The Allan McKay Podcast

How confident are you that your reel is going to stand out of thousands of reels? Where do you stand in that spectrum? This is the big problem: We just send in our reel and we feel that someone owes us a job. And then we get upset when we get rejected. We get frustrated when we don't get a call. When everyone is applying for the same position on the website, maybe you should be going against the g...

There may be things in your life that you find to be a fun hobby. And you think, there is no way in the world to make money at it! And maybe 3D is just a hobby and we tinker with it on the side. But for a lot of us, we call it a hobby because we don't think there is any chance in the world we could make a living at this thing. A lot of the time, we convince ourselves not to do something because th...

In the beginning of our career, we're really hungry and we want to learn everything: all the tutorials, all the training, we want to learn every part of what we're doing. However, after we get that first job, everything tends to stop. We think that we've made it and we don't need to continue learning anymore. And a lot of the time, it's the soft skills that we tend to neglect: Leadership skills, p...

Christian Alzmann is a Concept Design Supervisor at Lucasfilm who created the concept drawing for Baby Yoda, along with several other main characters on The Mandalorian . He studied illustration at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Upon graduating he was immediately hired into ILM's Art Department where he eventually became a Senior Art Director. Since then, Christian has worked on num...

Szymon Biernacki is a Freelance Visual Development and Concept Artist based in Poland. He is currently an Art Director at Spa Studios. His credits include being a Production Designer on the movie Klaus. In this Podcast, Szymon shares his insight on becoming a full-time artist, switching careers; the challenges of being a freelancer and working remotely; the hard and soft skills of being a Producti...

Corridor Digital is Visual Effects Studio based in Los Angeles. They're best know for creating short-form viral videos, as well as producing and directing the web series Rush and YouTube Red's Lifeline. The company has also create tv commercials for companies like Google and Machine Zone.  Founded in 2009 by Sam Gorski and Niko Pueringer, the company now produces five YouTube Channels. The Corrido...

Ben Burns is a brand strategist, an award-winning designer and an expert in user experience. As the Digital Director of Blind, he oversees the intersection of design and technology in all client work. He is also the Chief Creative Officer at The Futur. Prior to joining the team at Blind, Ben founded Burnt Creative, a brand experience agency in Richmond, Virginia. He also served on the executive bo...

One of the big frustrations that we all have is -- we want more money. Anytime we want a pay bump, we have to wait for our annual review and see if we get a salary increase at our main job. Yet we spend our spare time doing something more creative because we aren't being challenged at work. We go home to do the work that we find fulfilling in the first place. This Podcast is about is ways to lever...

Seth C. Polansky, a contracts, intellectual property and start-up specialist founded his professional firm in 2005. Seth Polansky LLC is a small law firm specializing in art, contracts, corporate, and general personal affairs. Based in Silver Spring, Maryland, Seth Polansky LLC accepts clients from around the world regarding contract, art and IP issues. As an adviser and counselor to business, Set...

The mission of Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ) is to deliver feature-film quality visual effects on television timelines by harnessing GPU clusters, game engine technology, AI and senior industry talent. Leveraging these pillars allows us to consistently execute with both speed and quality for our premium television projects. Lon Molnar is the Co-President of MARZ. With more than 20 years of...

Matti Haapoja is a YouTuber and a freelance Director of Photography. He has worked with some global brands such as Nike, San Pellegrino, Epidemic Sound, Rhino, and Visit Norway.  Originally from Finland, he is now based out of Toronto, Canada.  Matti launched his YouTube Channel, originally called Travel Feels, in 2016. Initially, it was a creative outlet to feature his cinematic travel videos. Bu...

Vico Sharabani is a Creative Entrepreneur, award-winning Creative-Director, Director, and Producer. He is also the Founder and CCO of The-Artery, a New York based media production company that creates high-end visual content for brands, feature films, commercials, digital experiences, art instillations and more. As one of the most notable Flame artists in the world, Vico is the winner of the first...

Having unrealistic expectations of yourself -- that everything is going to be flawless and you're just going to win -- is the easiest way to derail yourself and see yourself as being a failure. It's these micro wins that we should be celebrating. But how many of us give up on something because we didn't get traction right off the bat? With that mindset, we're more likely to set ourselves up to fai...

