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....
Apr 24, 2017•1 hr 22 min
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....
Apr 18, 2017•1 hr 18 min
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 Festiva...
Mar 28, 2017•56 min
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/...
Mar 03, 2017•1 hr 46 min
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, ...
Feb 21, 2017•59 min
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 ...
Dec 06, 2016•40 min
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 She...
Nov 28, 2016•1 hr 43 min
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...
Nov 15, 2016•1 hr 16 min
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 barr...
Nov 02, 2016•1 hr
An overview of the process to safely switch careers down the road. Some of us are in careers that we aren't 100% satisfied and want to make the change over to a creative industry. However there is so much risk that we face that it's almost a gamble this late in our career. This episode we delve into the process and thoughts behind how to build a plan around switching successfully from your current career path to your dream job! Check out the shownotes at http://www.allanmckay.com/67/...
Oct 25, 2016•1 hr 2 min
While speaking at the It's Art Masterclass 2016 event in Paris, we teamed together to enjoy some beer and talk VFX for this episodes podcast. This episode dives into many subjects from what we look for when hiring or building teams for projects, what it takes to work at big studios, lots of great insights into getting work and being a better artist, as well as workflow, process and what our electricity bills tend to look like when boasting a render-farm! Mark Theriault is an FX Lead at Image Eng...
Oct 11, 2016•1 hr 2 min
I've gotten into so many conversations about the gear lying around my house from camera equipment to art on my walls with friends and with everyone on Facebook when a photo gets posted that I thought I would share some of these things. Better yet, I wanted to share the devices, apps and services I use almost DAILY to freelance and get my work done, work faster, more efficiently, even if it means coming off a bit weird with some of these things! Oh and lastly - I have no affiliation with any of t...
Oct 05, 2016•1 hr 14 min
After a small hiatus, Allan McKay returns with a new episode 'Creative Negotiation'. Learning to step away from the black and white form of trade that we're typically used to, and instead prioritize what your real current career goals and needs are, and proceed to negotiate actual needs that benefit you more. While also acknowledging the other party's needs to align the discussion with what they want, to get what you really want. Show-notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/64/...
Sep 27, 2016•1 hr 6 min
Probably one of the more controversial episodes put out - as is anything to do with money. But this episode dives into understanding the logistics of what you charge as a freelancer and how to re-think it all to get what you are worth, but also do it in a way that your clients get exactly what they want as well. Show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/63/
Mar 14, 2016•1 hr 25 min
Pete Draper is an industry veteran with 20 years of experience working in the UK and India on many amazing projects. He's co-founder and CTO of Makuta in Hyderabad, India a vfx studio responsible for many high profile feature films. This was a fun chat covering so much from freelance to relocating to new countries, touching on much of the 3D industry 'back in the day' as well as productivity and his book 'Deconstructing the elements' as well as plenty more! Makuta VFX Pete Draper's Website Decon...
Mar 07, 2016•1 hr 52 min
This episode is a sit down with Chad Wanstreet (Episode 18 and 19) casually talking about overtime, burnout and a lot of issues with the industry. This is from two people who know the grind all too well and shedding a lot of light on it from many different and unique perspectives. Chad Episode 18 Chad Episode 19 Chad's Vimeo Show notes located at http://www.allanmckay.com/61/...
Mar 01, 2016•1 hr 18 min
Jami works at Bungie in Seattle, WA well known for Halo and Destiny among other high profile projects. This episode we dive into her role at Bungie on Destiny, as well as her experiences graduating from college and going into video games, and how she managed to literally walk into a job at Bungie and a lot of the key reasons behind that which I think is really fascinating. As well as sharing her own female perspective of working in the video game industry as well. There's a lot of really valuabl...
Feb 15, 2016•1 hr 14 min
Matt Conway is a Digital Matte Painter having worked on movie projects such as Avatar, Avengers Age of Ultron, Shutter Island, Game of Thrones and dozens of others. During this interview we discuss everything from his initial upbringing and transition into VFX to travel, techniques and superbowl, as well as Stallone and Arnie and a heck of a lot more. We dive into lots of good stuff, lots of goofy stuff, we do talk sex and censorship and other ridiculous things - so those who might be a bit sens...
Feb 08, 2016•2 hr 44 min
Omar is a character TD at Dreamworks Animation in Los Angeles working on projects like Kung Fu Panda 2, How to train your dragon 2, Rise of the Guardians and many others. During this episode we cover a lot of really great subjects and particularly dive into his experience going from a student into a character TD role at one of the biggest animation studios in the world, and many of the struggles we typically face that he was able to overcome.
