The Allan Mckay Podcast

Chris Do is the Founder and CEO of Blind, a motion design firm. The studio has worked on projects for Xbox, Riot Games, A&E, Spike TV, ESPN, Google, Honda, Audi; as well as music videos for Coldplay, Justin Timberlake and Raveonettes. Since its founding in 1995, Blind has evolved into a brand design consultancy firm.  Prior to founding Blind, Chris received his BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He has taught at the California Institute of the Arts, SIGGRAPH, Otis College of Design, CalState Northridge and several other places. Chris has also founded TheFutur, an educational platform where creative professionals learn business principles.  In this Episode, Chris talks about finding his purpose and founding a successful company; as well as the importance for artists to acquire business and marketing skills, to build their community and brand. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/125/.

Michael Wortmann is a VFX Supervisor. Since graduating from the Filmakademie in Wurttenberg, Germany, in 2009, Michael has pursued a truly international career by working for companies like Animal Logic in Australia, Weta Digital in New Zealand, Chimney in his native Germany and many more. His credits include large budget films like Prince of Persia, Harry Potter, X-Men: First Class, John Carter, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Atomic Blonde, and most recently, Black Panther.  In this Podcast, Michael talks about his journey of becoming a VFX Supervisor, the benefits of changing companies every few years -- and the most essential skills for standing out as a VFX artist. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/124/.

Tomasz Wyszolmirski is the Founder of Dabari, a Polish studio specialized in high quality CGI stock footage and images for a variety of subjects like industrial processes, transport and animation.  Since its founding in 2009, Dabarti has grown a team of five people and produced over 3,000 clips for various clients. In addition, Tomasz has written Dabarti Capture, an in-house tool for generating Surface Normal, Albedo and Depth textures from multiple photographs. In this Episode, Tomasz talks about his experience launching and managing a successful studio, the tools and software they utilize and the importance of scripting for visual effects artists. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/123/.

Brandon Jarratt is a Technical Director at Walt Disney Studios. He has worked on big budget features like Moana, Big Hero 6, Zootopia. He is currently working on Wreck-It Ralph 2. Upon receiving his degree in Computer Science from the Texas A&M University, Brandon studied CG animation at the University’s Visualization Lab. In 2012, he worked as a TD Intern at the Walt Disney Studios; and soon after finishing his Masters Degree, he was offered the job of a Technical Director. In this Episode, Brandon discusses the balance between technology and art in visual effects -- and the additional skills one needs to break into the industry as a TD.  For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/122/.

Sergio Páez is a Storyboard Artist and Director who has worked at companies like Lucasfilm, Sony, Pixar. His credits include Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, Jonah Hex. He has recently finished writing and directing a short film in VR.  Sergio is also a founding member of Storyboard Art, an online community of storyboard artists and other storytellers. He has co-authored a book Professional Storyboarding: Rules of Thumb, a go-to reference for story artists. In this Episode, Sergio talks about his journey as a storyteller, how to become a director -- and the importance of passion, discipline and balance for an artist. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/121/.

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/120/.

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/119/.

Justin Goby Fields is a concept artist and owner of IronKlad Studios. After his career in graphic design and training at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects, he has worked at such studios as Sony ImageWorks, Imaginary Forces, Aaron Sims Company, Amalgamated Dynamics and several others. Some of his film credits include Jupiter Ascending, Noah, The Wolverine, Ragnarock, Noah. In this Episode, Justin talks about his career and gives advice to up-and-coming VFX artists on how to stand out and succeed in the games and film industries. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/118/.

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

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/.