Epic Games CTO Kim Libreri is responsible for continuing Epic’s tradition of fusing state-of-the-art technology with the pinnacle of visual artistry, and for defining the studio’s Unreal Engine as the platform of choice for all types of interactive experiences including games, movies, visualization, augmented reality and virtual reality. 

Prior to joining Epic Games, Kim was the Chief Strategy Officer at Lucasfilm, where he was responsible for the company’s STAR WARS technology strategy and innovations in interactive storytelling, including the highly-awarded 1313 prototype. Kim’s career in digital technology and visual effects spans over 20 years, and he has credits on more than 25 films including SUPER 8, SPEED RACER, POSEIDON and THE MATRIX TRILOGY. He led the development team for the award-winning WHAT DREAMS MAY COME, as well as for the original MATRIX, developing the now-legendary Bullet Time technology. 

Kim is a respected member of many visual effects bodies, including the visual effects branch of the Academy. He has received numerous awards for his work and contributions to Motion Picture technology including an Oscar nomination in 2006 and two Academy Awards in 2000 and 2015.

In this Episode, Epic Games CTO Kim Libreri talks about his groundbreaking work on the Bullet Time technology for THE MATRIX, why innovation is a must in a film career, performance art and interactivity, the evolution of digital humans – and why greatness cannot be achieved without randomness.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/379.

At the beginning of your VFX career, things can seem so hard and so stressful. As a junior VFX Artist, you may feel like everyone is out to get you. Here are some powerful mindset shifts that will change your outlook and how you feel about your career.

A lot of artists have a struggling artist mentality. Once you understand that you’re in a commercial industry – and you are a commercial industry of Hollywood movies and AAA games – you also understand that your client’s vision is the most important. It is your job to deliver the result. As a VFX artist, you are in a service industry. Which means that your project is a director’s vision and you have to respect that.

Another shift happens when you over-communicate everything. You have to communicate to your Producers or Heads of 3D – where you are in your progress and where you’re storing the files. It’s a great habit to get into the habit of communicating that information at the end of the day, via an email. That way you’re creating a massive log of your work. Another part of effective communication is building a visual language. Directors can communicate in different ways. As a VFX artist, you need to learn to use reference images, mood boards and other visual tools to get your message across. 

It is also crucial to see the big picture from the very beginning. So as an artist, you have to start with broad strokes. After you understand the importance of blocking the beats out in animation, for example. You can dial things back early on – and only then start zeroing in on details. Which also means that you share your work early on. You should also get used to foreseeing the needs of the client – by giving them options in response to their notes.

Learning how to critique your own work is the most valuable thing you can do. That will change everything for you. You will start taking pride in your work. It’ll also help you anticipate the next creative changes a client might request next. But most importantly, you must take pride in everything that you touch! It is the most important metric for you as an artist and team member!

In this career advice, Allan McKay talks about the mindset shifts that will propel your VFX career forward: from learning that you’re in a service industry to seeing the big picture; from learning to communicate to anticipating the client’s or the director’s needs; from learning to critique your own work – to, most importantly, taking pride in everything you touch!

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/378.

Christopher Zammit is a VFX Supervisor and Art Director. They've worked on many films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Tomorrowland, Ghostbusters, and of course films in the Transformers franchise Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Transformers: Age of Extinction and Transformers: The Last Knight. 

In this Podcast, VFX Supervisor and Art Director Christopher Zammit gives advice to artists about getting the foot in the door, short deadlines and working overtime, how to negotiate in your favor – as well as the experience working on The Transformers, Man of Steel and so much more!

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/377.

Darin Moran has been making movies for over 20 years. While he studied design & photography at The Academy of Art in San Francisco and film theory and cinematography at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, he dropped out of school after a few years to learn in the field by actually making films.

Exposed to a wide variety of processes and styles across multiple disciplines, Darin’s eclectic work experience with many talented cinematographers and directors informs his vision now as a DP. Specializing in working with natural light, Darin’s focus is creating powerful imagery using photography that’s hidden in the story rather than presented upfront. His recent work includes AGE OF SUMMER, BANANA SPLIT, and the streaming series THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER. RUN HIDE FIGHT is his sixth feature film as a Director of Photography.

In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Cinematographer Darin Moran about the path of becoming a Director of Photography, soft skills versus hard skills, the importance of relationships and diplomacy on set, how to be a leader on set and serve the story, mentors and how to find them; as well as his work on THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER, MOON KNIGHT and the upcoming feature THE ESTATE.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/376.

Chris Ume is a visual effects expert with many years of experience in entertainment and corporate projects. In 2020, he began experimenting with deepfake technology, sourcing AI models from obscure Russian websites, and experimenting with new techniques. That led to a collaboration with an American actor known for Tom Cruise parody videos and Deep Tom Cruise was born.

Since then, Chris has worked on titles like South Park and Sassy Justice.  Following the viral success of those deepfake videos and others, Ume co-founded Metaphysic.ai in 2021. The company recently closed a $7.5 million funding round.