Feb 01, 2016•1 hr 33 min
Darryl Johnson is a 3D generalist working for studios in LA like Blur and Blizzard Cinematics, as well as previously in Detroit at various car commercial houses. This episode is a fun filled episode covering everything from video games and getting started, to diving into a lot of bigger subjects to do with career, moving city's and working at big studios. Show notes here Darryl's Website Darryl's Vimeo Linkedin The Wedding Video! Join the career intensive here...
Jan 18, 2016•2 hr 18 min
Ash Thorp is a director, illustrator and creative director - who has worked on countless feature films and other creative projects. Some of his projects include Dawn of the planet of the apes, Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation, James Bond Spectre, Call of Duty, Prometheus, Iron Man 3, The Walking Dead and dozens of others. He also has a podcast 'The Collective' which interviews many creatives and I highly recommend it. Ash also runs his own online school 'Learn Squared' and his various personal ...
Jan 11, 2016•1 hr 49 min
This episode was originally a personal article I wrote about dealing with self doubt, failure and also how all of us have those people around us who push negativity onto us and make us question ourselves. I wrote it for a few people very close to me who have experienced a lot of this that I've seen first hand out influential figures in their lives have made them want to give up on their hopes and dreams and go after something more 'realistic'. We should all be careful about what we say to others...
Jan 04, 2016•1 hr 2 min
This episode is an unofficial sequel to Ep 52 on US work visas, but this is more tailored to worldwide rather than just in the US. As well as giving a hands on insight as well as Allan's experiences with the visa process and what to expect. Check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/54/ To listen to Episode 52 with Amanda Gillespie talking about US work visas go to http://www.allanmckay.com/52/ For Dan Roarty's episode go to http://www.allanmckay.com/30/ For the episode on 'How to sta...
Dec 29, 2015•1 hr 4 min
This episode is a big one on goal setting we cover a lot of great subjects and topics situated around goal setting but more importantly actionable steps to building better habits rather than it just being simple mindsets that aren't going to do us any good. Two key things I reference is the Dickens Process S.M.A.R.T. goals (I decided not to link to anything as I'd rather you find the links that best resonate with you on this subject!) I would love to get your feedback, so please leave a comment ...
Dec 23, 2015•1 hr 21 min
Amanda Gillespie is Manager of Extraordinary Ability Cases for Samuel Christensen Law Firm PLLC in New York. Amanda works daily with many of the artists and creatives alike migrating to the United States each year, helping build their cases and assisting them in the process of obtaining visas, greencards and work permits to work in the U.S. This subject, especially for a lot of visual effects artists, game designers, directors, musicians, and other creatives in our industry is quite a ellusive s...
Dec 14, 2015•1 hr 4 min
This episode is about how learning a little code, can go a long way for artists and creatives. Most of us are intimidated by programming and think it's only for math guys and people wired a certain way, where it's really about learning just how to approach it a different way - you don't need to know math to code, you don't need to be 'super smart' to code. You just need to know how to apply it to what you're doing and approach it a little differently to the norm. This is all about learning to au...
Dec 07, 2015•1 hr 21 min
This is a 1 hour master class from March 2015 in Paris, condensing a lot of information into a rapid fire session! On top of that, December is about closing 2015 out strong and gearing up for making 2016 your year! Check out the show notes at www.allanmckay.com/50/ If you want to attend the It's Art Masterclass 2016 in Paris in March, check out the links below! Some of the speakers include: Craig Mullins Aaron McBride (ILM) Raphael Lacoste(Ubisoft ) Marc Brunet (Blizzard) Carlos Baena(Animation ...
Nov 30, 2015•1 hr 29 min
Next Limit are the creators of industry standard water simulation software 'Realflow' - based out in Madrid, Spain. This episode is with the development team at Next Limit, including NL's CEO Victor Gonzalez, Luis Miguel More, Ivan Alduan, Alex Ribao, Angel Tena and Gus Sanchez. Discussing the history of Realflow as well as much of it's key features and giving insight into the development team! You can check out more information as well as the promo they are running below! Victor Gonzalez - Next...
Nov 24, 2015•1 hr 1 min
Beau is the VP of Business Development at TurboSquid - which a lot of people associate with their enormous 3D model library, as well as plug-ins and other items that they sell for 3D artists. Their industry standard CheckMate process has also made waves over the years as well. And more recently, they've released a service called PixelSquid for generating realtime 3D assets for use by Photoshop artists. For show notes check out http://www.allanmckay.com/48/ Turbosquid: http://www.turbosquid.com P...
Nov 16, 2015•1 hr 27 min
This episode is focused on something that affects us all, but also more recently for me has actually been a very critical subject, as we all face those times that completely derail us from our path, habits and routine. Sometimes it's just for a few days, other times it can for months or even years! So how do you deal with this? Whether it's a creative block or whether it's a long relationship that might send you into a downward spiral, or dozens of other reasons that are common and frequent? Sho...
Nov 10, 2015•45 min
