The Allan McKay Podcast

Chris Do is the Founder and CEO of Blind, a motion design firm. The studio has worked on projects for Xbox, Riot Games, A&E, Spike TV, ESPN, Google, Honda, Audi; as well as music videos for Coldplay, Justin Timberlake and Raveonettes. Since its founding in 1995, Blind has evolved into a brand design consultancy firm. 

Prior to founding Blind, Chris received his BFA from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. He has taught at the California Institute of the Arts, SIGGRAPH, Otis College of Design, CalState Northridge and several other places. Chris has also founded TheFutur, an educational platform where creative professionals learn business principles. 

In this Episode, Chris talks about finding his purpose and founding a successful company; as well as the importance for artists to acquire business and marketing skills, to build their community and brand.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/125/.

Direct download: ep126_ChrisDo_mixdown.mp3
Category:careers -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

Michael Wortmann is a VFX Supervisor. Since graduating from the Filmakademie in Wurttenberg, Germany, in 2009, Michael has pursued a truly international career by working for companies like Animal Logic in Australia, Weta Digital in New Zealand, Chimney in his native Germany and many more. His credits include large budget films like Prince of Persia, Harry Potter, X-Men: First Class, John Carter, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Atomic Blonde, and most recently, Black Panther

In this Podcast, Michael talks about his journey of becoming a VFX Supervisor, the benefits of changing companies every few years -- and the most essential skills for standing out as a VFX artist.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/124/.

Direct download: ep124_MichaelWortmann_mixdown.mp3
Category:careers -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

Tomasz Wyszolmirski is the Founder of Dabari, a Polish studio specialized in high quality CGI stock footage and images for a variety of subjects like industrial processes, transport and animation. 

Since its founding in 2009, Dabarti has grown a team of five people and produced over 3,000 clips for various clients. In addition, Tomasz has written Dabarti Capture, an in-house tool for generating Surface Normal, Albedo and Depth textures from multiple photographs.

In this Episode, Tomasz talks about his experience launching and managing a successful studio, the tools and software they utilize and the importance of scripting for visual effects artists.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/123/.

Direct download: ep123_TomaszW_mixdown.mp3
Category:careers -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

Brandon Jarratt is a Technical Director at Walt Disney Studios. He has worked on big budget features like Moana, Big Hero 6, Zootopia. He is currently working on Wreck-It Ralph 2.

Upon receiving his degree in Computer Science from the Texas A&M University, Brandon studied CG animation at the University’s Visualization Lab. In 2012, he worked as a TD Intern at the Walt Disney Studios; and soon after finishing his Masters Degree, he was offered the job of a Technical Director.

In this Episode, Brandon discusses the balance between technology and art in visual effects -- and the additional skills one needs to break into the industry as a TD. 

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/122/.

Direct download: ep122_BrandonJarratt_mixdown.mp3
Category:careers -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

Sergio Páez is a Storyboard Artist and Director who has worked at companies like Lucasfilm, Sony, Pixar. His credits include Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars: Rebels, Jonah Hex. He has recently finished writing and directing a short film in VR. 

Sergio is also a founding member of Storyboard Art, an online community of storyboard artists and other storytellers. He has co-authored a book Professional Storyboarding: Rules of Thumb, a go-to reference for story artists.

In this Episode, Sergio talks about his journey as a storyteller, how to become a director -- and the importance of passion, discipline and balance for an artist.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/121/.

Direct download: ep121_SergioPaez_mixdown.mp3
Category:careers -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

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