. Born in Australia, Ben studied computing and film at the University of Canberra. His first job was at a graphics company in London, U.K. He later helped set up a computer animation department for Conja, a company in Sydney, Australia. There, he worked on a title sequence for the television series Beyond 2000. Currently, Ben is collaborating on a virtual reality Star Wars experience called Secrets of the Empire. Throughout his career at ILM, he has been honored with four Academy Award nominations, VES and BAFTA nominations for Achievement in Visual Effects. In this Podcast, Allan McKay and Ben Snow talk about his career at ILM, the development of the VFX industry -- including virtual reality -- and the best tools that get you hired! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/101/

Allan McKay is an Emmy-award winning VFX Supervisor and Technical Director. Over the course of his career, which spans over almost two decades, he's worked on films like Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Superman, Flight, Star Trek: Into Darkness, The Equalizer and so many more! He's also created effects for video games like Halo, Call of Duty, Half-Life, Bioshock, as well as multiple commercials. Fred Ruff is the founder of Refuge FX, a Portland based visual effects studio responsible for projects like Grimm, Last Knight. He has over two decades of experience in computer graphics, visual effects and software development. He's worked as a Lead Product Designer at Autodesk. He currently serves on the advisory board for Turbosquid, the world's leading 3D model marketplace. Fred launched Refuge FX in 2013. In this Podcast, Fred Ruff interviews Allan McKay about his career -- from starting as a generalist to becoming a studio owner and VFX Supervisor -- as well as the importance of branding and treating yourself as a one-person studio. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/100/

Christina Burton is a graphic designer and vehicle wrap artist. Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, she began drawing at a very early age, developing an understanding of color and an interest in portraiture. After graduating high school, she pursued a variety of professions but she always returned to her main passion: art. She began pursuing art as a career a few years ago when she launched an Etsy shop that sold her original paintings. After trying her hand at tattoo designs and airbrushing of motorcycle tanks, she found herself learning about vehicle wraps. Currently, Christina custom designs wraps for exotic cars like Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris. In this interview, Allan McKay and Christina Burton talk about her journey as an artist: from recognizing negative influences and personal resistance -- to learning how to negotiate, build a brand and become a successful business. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/99/.

Nicolas Prothais is a Senior CG Animator who has worked for studios like Disney, Double Negative, Illumination Mac Guff and Ilion. Self taught, he began his career as a generalist and learned most aspects of the pipeline. He later switched his focus to 3D and 2D animation. The list of Nicolas' projects includes features like Moana, Despicable Me, Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia, Frozen and many more. In this Episode, Allan McKay and Nicolas Prothais talk about working abroad, the discipline for bettering your skills and learning to balance between the director's vision and your own talent. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/98/.

Nerdstrong Gym, located in North Hollywood, CA, combines physical fitness with passion for games, movies and storytelling. To attract its membership, Nerdstrong's Founder Andrew Deutsch created an environment with a nerdy theme and gamified fun. Starting out with Dungeons and Dragons inspired workouts for a friend, in his own garage, Andrew established a strong following and opened the doors to Nerdstrong in 2013. All the classes are group workouts based on a favorite film, game or franchise. "Our nerdiness / geekiness comes from the heart of the gym: its members." Andrew says. "We are nerds. We are geeks. We love scifi, comics, math, science, cosplay, books, movies, TV, pop-culture, RPGs, computers, video games, board games." Some of the workout themes and challenges are inspired by Harry Potter, Space Invaders, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, Star Trek, War Craft, Wonder Woman, Dungeons and Dragons. In this Episode, Allan McKay and Andrew Deutsch talk about the original inspiration for Nerdstrong Gym, some of its unique workout themes and its outstanding philosophy. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/97/.

