The Allan McKay Podcast

DNEG ( www.dneg.com ) is one of the world's leading visual effects (VFX) and animation studios for the creation of feature film, television and multiplatform content. DNEG employs nearly 7,000 people with worldwide offices and studios across North America (Los Angeles, Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver), Europe (London) and Asia (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai). DNEG's critically acclaimed work...

The WHAT IF? Scenario: It's an addictive concept for all of us. What if you give up on a career before you ever got started? Fear is just your mind trying to prevent you from change because change is unknown. It doesn't want you to risk safety for something new. But the big growths and breakthroughs are on the other side of that fear.  If you aren't willing to put in the extra work and see what it...

Zoic Studios is a VFX company of accomplished artists and producers with a deep understanding of story, process and relationships. With offices in Los Angeles, New York and Vancouver, the company has prided itself in partnership, integrity and enthusiasm as the key founding principles. Their projects are born in think tanks, where every idea has value and potential. Dynamic ideas are fleshed out,...

Perception is an Emmy nominated design lab pioneering the visionary process of Science Fiction Thinking to architect the future. They divide their time equally between the parallel worlds of science-fiction—working with trailblazing filmmakers and science-fact—collaborating with the world's most innovative technology brands. Drawing upon their vast experience of conceptualizing and developing futu...

Louis Castle is a prolific American video games designer. He is known for co-founding Westwood Studios and for his work on the Command & Conquer real-time strategy series. In 2017, he became the Head of Amazon Game Studios Seattle.  Most recently, Louis joined GreenPark Sports as Chief Product Officer. As the co-founder of Westwood Studios, Louis was instrumental in the launch of the C&C series, o...

There's such a shortage of visual effects people right now. It's insane how many projects have been greenlit. And even for a 3D artist, there's so much stuff out there – and that's a good thing! Visual effects in general is such a healthy industry, but it's also about where there's room to grow. There's always going to be new territory to cover.  It's about training your brain to know what you wan...

Cinecom is a YouTube channel and a media organization from Belgium founded in 2014 by Jordy Vandeput. The goal of the channel is to provide educational content for filmmakers and video editors around the world. Jordy Vandeput graduated from a film school in Brussels, Belgium in 2012. Right after, he started working as an independent freelancer for various video-productions. One of his clients at t...

Richard Edlund is a four-time Academy Award visual effects winner for Star Wars: A New Hope , Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back , Raiders of the Lost Ark , and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi . He is VFX Supervisor, Producer and Cinematographer. Richard was also nominated for Poltergeist , 2010 , Ghostbusters , Poltergeist II: The Other Side , Die Hard and Alien 3 . He's won three Academy Technical...

Activision Blizzard's history goes back more than 40 years. Two incredible gaming brands Activision and Blizzard Entertainment merged, bringing together the best creative talent in gaming. The acquisition of King in 2016 further strengthened the company's vision to bring the world together through epic entertainment. T heir professional gaming properties include the Overwatch League™, the Call of...

DNEG ( www.dneg.com ) is one of the world's leading visual effects (VFX) and animation studios for the creation of feature film, television and multiplatform content. DNEG employs nearly 7,000 people with worldwide offices and studios across North America (Los Angeles, Montréal, Toronto, Vancouver), Europe (London) and Asia (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai). DNEG's critically acclaimed work...

Founded in 1996, Foundry is a visual effects software development company headquartered in London, with over 300 employees and a presence in the US, China, Japan, Australia and Europe.  They have been developing creative software for the Digital Design, Media and Entertainment industries for over 20 years. Their products -- like Nuke, Mari, Katana, Flix, Hiero, Modo -- are used to create breathtak...

The more we see the result of the success people are having, the more we can get inspired and model our goals after that success. Which is why I think it's important to follow other successful people: to see what their habits are and if you can apply those habits to get similar results. I also believe you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. I want to be surrounded by be...

Eran Dinur is VFX Supervisor, Composer and published author. His career in visual effects began with a fascination for creating 3D natural scenery. Through his early years, he became well known as a VUE expert and innovator. When he joined ILM Singapore, he created visual effects for films such as Iron Man, Star Trek, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crysta...

