The Production Desk

The Cat in the Hat, directed by Alessandro Carloni and Erica Rivinoja, releases in theaters this week! It’s also the last movie Natalie worked on at Warner Bros., so we’re extra excited about this one! Erica Rivinoja joins the pod to talk about her comedy career journey, favorite moments making The Cat in the Hat, and her deeply held snack convictions.  Plus, Erica and Natalie reminisce about the...

Wrapping a show is a milestone, but what happens when the work stops and the routine disappears?  In this Coffee Break, Alexis chats with Ciara Doll, a Production Supervisor at Netflix Animation Studios, about the emotional side of coming off a show, the pressure to figure out what’s next, and why it’s okay to slow down, reflect, and give yourself a little breathing room before jumping into the ne...

Alexis and Natalie chat with Kacy McDonald about her journey from Disney Toons production assistant to VP of Production at Rising Sun Pictures in Australia. Kacy talks about storytelling across mediums, her Substack “Production Is An Art,” and shares tips for keeping calm when production chaos ensues.  Plus: Kacy reveals that karaoke is her secret weapon for managing stress  https://kacymak.substa...

Today we put Natalie’s parents in the hot seat! They share embarrassing stories from Natalie’s childhood, what they’ve learned about animated movies, and remind us to change our oil every 2,000 miles.  Plus, Natalie freaks out when she learns where Alexis got married.

Grab a coffee and join us as we discuss a recent Variety article that poses the question: why doesn't Hollywood respect animation? Alexis and Natalie have surprisingly different views.  And if you listen to the end, you’ll learn which one of us grew up an award-winning horse rider and which one got a participation award for a mandatory jog-a-thon.

Alexis and Natalie sit down with Virginie Lavallée, an animation and VFX producer and founder of The Happy Producers. She shares her unconventional path from French literature to producing, the origins of her production training courses and what AI means for production management. So will the AI bots replace us? We discuss what current AI tools can and can't do, the hype versus reality, and w...

AI is everywhere so we should probably talk about it. In this coffee break episode, Alexis and Natalie discuss their fears and curiosity about dipping their toes into this very divisive topic as it pertains to animation production. 

In today’s episode we put Alexis’s parents in the hot seat and ask: what is animation production? Plus we get sage advice on how to deal with assholes at work.  Plus Alexis and Natalie get really existential about our careers. What does it all mean?? This episode is dedicated to Crookshanks, my dream 🍊 tabby cat. RIP 🧡

What's actually sitting on an animation production desk? Alexis and Natalie compare desk setups, from minimalist workspaces to the surprisingly difficult art of knowing when you've collected too many toys.

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.