Niels Prayer is a Motion Graphics Designer and a Director based in Paris, France. He has worked on films like RoboCop while at Framestore and the Minions films at Illumination Mac Guff, a Paris-based studio. Niels is also a musician and a composer which has influenced his storytelling as well. In this Episode, Allan McKay and Niels Prayer discuss the importance of daily discipline and the artists' responsibility as storytellers. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/96/.

Nathan Fowkes is a Concept Artist whose film credits include How to Train Your Dragon, The Legend of Puss in Boots, The Prince of Egypt and many more. He has worked for numerous studios including DreamWorks, Paramount Feature Animation, Blue Sky, Disney, Blizzard Entertainment, Riot Games, Ubisoft and Rovio. In addition, Nathan is a teacher of color, light and design. He currently teaches at the LA Academy of Figurative Art, the Art Center College of Design, as well as online at Schoolism.com. In this interview, Nathan talks to Allan McKay about the history of CG animated movies, his dedication to both digital and live painting and the importance of communication in art. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/95/.

David Allen is a bestselling author of Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, the first edition of which was published in 2001. David is also a management consultant and a productivity expert. In addition to founding his multimillion dollar company based on the GTD methodology, he has founded Actioneer, a 1994 start-up specializing in productivity tools. In this Episode, Allan McKay and David Allen discuss the four steps to productivity according to the GTD System, and the tips for freeing up space -- for more creativity. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/94/.

Nikolai Lockertsen, a Norwegian Concept Artist, Matte Painter, Illustrator and Art Director, has worked on more than 30 features films, as well as many commercial and television projects. Some of his films include Trollhunter and Kon-Tiki. He has previously worked at studios like Gimpville, Filmkameratene and Storm Studios. Nikolai is also a pioneer in iPad art: He does all of his artwork -- including concept designs for feature films -- on an iPad Pro using a painting app called Procreate. He posts his tutorials on www.artstudyonline.com. In this Episode, Allan interviews Nikolai about the evolution of his career, paying dues as an artist, and how technology can revolutionize one's approach to art. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/93/.

Freddie Wong is a Director, CEO and a Co-Founder of RocketJump Studios, a YouTube channel that has gained nearly 8 million subscribers since its inception in April 2010. Named as one of Hollywood's brightest stars by Forbes magazine, Freddie is the most subscribed video director on YouTube. The channel's flagship series Video Game High School now has over 50 million views. In 2013, the series was named the #1 Web Series by Variety magazine. Freddie has also successfully launched RocketJump Film School whose mission is to give a new generation of filmmakers the tools to share their stories. In this interview, Freddie Wong talks about the history of RocketJump, the inception of Video Game High School, and shares his insight on great storytelling, low budgets and the most useful technology. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/92/.

Image Engine is a high-end visual effects studio based in Vancouver, BC, that specializes in creature design and animation for feature films and television. Founded in 1995, the studio has worked on films like District 9 and Chappie, Independence Day: Resurgence and Jurassic World; shows like X-Files and Game of Thrones (Seasons 5 and 6); and much more. In 2010, the company was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, for their work on District 9. In this Episode, Allan McKay moderates a round table with the Creature Supervisors at Image Engine. They discuss the company's history, work flow and pipeline; and their commitment to furthering the art of visual storytelling. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/91/.

Patty Rangel is a Virtual and Mixed Reality artist, as well as a leader in hologram technology. An MFA graduate of CalArts, she has attended the GSP Program in Exponential Technologies at NASA's Singularity University. She is also a featured Technologist / Futurist of the USC World Building Institute FRONTERA project. Some of Patty's previous projects include: the Centennial Olympic Games, the Vancouver Olympic Games, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the Tupak Hologram at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Most recently, Patty has joined the Arena Stage in Washington, DC as the Artist in Residence. In this Episode, Allan and Patty discuss the history of holographic technology, VR, MR, AI and other exponential technologies; as well as their application, multi-disciplinary usage and ethics. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/90/.