A lot of us tend to struggle in the beginning of our career. And the thing is a lot of us are clueless as to why that's happening. You have to start thinking differently. Sending out your reel is just not enough. When it comes to the beginning of our career, it's about figuring out what else we can do. How can we get that first win? How do we get our foot in the door, no matter what it takes? It's...

Before joining Mr. X, Trey Harrell was a 15-year ad industry veteran. Trey's forte for balancing the technical with the artistic has garnered numerous ADDY (American Advertising Federation) and New York Art Director's Club Awards for his work as both an Art Director and Creative Director for broadcast, web and print ads. Trey joined Mr. X in 2010 to work exclusively as the Lead Lighting TD on Tron...

Superheroes, fantastic beasts, dinosaurs of the 21st century, and galaxies undiscovered. Cinesite is an award-winning digital entertainment studio with over 25 years of experience and work on hundreds of film, TV and streaming productions. Its visual effects and animation artists breathing life into filmmakers' visions. Cinesite's skilled artists and engineers work closely with filmmakers and stud...

This is for anyone who wants to get more done in their day or who deals with the frustrations of having a demanding job and family -- and not having enough energy to get it all done. What happens when you have side projects, or if you're working in a different industry and want to change to another career? Building a reel and looking for work takes time and energy; and a lot of the time, we don't...

With nearly 25 years in the special make-up effects industry, Justin Raleigh has managed and art directed the creation of the special make-up and specialty costumes for some of the most groundbreaking projects of recent years, including Aquaman, Tron Legacy, Westworld, Stranger Things, The Knick and American Horror Story . He is the Owner and CEO of Fractured FX, Inc. is an Emmy and MUAHS Guild Aw...

Once again, Allan McKay does a Q & A session to answer some burning questions. (Check out his previous Q & A Session here: www.allanmckay.com/154 .) In this Podcast, Allan tackles the subjects of switching careers, the "industry standard" software, how old is too old to go into VFX -- and how to approach leaders for advice or favors. For more show notes, visit  www.allanmckay.com/225/.

Part of the benefit of building a strong personal brand is being able to choose the projects that you want to work on. You can also choose when you want to work and when you want to focus on your own things. How much of an impact do you think having a brand and that visibility come into negotiating money -- when studios would reach out to you personally? Or even when they create a position specifi...

Blackmagic Design is an Australian digital cinema company and manufacturer. It designs and manufactures broadcast and cinema hardware, most notably digital movie cameras, as well as develops video editing software such as the DaVinci Resolve application. The company has grown rapidly to become one of the world's leading innovators and manufacturers of creative video technology. The company was fou...

Bidding isn't an exact science, especially with 3D. Most of the time, clients are coming to you asking for something that's never been done before. Even if it has been done before, there are so many curveballs. You have to be notorious for asking questions in the beginning. The more you cover in the initial conversation, the more accurate the bid is going to be; and the more you can address the pr...

Michael Janda is an executive level creative leader with more than 20 years of experience in both in-house creative departments and agencies working with some of the greatest brands in the world. In 2002, he founded the creative agency Riser, a nationally recognized agency creating high-profile work for clients including Disney, Google, ABC, Fox, Warner Bros., NBC, TV Guide and numerous other nota...

Tony Giglio is a writer, director and producer. He worked his way up from a production assistant to become one of Hollywood's most versatile multi-hyphenates. Universal's 1440 has tapped Tony to write and direct a reboot of Doom: Annihilation . Previously, Tony directed feature films S.W.A.T.: Under Siege, 2nd Unit on Resident Evil, Timber Falls . In 2005, Giglio wrote and directed his best known...

Rob Bredow is a strategic and visionary leader with a unique understanding of how media and innovation can join forces to tell great stories and create groundbreaking experiences. As SVP, Executive Creative Director and Head of Industrial Light & Magic, he is responsible for the company's overall creative strategy and global operations. Most recently Bredow was the Visual Effects Supervisor and Co...