Animation Industry Podcast

This episode features Story Arist Keith Baxter and Music Composer Greg Sims. Keith has worked as a director, songwriter, character designer, 2D and 3D animator, and story artist on previous projects like Flushed Away and The Croods. Greg has worked in television on Oprah and Dr. Oz as well as animated film like The Lion of Judah. In this chat they share the unique way they created the boards for T...

This episode features Create Director of Spire Studios, Ted Mathot. Mathot spent over 20 years as a story artist at Pixar working on some of their biggest films like The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, and Wall-E. In this chat, he shares everything he’s learned to make compelling stories audiences eat up. You’ll also learn: *The book Mathot read that helped him move from Story Artist to Supervisor...

This episode features Marty Cooper, a feature storyboard artist turned social media animator. Over the years Marty has created pieces for Wendys, Nike, Will Smith, Rick and Morty, and even the Biden 2020 Campaign. In this chat he shares his journey from full-time studio work, to building up his career as a freelance animator through social media. You’ll also learn: *How Marty originally went viral...

This episode features animator and Ataboy Studios owner, Vikkal Parikh. Originally Parikh pursued a career as an architect in India, but realized working in the animation industry would be much more fulfilling. So, in the early 2000s he decided to make the switch and applied to SCAD. In this chat, Parikh shares the challenges of making the journey from India to the US as well as starting his own s...

This episode features veteran Disney animator and current Creative Director of Story and Animation at Spire Animation Studios, Michael Surrey. In this chat, Surrey shares how he got his big break at Disney in the 90s, how he worked his way up the animation ranks, and what he learned about pursuing a lasting and fulfilling career in animation without burnout. You'll also learn: *How to make yoursel...

This episode features Egyptian stop motion animator dina Amin, who reveals how quitting her job and deconstructing appliances led to a full time career in stop motion. You’ll also learn: *How to make it as a stop motion animator in Egypt *What you need to give up to truly follow something you love *What dina does to get new client work ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode is sponsored by HUE Animati...

This episode features Shawn Krause, the Creative Director of Animation and Story at Spire Studios. Krause brings with him more than two decades of experience working as an animator and animation supervisor at Pixar, which he shares in this chat. You'll also learn: *Why Pixar hired him only one year into CalArts *The number one piece of advice Krause gives to animation newbies *What it was like wor...

This episode features writer, director, and VFX/Animation Production Manager Wahid Ibn Reza. Originally from Bangladesh, Reza became an accomplished actor before deciding to give up everything to pursue a film career in Vancouver, Canada. In this chat, Reza shares the impact that decision had and the unheard-of risks he took that led to big career payoffs. Tune in to Ibele and Reza to hear: *How t...

This episode features Co-founder and Director of Toronto-based Head Gear Animation. Since its inception in 1997, Head Gear has worked with world-class clients like Nestlé, Ikea, Kellogg's, and Sesame Workshop, and has garnered a long list of awards for their work in stop motion, 2D, live-action, and puppetry. In this chat, Angel shares how he quickly went from animator, to director, to starting hi...

Watch the teaser for Kara here: https://vimeo.com/563435693 This chat features Turkish/American/German stop motion film, commercial, and music video director, Sinem Sakaoglu. She shares what it was like moving from Turkey to the US and finally Germany in pursuit of a creatively fulfilling animation career. You’ll also learn: *The unique funding structure in Europe which allows directors to produce...

This episode features stop motion animator Max Winston (of I Live in the Woods fame) who shares his journey into running his own independent stop motion studio, RatBat studios. He also shares: *How he landed clients like Cartoon Network *Three tricks that have improved his animation performance *What it took to emotionally leave his steady job and go independent ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode...

This chat features Mikey Heller, Head Writer for Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears and the spin-off series, We Baby Bears. In this chat he shares how publishing webcomics landed him his first writing role, and a behind-the-scenes look into the writing room at Cartoon Network. You’ll also learn: *How to make your writing stand out *What to do to bump your application to the top of a writing position...

This episode features Musa Brooker, a Stop Motion Animator turned Creative Director. In this chat Musa shares his journey from animator to lead, supervisor, director, and his most recent role as Creative Director for Six Point Harness, the Academy Award Winning studio that produced Hair Love. You’ll also learn: *How to make the jump from animator to director in your career *What studios look for w...