Scott Stokdyk is an Academy Award winning Visual Effects Supervisor. During his two decades of experience in visual effects, he has worked for big studios like Digital Domain and Sony Pictures ImageWorks. Some of the groundbreaking films on his resume are: Titanic, Contact, Starship Troopers, Hollow Man, Fifth Element and three of the Spider-Man movies. Scott's work on Spider-Man 2 won him and his team an Academy Award for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. Most recently, Scott worked as a Visual Effect Supervisor on Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. In this Episode, Allan interviews Scott about his experience working for big studios, on blockbuster films; what makes a successful artist or a dynamic VFX Supervisor -- and other lessons he's learned along the way! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/89/.

In this Podcast, Allan McKay speaks to a live audience about his experience of starting out in visual effect -- and becoming a successful business! While answering his listeners' questions, Allan shares some badass tips on: - Time management and productivity hacks. - Breaking into the business. - Secrets to a kickass reel. - Networking, branding, marketing -- and other tools for becoming a successful business! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/88/.

Main Road Post is a visual effects production studio based in Moscow, Russia, since 2006. The studio has produced visual effects for many international films, including Wanted, Stalingrad, The Night Guard, Attraction. It has also worked on the Opening Ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. A year ago, the company implemented Scrum, a team-based workflow that a lot of Silicon Valley companies use. In this Episode, Allan McKay talks with the CEO of Main Road Post Arman Yahin about the company's history and films; as well as their philosophy on project and team management. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/87/.

In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Laura Vanderkam, the bestselling author of What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast, I Know How She Does It, 168 Hours and several others. A graduate of Princeton University, she worked as a journalist before becoming interested in the subject of productivity. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and many other publications. Allan and Laura discuss the subjects of time management, productivity, working from home; and tools for making your lifestyle more fulfilling -- and your work more efficient. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/86/.

In this Episode, Allan McKay interviews Philippe Leprince, Senior Field Engineer at Pixar Animation Studios. He currently works as an Engineer on the RenderMan Software. Philippe has a Lighting and CG background and has worked at Framestore and Double Negative, and many other big studios. Among his many credits are feature films like Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Framestore); The Dark Knight and Inception (Double Negative). Allan and Philippe discuss the benefits of being a well-rounded artist, the importance of small details, tips for having a successful job interview and much more! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/85/.

Dennis Mejillones is a Senior Character Artist at Bethesda Game Studios. He is responsible for creating models for characters like Sole Survivor, Preston Garvey and most all the robots in Fallout 4. During the course of his career, he has also worked on Skyrim, Call of Duty: The First Modern Warfare, Borderlands, Shadows of Darkness. Independently, he created the characters of Undead Warrior and Sentry Bot. In this Podcast, Allan and Dennis talk about mentors, the best mindset and skills for growing as an artist, the importance of fitness and much more! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/84.

In this Episode, Allan McKay interviews Catherine Sas, an Immigration Lawyer at Sas & Ing Immigration Law Center in Vancouver, BC, Canada. She is the leading immigration practitioner according to Lexpert, Who's Who Legal and Best Lawyers in Canada. Catherine has been voted Vancouver's Best Immigration Lawyer every year from 2012 through 2016. In this Episode, Allan and Catherine discuss the procedures of applying for Canadian Work Permits, Study Permits, Visas, Permanent Residency; as well as the best route to pursue work in Vancouver, the current capital for visual effects. For more show notes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/83/

Edwin Braun is the CEO and co-founder of Cebas Visual Technology, the developer of Thinking Particles for 3DS Max, as well as other plugins. Cebas' software has been used in a number of influential films such as Lost in Space, 2012, Transformers: Age of Extinction, Harry Potter. In this Episode, Allan McKay talks with Edwin Braun about his co-founding the company with Achim Smailus in 1988, in Heidelberg, Germany; and the journey of Thinking Particles through the decades of change and the new demands of the VFX industry. Check out the show notes at www.allanmckay.com/82/