Richard Edlund is a four-time Academy Award visual effects winner for Star Wars: A New Hope , Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back , Raiders of the Lost Ark , and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi . He is VFX Supervisor, Producer and Cinematographer. Richard was also nominated for Poltergeist , 2010 , Ghostbusters , Poltergeist II: The Other Side , Die Hard and Alien 3 . He's won three Academy Technical...

David Adan is an FT TD Lead at Cinesite whose list of credits include Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, American Gods, Mindhunter, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Terminator: Dark Fate, Lost in Space and many more. David's journey began in 1994 in Cuernavaca, Mexico, when at the age of 16, he started working as an intern at a local PR film. There, he discovered one of the first 3D softwares for PC and i...

In the beginning of your career as junior artists, it's fight or flight. You will either leave the industry because it's too hard or you'll work hard on as many jobs as you can. You need that exit strategy, however, otherwise you will burn out.  It's the fear that keeps you small. You are afraid of losing jobs if you raise your rates. A lot of the time, you also undervalue yourself. If you put you...

There is nothing worse than burnout. As artists, we work hard, we work long hours, chase tight deadlines. As the expression goes in Blade Runner , "The candle that burns twice as bright, burns for half as long."  So how do you avoid hitting rock bottom? A lot of the time, burnout is that invisible pressure that comes in a form of stress. It's not about if you're going to crash. It's about when you...

Sam Wickert is a director and VFX supervisor who has worked closely with many clients such as Epic Games, Google Daydream, AMD, BlackMagic Design, Universal Orlando Resorts, Redbull, and Discover.  The most exciting projects he has enjoyed working on is the content featured on his YouTube Channel, SOKRISPYMEDIA, which has accumulated over 1.6 Million subscribers and 400+ million views - most notab...

Erika Burton brings over 25 years of senior-level experience to her role at DNEG. Most recently, she led as EVP, Global Features & Streaming VFX at Method Studios. Prior to that, she held senior leadership positions at major studios, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, PDI / DreamWorks Animation, Digital Domain and Rhythm & Hues.  Erika Burton is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Art...

Paul Lambert is a Visual Effects Supervisor. He is also the inventor of IBK Keyer in Nuke.  Over the course of his over-two-decade long career, he's worked on such titles as Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, TRON: Legacy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, I, Robot, Mission Impossible II, Lost in Space and many, many others. Paul has won two co...

A lot of the time, artists feel like clients do them a favor by hiring them. The more you understand the ecosystem, the more you start seeing this as a service-based industry: You're delivering value to your client, they're delivering value to theirs -- and it goes up the latter. Each step in that latter is a much bigger profit margin. They need their problems solved. They need you as much as you...

The Harmon Brothers is a marketing firm based in Provo, Utah, that has a history of making viral advertising videos. Founded by brothers Daniel, Neil, Jeffrey and Theron Harmon and CEO Benton Crane, the company creates marketing campaigns that are usually the length of an infomercial — but with a distinct sense of humor. Their campaigns for Squatty Potty and the Purple have more than 100 million v...

You need to be ultra specific in how you define yourself when you're applying for jobs as an artist. It's the difference between being front-of-mind and standing out -- or blending in with all the other applications. And it's something that none of us do. By not niching down -- by not being a specific brand -- you're missing out on an opportunity to make yourself the ideal candidate for the job. S...

Peter Chiang is co-founder of DNEG and a prolific and critically acclaimed Visual Effects Supervisor. He is one of the leaders in his field with over 30 years experience in the industry. Starting out as a graphic artist, animator and later visual effects art director, he moved quickly into visual effects supervision on films including Pitch Black (DNEG's first project), Chronicles of Riddick , Fly...

Knowing when to raise your rates is really critical. A lot of us get the resistance in the beginning. We're afraid that if we raise our prices too high, we'll lose our clients. But that's kind of the idea!  A brand is our position in the market: How people perceive us and whether our clients are willing to pay higher rates. In the beginning, we'll be taking on lower-paying clients because we're de...