In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX and Deepfake Expert Chris Ume about the process, challenges and the future applications of Deepfakes, his experience working on SOUTH PARK, as well as the ethics of this revolutionary technology.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/375.

Emily Dean is an Asian-Australian writer, director, and artist living in LA.

Emily holds a BA (Honours I), History and English Major, from the University of Sydney. Following her academic studies, Emily pursued a career in animation first at the Australian Film TV Radio School (AFTRS) and earned a Graduate Certificate in Animation Directing, then further at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Following training at Pixar in the Story Department, Emily has worked as a Story Artist and Visual Consultant for Warner Bros and Animal Logic on films such as THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017), THE LEGO MOVIE 2 (2019); Lionsgate’s sci fi thriller HOTEL ARTEMIS (2019) starring Jodie Foster; and on Sony Picture Animation’s Oscar Award winning HAIRLOVE (2019) from creator/director Matthew A. Cherry.

In 2012, Emily’s animated short film FORGET ME NOT was nominated for an Australian Academy Award (AACTA), and in 2018 her first live action sci fi short film ANDROMEDA played and was awarded at numerous genre fests including the Trieste Science Fiction Festival. 

In 2019, Emily was awarded Variety Magazine’s Top 10 Animators To Watch; and in 2021, Emily was named one of Piaget’s Extraordinary Women. Emily is also currently serving a term on the inaugural Alumni Advisory Committee for the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) for 2022-2023.

Emily recently directed THE VERY PULSE OF THE MACHINE, written by Philip Gelatt and based on the Hugo Award -winning short story by Michael Swanwick for Volume 3 of the Emmy-award winning Netflix R-rated animated series LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS, under the creative leadership team of Tim Miller, David Fincher, and Jennifer Yuh Nelson.

Emily currently writes, directs and executive produces content for film and television under her production banner Grade 8 Productions.

In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Director, Writer and Artist Emily Dean about her experiencing directing THE VERY PULSE OF THE MACHINE for LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS, directing her first short films, the lessons and mindsets for filmmakers, starting her own production company and importance of supporting up-and-coming artists.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/374.

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.

So what are you doing to stand out? How do you make sure your reel doesn’t blend in in the hundreds of other reels? You have to be ultra specific on how to categorize yourself. Because you need to set context for the positions for which you’re applying. It also helps to have your name anchored to the solution to their problem. 

The more you’re able to clearly define yourself and associate your skills with something -- the easier it is for your name to resonate when that something is needed. That singles you out as a go-to person.

In this Podcast, Allan talks about finding your niche, how to have different niches for different audiences; but most importantly, why having a niche is so crucial for getting hired for the jobs you want.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/373.

Evan Carmichael #BELIEVES in entrepreneurs. 

At 19, he built and then sold a biotech software company. 

At 22, he was a venture capitalist raising $500k to $15M.

He now runs a YouTube channel for entrepreneurs with over 2 million subscribers, wrote 4 books, and speaks globally. 

He wants to solve the world's biggest problem. 

He's set 2 world records, uses a trampoline & stand-up desk, owns Canada's largest salsa dance studio and has a giant Doritos bag in front of him all day long to remind him that he's stronger than the Doritos. 

Toronto is his home. He's a husband, father, TSM Fan and Teemo main.

In this powerful interview with Allan McKay, Speaker, Author, YouTuber and self-proclaimed Introvert Evan Carmichael talks about #BELIEVE as the central message of his content, the problem of low self-esteem, failure, perfectionism; as well as the importance of mentors, consistency – and loving what you do!

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/372.

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 would lead to next, if you weren’t willing to leverage one experience to the next, none of that would be easy. We always get tested! It’s easier to take the lesser path. But we get to choose that Sliding Doors moment -- or we get to choose to have it all.

In this Podcast, Allan reflects on the choices he’s made throughout his career that lead him to face his fears, take huge risks and to have his dream job (which would eventually lead to his night at the Oscars).

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/371.

Scott Rosekrans is a VFX Supervisor and Virtual Production Supervisor for the Real Time Group at Zoic Studios. He's been working to integrate Unreal Engine into every facet of the facilities post production workflow, from previz and on-set virtual production to final renders. He is also Unreal Authorized Instructor Partner for Epic Games.

Scott graduated in 2005 from Savannah College of Art and Design, with a degree in Computer Arts. He was trained as a generalist and chose to pursue my focus of rigging. He joined Zoic Studios in 2007 as an intern; and within two years, he was handling all rigging work for the entire studio. 

 In this interview with Allan McKay, VFX Supervisor and Virtual Production Supervisor for the Real Time Group at Zoic Studios Scott Rosekrans talks about his journey from being an artist, to joining Zoic Studios, to becoming Unreal Authorized Instructor Partner for Epic Games. He also talks about working in Unreal, incorporating realtime into Zoic’s pipeline and the future of virtual production.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/370.