In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Wirginia Romanowska, a VFX Lead for id Software. Wirginia's extensive experience as FX lead at id software on Doom, as well as working on many other major titles around the world. Wirginia shares many insights into her experience. After graduating with a Masters Degree in Engineering from a university in her native Poland, Wirginia's first job was working on the title sequence for Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, at Eurocom in the U.K. She then moved to Singapore to work on Assassin's Creed 3, at Ubisoft. Since joining the team at id Software she has worked on games like Doom, Far Cry 4, Watch Dogs. In this Episode, Wirginia talks about her decade-long experience in visual effects, working abroad; and shares insider tips on successful demo reels and job interviews. for show notes, visit http://www.allanmckay.com/81/

So one subject commonly coming up is all about hardware! Inside of the FX TD Mentorship, Troy Buckley who's part of my team, helps out a lot of people building hardware specs and figuring out what hardware they should buy depending on if they need generalist work done, or simuatlions etc. So you have the ultimate bang for your buck. Troy's originally a student of mine IN the FXTD Mentorship, but he's shown so much passion and care, and shared so much knowledge in there (like a lot of people) that bit by bit he's organically evolved into being someone I work with closely on a lot of ideas for extra things we can do inside of the course etc. and Helps me out a lot. This episode dives into everything you need to know about hardware. Missed something? Got something to add? Leave a comment Show notes are at http://www.allanmckay.com/80/

This episode dives right into a subject that we all are probably guilty of not applying. Eyes glazed over during book consumption, clicking away on Facebook while watching tutorials, or playing around on our phone during lectures. How do you watch, read, listen to information and absorb it, retain it, and apply it? This episode is focused on a lot of core fundamentals Allan applies to his learning, as well as many well documented and proven approaches to keeping your core knowledge. http://www.allanmckay.com/79/ for show notes

Jeff Okun is a Visual Effects Supervisor who has worked on wide-ranging effects in award winning films such as Blood Diamond, Stargate, Sphere, Red Planet, Deep Blue Sea, The Last Starfighter, and many more. His career spans for nearly four decades. In addition, Jeff is Chair of the Visual Effects Society, a global community of visual effects artists and businesses. Jeff was fundamental in starting the VES 2.0 initiative which brought together studios, facilities and artists to explore new business models, pipelines and technologies. Jeff has also created and co-edited the VES Handbook of Visual Effects, a 980-page reference book covering all aspects of creating visual effects, techniques and practices. for show notes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/78/

