The Production Desk

Alexis and Natalie welcome therapist Kristine Magat Douglas, LCSW, MPH, to unpack our collective animation production baggage. We dive into burnout, unemployment shame, crying on the job, global stress, work anxiety and more! It’s fun, we swear! Plus: surprising life lessons from Kpop Demon Hunters.  NOTE: The content of this episode is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for p...

Our guest, Elise Scanlan, Production Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios, joins us with stories from her work on many Disney films, including the Oscar nominated Zootopia 2. She also talks to us about her creative side quests including co-producing an animated short and writing romance novels.  PSA: Production people are creative AF! Plus, is this the year Alexis and Natalie attend the Ann...

This week we’re sharing a mini coffee break episode to discuss our feelings on working while sick (Spoiler: just stay home)

Alexis and Natalie talk to Emily Wilson about her unconventional path to Pixar, the key soft skills in animation production management, and the very serious business of perfecting an alien drink in ELIO. Plus, Alexis reveals the extremely important job she was assigned while catering Pixar’s UP premiere.

Alexis and Natalie chat with Kevin Noel about his journey from production to creative exec, share what animation executives actually do day-to-day, and reveal the story behind Natalie’s “Taco Bell” nickname.

In this episode, our guest Steph Gortz breaks down the technical aspects of animation, and shares how she balanced working full-time on Disney’s Oscar Nominated ZOOTOPIA 2 as a production supervisor while producing a short film in her off hours. 

For this snack break, we decided to take it to the rule-laden work kitchen.

In this bite-sized mini episode, Alexis and Natalie share four strategies for animation job hunters that don’t involve selling photos of your feet online. 

Alexis and Natalie talk with Brett about soft skills in production management, his favorite moments working on KPOP DEMON HUNTERS, and his connection to some famous feet in Titanic.

GOAT director Tyree Dillihay says production crews are the unsung heroes of animation, and we agree! This week, Alexis and Natalie discuss working with feature animation directors and revisit their conversation with Tyree at LightBox. 

What even is animation production? Alexis and Natalie discuss the roles and importance of production staff with a little help from some friends at LightBox Expo.  A huge thank you to Alex Baskin, Troy Collins, Will Coyner, Wendell Dalit, Tyree Dillihay, Micaela Hammond, Brandon Jeffords, Erica Rivinoja, Nathan Schauf, Vic Sharma, and Michelle Wong.

Alexis and Natalie talk about why they started this podcast, how they got into animation, and the surprising role LinkedIn played in forming their friendship. 

Animation production management veterans, Alexis Jacobson & Natalie DeJohn, are launching an all new podcast about the behind the scenes of working in animation production. Our podcast will be launching in the next few weeks, where we will interview guests and discuss topics related to the chaotic world of managing feature animation.