This episode features Co-Founder and CEO of SyncSketch, Bernhard Haux. Bernhard is also a multi-talented animator who has worked with several big-name companies such as Pixar, Oculus, and Facebook. In this chat, Bernhard shares how and why he created SyncSketch and where the platform is heading. You’ll also learn: *How Bernhard ended up working at Pixar (for 8 years) *The biggest hurdle in animati...

This chat features Ottawa Animator Joel MacKenzie who shares his philosophy on how to manifest your dream animation career. Joel’s career has spanned writing, directing, pitching, and character design for clients like Cartoon Network, Sesame Workshop, HBO, and the CBC, as well as creating his own pilots, Spaceman and Robotron, The Myth of Robo Wonderkid, and Tuff Pom. You’ll also learn: *What to d...

This episode features Eric Power, an independent stop motion animator who specializes in construction paper animation. Over his 20-year career he’s worked on music videos, brand spots, and even feature films. In this chat, he shares exactly how he’s made a career out of this medium. You’ll also learn: *How Eric gets clients *How long it takes Eric to create a fully animated feature film (single-ha...

This episode features Scott Wiser and his journey to direct his original feature film. Four years ago Scott gave up his role as a character animator for film, television, and video games, to pursue freelance so he could focus on developing and directing his own IP. In this chat Scott shares exactly how he’s been pitching his ideas and gaining interest from studios to produce it. You’ll also learn:...

This episode features award-winning UK Motion Graphics Designer William Marler, who shares his strategy to get more work out of his clients and what he does to manufacture his own luck in the animation industry. You’ll also learn: *The 6 currencies of taking on animation projects (other than for pay) *The number one thing that will impress any client *How to develop lasting relationships with peop...

This episode features Max Simonet, creator of Adult Swim’s Gēmusetto Machu Picchu and the recent Gēmusetto Death Beats. In this chat he shares how he originally pitched the show to Adult Swim and the pipeline to create each episode. You’ll also learn: *How he convinced Adult Swim to fund his show idea *How Max keeps viewers engaged *The reason why Max has absolute creative freedom ~[Sponsored Mess...

This episode features Dan Elder, a 15-year veteran to 2D special effects who currently co-head’s Jam Filled Entertainment’s Effects Department in Ottawa. In this chat he shares how to pursue 2D effects in today’s industry as well as how to work your way up in your career. You’ll also learn: *The right way to ask for a raise in animation *The type of person who excels in 2D effects *A practical way...

This episode features Chicago-based independent stop motion animator, Martha Mapes, who shares what she’s doing to break into the stop motion scene during the pandemic. You’ll also learn: *What kind of stop motion networking events exist in LA *How Martha gets stop motion commissions *The complete skillset needed to be an independent stop mo animator ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode is sponsored...

This episode features the award-winning director duo Brent Forrest and Tobias Schlage. In our chat they share how they produced their short film “Like and Follow” which screened at over 160 festivals worldwide and won 30 awards. You’ll also learn: *Which festivals they got the best connections from *The ingenious way they maximized success with getting into festivals *Why you should focus on makin...

This episode features Mexcian Animator, Producer, and Director Jorge Gutierrez who shares everything it took to get the Book of Life made when no studio wanted to touch it. You’ll also learn: *What Jorge did to gain credibility when no one thought he could direct *The animation Jorge made in a week that led to getting his own show *Jorge’s best practical advice for pursuing your dreams ~[Sponsored...

This episode features Wian van Bergen, Art Director and Cofounder of Lucan, an animation studio based in Cape Town, South Africa. In our chat, Wian shares the real-time pipeline his team built using Unreal Engine for their first IP, Isaura. You’ll also learn: *How he pitched a TV show to a commercial client and got a “yes” *What the industry for animation is like in South Africa *How Wian turned a...

This episode features short filmmaker Alexandra Ramires who shares her approach to short film storytelling. She also shares how she received funding to make her Oscar-contending short, “Tie”, the collective of directors behind the animation, and her process to create the film’s unique look. You’ll also learn: *How to make each moment of a film have impact *How sustainable a career in short films i...