Episode 77 - Interview with Action VFX NOTES For complete show notes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/77/ ActionVFX (www.actionvfx.com) is a website that provides stock footage for visual effects, from smoke plumes to fire, from sparks to explosions. Before the company was launched in 2016, its CEO Rodolphe Pierre-Louis, along with Joe Camarata (Marketing Manager) and Luke Thompson (Operations Manager) conducted an extensive survey among visual effects artists, which determined the type of files the site would contain, and its content. After only a year, ActionVFX's footage has been used in television shows like Flash, Fear of the Walking Dead, Legends of Tomorrow, How to Get Away with Murder, Narcos, Series of Unfortunate Events; as well as in video games, music videos and the live Lady Gaga performance at this year's Grammys. In this Episode, Allan McKay interviews Rodolphe, Joe and Luke about the beginnings of ActionVFX, the challenges of starting a company, the strategies of fundraising and branding; as well as the experience of shooting actual pyrotechnics for their website. Hi, everyone! This is Allan McKay. Welcome to Episode 77. I'm speaking with the guys from ActionVFX (https://www.actionvfx.com). Talking about shooting live action, pyrotechnics, lots of cool stuff. So, let's dive in! [-57:00] Hey! This is Allan. Just a quick thing to check out: www.vfxrates.com. This is a website that I created to solve a massive problem that we all have: What should we be charging? This is the giant mystery that we all have and most people feel very uncomfortable talking about is what we should charge as a freelance rate. And the worst part is when we go apply for a job, if we ask for too much, we risk alienating the employer and never getting that call back. Whereas we play it safe and ask too little, we not only get taken advantage of, but on top of that, we leave a lot of money on the table, which potentially over a span of a year, can add up to 10's of thousands of dollars. [-56:23] So this is chance for you to go to the website www.vfxrates.com. Put in bits of information, like your city, your experience, your discipline, software, little things that are important to figuring out what you should be charging as your base rate when you're talking to an employer. This is based on a lot of research, but more importantly, it's based on the braintrust of the industry experts from different fields that we've pulled together to collect a very accurate way to generate what you should be charging. [-55:51] The best part is not just what you should be charging -- but what you could be charging by tweaking a few things: how you present yourself building a brand learning to negotiate better. Also, there are factors like: building an irresistible reel learning to approach employers the correct way learning how to network. I want to share all of this information for free! Go to www.vfxrates.com -- and find out what you should be charging for your hourly VFX rate. [-55:22] This is going to be a really fun Episode. I'm speaking with guys from ActionVFX. They have the coolest job in the world: shooting a lot of pyrotechnics and stock footage for use in visual effects. There is a huge difference between simulating stuff and actually doing it in real life! They actually do that for a living. [-54:46] So I'm speaking with Rodolphe Pierre-Louis (Founder and CEO), as well as Joe Camarata (Marketing Manager) and Luke Thompson (Operations Manager). This is a fun Episode, talking about how you wake up one morning and decide to go shoot explosions all day long. At the same time, we speak about a lot of cool behind-the-scenes stuff. [-54:11] Some other stuff. Yesterday was my birthday. Next week, we're going to be opening the doors to the FXTD Mentorship. This is the first time I'm mentioning it. It's been a year and half since the last registration. I'm revamping a lot of the stuff, technology, software. (We have some cool software deals for the students!) [-53:22] It's going to be a little different in terms of registration. When you apply, it doesn't mean you're going to get in. We'll be reviewing your applications. There are limited spots. I want to make sure that this Mentorship is right for everybody. Only a select amount of people will make it in. I'm excited to try this out! All the students who make it through the Mentorship, they're the ones who have the biggest results. [-52:11] If you do want to check that out, there will be a link in the show notes. Go to www.allanmckay.com/77. Otherwise, if you want to get on the inside circle and want to get alerted early, go to www.allanmckay.com/inside. [-51:26] Also, the ActionVFX guys are doing a pretty big promotion this month: You'll be able to get 50% off all their products. So go to www.allanmckay.com/77 to get more information. [-51:11] Allan: How would you describe ActionVFX? Rodolphe: Basically, ActionVFX is the stock footage site for visual effects artists. The main vision tha

