Inspired by scary movies to pursue a career in the film industry, Molly Pabian has worked her way up to head of studio at VFX company Crafty Apes. Along the way, she’s worked on over 100 movies and TV shows, including Avatar, Real Steel, Star Trek: Picard, The Last of Us, 1923, John Wick: Chapter 4, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Molly talks about her roles and responsibilities as she’s risen up the ranks. She also discusses the differences between working at big and small companies ...
Apr 03, 2023•59 min•Ep. 420
Almost every major recent and upcoming film and TV series has had THE THIRD FLOOR involved in the visualization stage — and beyond. Recent productions include Avatar: The Way of Water , Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania , and The Mandalorian season 3. This week, Co-founder and CEO of THE THIRD FLOOR, Chris Edwards, reflects on his 20-plus years of experience in the VFX industry. He also discusses how crucial visualization has become in the movie-making process and reveals how his colleagues Case...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 419
Philipp Wolf has always had a passion for storytelling. He began his career in journalism, then helped shape stories for the reality TV show Big Brother before moving into visual effects production on movies and TV series, including Game of Thrones, Ghost in the Shell, and The Predator. Today, Philipp works at DNEG in Montreal, where his credits include Dune, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Altered Carbon, and The Battle at Lake Changjin. As well as discussing his incredible career, Philipp d...
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 418
The Martini Giant is back! It’s been almost five years since Chris and fellow VFX artists and frequent CG Garage guests Daniel Thron and Erick Schiele created the Martini Giant podcast to indulge in their love of all things cinematic and argue about Star Wars. This week, Dan and Erick return to their roots and talk about what they’ve been up to since they last visited the CG Garage. Which turns out to be a lot of stuff! Dan is back in the videogames industry, while Erick is using AI to help real...
Mar 13, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 417
James Blevins has been involved in pretty much every step of the filmmaking process, from driving vehicles to virtual production. Films he’s contributed to include Waterworld, Armageddon, Pleasantville, and, most impressive of all, Space Jam. He’s also worked at some of Hollywood’s biggest studios, including Disney, Netflix, Amazon, and LucasFilm for virtual production on The Mandalorian. In this podcast, James delves into some funny stories from behind the scenes of movies, including Crimson Ti...
Mar 06, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 416
Andrew Schmied has established himself as an authority on all things related to computer graphics. He’s helped companies, including Samsung, Apple, and Microsoft, explore technology and drive innovation. He’s also a counselor and AI special interest group leader for the RealTime Society, which hosts a community and conference dedicated to the future of CG. In this conversation with Chris, Andrew shares his expertise on artificial intelligence, which is dramatically changing the world of computer...
Feb 27, 2023•56 min•Ep. 415
Becoming VFX supervisor on HBO’s The Last of Us has fulfilled a lifelong dream for movie and game fan Alex Wang. In this podcast, Alex tells Chris about his journey to this hugely prestigious position via his work on movies including The Day After Tomorrow, Sin City, Tron: Legacy, Deadpool, Fast & Furious 8, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Dominion, and Terminator: Dark Fate. Alex also shares some of the key lessons he’s learned throughout his career, including whether it’s better to work...
Feb 21, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 414
Much has changed since Mike Seymour last guested on the CG Garage podcast almost six years ago. Not only has the VFX sage and digital humans expert become Dr. Mike, thanks to his doctorate from the University of Sydney, but the entire industry is facing a seismic shift thanks to neural networks and artificial intelligence. Or is it? In this podcast, Chris and Mike consider the idea that the latest changes in VFX, art, and technology could just be the next step in a continuous evolutionary proces...
Feb 13, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 413
Jonathan Egstad knows Nuke like few others. He started working with the compositing software at Digital Domain, where he developed a 3D subsystem and bagged an Academy Award, before moving to the pioneering animation studio Image Movers. Subsequently, he joined Dreamworks Animation (formerly PDI) to help integrate Nuke into its compositing pipeline. In this podcast, Jonathan demonstrates the rare combination of artistic and technical talents that have made him one of the most respected names in ...
Feb 06, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 412
Meats Meier is a unique combination of artist and technical director. Not only does he create incredible biomechanical pieces with ZBrush, but he’s also advanced VFX via projects including Hellboy and The Day After Tomorrow . More recently, Meats has art-directed virtual production for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Netflix’s upcoming live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender . In this balanced conversation, recorded in person at Meats’ Yucca Valley residence, the artist discusses his background ...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 411