Andrew L. Schmidt is a Director of Trollhunter (DreamWorks Animation). With a 20-year experience in the industry, he has a long list of credits to his name: The Iron Giant, Monsters, Inc; Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and many more. Andrew has worked at studios like Amblimation, DreamWorks, Warner Brothers and Pixar. Guillermo del Toro's Trollhunters is his first directing credit. For complete show notes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/76/ Andrew L. Schmidt on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2112570/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 Trollhunters on IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1734135/ Andrew's talk at IAMAG Master Class: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/iamagmasterclasses17/ Andrew Schmidt quoted in the New Yorker's article The Fun House: Life at Pixar: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/05/16/the-fun-factory Episode 76 - Interview with Andrew L. Schmidt NOTES [-1:21:11] Hey! This is Allan. Just a quick thing to check out: www.vfxrates.com. This is a website that I created to solve a massive problem that we all have: What should we be charging? This is the giant mystery that we all have and most people feel very uncomfortable talking about is what we should charge as a freelance rate. And the worst part is when we go apply for a job and if we ask for too much, we risk alienating the employer and never getting that call back. Whereas we play it safe and ask too little, we not only get taken advantage of, but on top of that, we leave a lot of money on the table, which potentially over a span of a few years, can add up to 10's of thousands of dollars. [-1:20:32] So this is chance for you to go to the website www.vfxrates.com. Put in bits of information, like your city, your experience, your discipline, software, little things that are important, to figuring out what you should be charging as your base rate when you're talking to an employer. This is based on a lot of experience, but more importantly, it's based on the braintrust of the industry experts from different fields that we've pulled together to collect a very accurate way to generate what you should be charging. [-1:20:00] The best part is not just what you should be charging -- but what you could be charging by tweaking a few things: how you present yourself, building a brand, learning to negotiate better. Also, there are factors like building an irresistible reel, learning to approach employers the correct way; learning how to network. I want to share all of this information for free! Go to www.vfxrates.com -- and find out what you should be charging for your hourly VFX rate. [-1:19:31] Alright, welcome to a brand new Episode. It is with Andrew Schmidt who is a good buddy of mine. I've known him for three years. We met at the very first IAMAG Master Class in Paris. Andrew is a super great guy. I was really excited to do this because Andrew has a vast amount of experience within the industry at DreamWorks, [also at] Pixar for quite some years. Before that he worked on projects like one of my favorite movies The Iron Giant, Prince of Egypt. What I've loved is that each year that I've attended the IAMAG Master Class, Andrew's talks have been some of my favorite because they have so much more substance. Usually, they take you on a bit of a journey through his career, his insights, but more importantly, a lot of the life lessons he's learned on his journey. I thought it would be really great to talk to him because not only is he able to talk about his humble beginnings and how he got started but also about some of the transitions he's experienced recently. [-1:18:03] In case I haven't mentioned it yet, he is one of the directors of Guillermo del Toro's Trollhunters for DreamWorks Animation. He's also worked on some of the amazing classics that we all love like The Incredibles, Finding Nemo; Monsters, Inc.,; Up and on, and on, and on. We also talked about Family Guy because he contributed to its Season 1. We talk about a lot of stuff. I knew this would be a killer! [-1:17:29] One thing that I will mention is that the audio quality on this Episode isn't the greatest, and I apologize for that. However, what I recommend to you is to not focus of the level of quality of the audio -- but focus on the level of quality of the content! I always take pride in having great quality to my Episodes. [-1:16:53] If you enjoy this talk, I believe you can get Andrew's IAMAG Master Class talk. I'll leave a link if you want to access that. I think it's $10. And of course, in the show notes, you can find more information about him: www.allanmckay.com/76. [-1:16:31] Allan: Do you want to give a bit of a background, how you found your passion for animation? Andrew: Yeah. I am not one of those people who watched cartoons thinking that's what I want to do. I never studied it in school. My interest was in film and adventures: Frankenstein, Dracula. I wanted to get into visual effects. And that lead to a small college in Michigan. I didn't do well academically in the beginning. A

On this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Jason Scheier, a Conceptual Illustrator who has worked with a number of studios including DreamWorks Animation, Warner Brothers Feature Animation and Walt Disney Imagineering. His projects include Kung Fu Panda, Rise of the Guardians, The Croods, Battlefield 4 and many others. A graduate of CalState, Fullerton, Jason has also studied media arts and animation at the Art Institute of California and entertainment design at the Art Center College of Design. He brings his strong instincts for design, composition, color, and lighting and his experience in cinematography to his passion for virtual environment creation. He has also taught at the Art Center College of Design, Brainstorm School, Concept Design Academy, Laguna College of Art and Design, and Computer Graphics Masters Academy. For full show notes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/75/

In this Episode, Allan McKay interviews Joaquin Baldwin, a CG Layout Supervisor for the Walt Disney Animation Studios, as well as a photographer and animator (www.joaquinbaldwin.com/). Joaquin has been working for Disney since 2010 where he's been a part of films like Zootopia, Moana, Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph and many more. Joaquin's short animated short films Sebastian's Voodoo and Papiroflexia have earned him over 100 awards in festivals such as Cannes, Student Academy Awards, USA Film Festival, Cinanima. Joaquin holds a Masters in Animation from UCLA. Complete shownotes can be found at http://www.allanmckay.com/74/

Pixologic are the developers of Emmy award winning Z-Brush, the industry standard for sculpting and surfacing in 3D. Throughout this episode Allan talks with Paul Gaboury and Sol Blair about some recent announcements from Pixologic, as well as much of the in-depth history of Z-Brush and the CG industry. Loads of great insights and core knowledge shared, as well as lots of great laughs! For in-depth notes check out http://www.allanmckay.com/73/

Allan McKay interviews Mike Blum, an Emmy-nominated director who has won awards as a director, writer and producer. Prior to opening his boutique animation studio Pipsqueak Films, Mike worked as an executive and a supervisor at Walt Disney Feature Animation for over a decade. His Disney animation credits include Chicken Little, Lilo & Stitch, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and many more. Mike's current studio Pipsqueak Films has completed animation projects for clients like Comedy Central, Netflix, DreamWorks TV, MTV and others. Mike is currently in development on his original series Enko the Eskimo which he sold to Cartoon Network. At the same time, he is directing and Executive Producing the animated series Super Slackers with David Silverman (The Simpsons). He also runs a live-action production company, Blumayan Films and as well as Our Next 4 Years, a volunteer organization staffed by over 250 animation professionals that create animated PSA's countering the regressive policies of the current administration. In this Episode, Allan and Mike talk about artistic paths, pitfalls and challenges in the industry, as well as what it takes to be a successful artist. Mike Blum's IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0089692/ Pipsqueak Films: http://www.pipsqueakfilms.com Our Next 4 Years: www.ournext4years.org Check out the full show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/72/

Some of us make the mistake of thinking we can just 'go it alone' and not need guidance from others. This episode we break down the importance of mentors, but also how to find them. In addition, going beyond this and starting to target mentors in many parts of our life and career, building a braintrust to help as stay motivated, and give key advice, as well as help us see when we're F!@#'ing up and maybe don't even know it.. Check out the in-depth show notes @ http://www.allanmckay.com/71/ Also check out the December Live Action FX challenge at www.allanmckay.com/challenge/

Episode 70 - Ash Thorp Interview Allan McKay interviews Ash Thorp, a graphic designer, illustrator, artist, and creative director for a multitude of media, including feature films, commercial enterprises, and print. Ash has worked on graphics for Ender's Game and Total Recall, as well as contributed to the design concepts for Spectre, Prometheus, X-Men First Class, Call of Duty and others. His first directorial debut started with the assembly of an international team for his Ghost in the Shell tribute, as well as the main title for OFFF Barcelona 2014. In 2015, he was requested to assemble an international team of designers and create the title sequence for FITC Tokyo. Later that year, Ash co-directed "Ares -- Our Greatest Adventure", a promotional trailer for the feature film The Martian. Alongside with co-director Anthony Scott Burns, Ash created a concept short film Lost Boy, based on Ash's graphic drawings. In this podcast, Ash and Allan about the entire process -- from pre- to post-production -- "step by step, frame by frame". Show Notes: Visit http://www.allanmckay.com/70/ Links: Lost Boy: https://vimeo.com/188650521 Ash Thorp's Website: http://ashthorp.com/info Ash Thorp's IMDb Page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4500808/ Ash Thorp's Company Learn Squared, Inc.: https://www.learnsquared.com/ [-1:40:29] Allan: The origins of Lost Boy. It's been a long journey. Do you want to talk about how it actually began? Ash: It started about 3 years ago. ImagineFX Magazine reached out to me to do a piece in their magazine. I was flattered. It was reassuring that I was on the right course. I asked them what I should draw. The theme was superheroes. I wanted to do my own Punisher but my wife advised me to do my own idea. She is always pushing me. [-1:39:01] I created the name Lost Boy because there were only so few windows on the sign inside the drawing [for the length of the title]. I didn't attach a story at that time. [-1:38:21] I like to work organically and use the muse and the inspiration from the things that I love. I'll binge on all kinds of things -- comics, novels -- until my own thing comes out, and then I twist it. [-1:37:38] My career was becoming more successful by that time. I loved helping other people with their projects, but I felt that I was missing out on what I really wanted to do: which is make my own stuff. So I decided to make my own thing. [-1:37:10] I started drawing every night. I shared those drawings with [my friend] Anthony Scott Burns [who is a director and visual effects artist]. He thought it was awesome, so we started forming a narrative. It went crazy from there. [-1:34:34] Anthony suggested we make our own comic book. [-1:34:21] Then I started developing another film called Spiral. I was having my own artistic Renaissance. Then Mischa Rozema and Jules Tervoort (from PostPanic Pictures, in Amsterdam) reached out to me to help them with the title sequence for their short film Sundays. They asked if I was developing anything at that time. I said I was. [-1:33:20] They asked me to put something together and pitch it to them. Anthony and I put together a pitch packet for Lost Boy. Mischa and Jules basically signed the dotted line right there and became our partners. [-1:32:15] Allan: As artists, we're always intrigued about how people work, what kind of pitfalls they fall into. Ash: I'll do my best to paint an honest picture. [-1:31:37] We had to get the legal involved. I'm very keen on keeping the rights to the IP (Intellectual Property). Amsterdam has a different legal ramifications, and this is an American property. We needed to make sure we spoke the same language. Anthony and I own the rights and are co-creators of Lost Boy together. [-1:31:01] For me, it's important for us to retain the creative on everything! Not that anybody would have bad intentions. Even Anthony and I have a contract together. [-1:29:50] Allan: I agree, it's such a critical thing. No one thinks of the legal stuff until shit hits the fan. The more prepared you are in the beginning (even when you're an artists and you don't want to think about the business stuff), the better. I've seen so many friendships go to shit. You partner up but if you don't have that comfortable conversation in the beginning, that means there are no bounds set. By having those discussions and setting the responsibilities between you, you'll be very clear and feel good moving forward. [-1:27:49] Ash: I grew up studying George Lucas and all those guys. When you make your own world, you have to share it. But those boundaries are really important. It was very important that Anthony and I retained the artistic rights. PostPanic was going to produce and help facilitate all the things that are needed (and they did an amazing job!) and Anthony and I would work to get the film to the level it needed to be. [-1:26:05] "If I can give any advice to anyone that's listening, make sure that you have a lawyer or someone who understands contracts and you

Andre Cantarel is a LA based CG Supervisor originally from Germany, he's worked on films such as 2012, Whitehouse Down, Independence Day Resurgence and dozens of others. He has a ridiculous attention to detail in his work, and it shows on everything he touches. This episode discusses everything from Andre's work history, to behind the scenes on many of the projects he's worked on, his early career as well as personal projects and health. In general this episode has been a great insight into what's involved to pull off some of the biggest visual effect film projects. Check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/69/

This episode dives deep into the topic of pricing and going after what you're worth. This is actually a snippet of a live webinar with the FX TD Mentorship which we touched briefly on the subject of pricing. This conversation started as a question proposed "How much money could I expect to make in Los Angeles?" and grew into a much bigger topic about pricing and getting what you're worth. This episode was not intentionally made for release to the public and covers a lot of subjects no holds barred. Check it out and share this around with those who you think will benefit from this episode! Check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/68/ Don't forget to also sign up for the live career intensive December 7th! Where we will hold a live webinar and go over many core subjects as well as talk live with Allan McKay about many career related material that will push our careers into overdrive as we prepare for 2017!