In his book THE ALCHEMIST, Paolo Coelho talks about a Personal Legend. So many people give up just moments before they reach their own Personal Legend. After a while, if you aren’t getting the desired goal, it’s hard to convince yourself not to give up. It’s especially hard when other people are telling you to give up. 

Insecure people lash out at people who are more accomplished or ambitious, or courageous. They’re intimidated by someone who rubs them the wrong way. This also applies to new tools or technology. These days, it’s a common reaction toward AI. So many people fear that AI will take over their jobs. Instead, they can choose to get new skills and get in front of this innovation. 

You’re the one choosing your outlook:

• Rather than seeing someone as a threat – you can see them as an ally.

• Rather than seeing innovation as a threat – you can see it as an opportunity.

Nothing worth doing comes easy. It’s always darkest before dawn. But once you’ve earned your place, the success is so much sweeter.

Inspired by Paolo Coelho’s THE ALCHEMIST, Allan McKay talks about your Personal Legend, how to eliminate the negative voices that challenge you to keep going, how to change your own outlook – and choose to be inspired, instead of being intimidated.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/409.

Crafty Apes is a full service, boutique VFX company based in Culver City, CA & Atlanta, GA. The company was launched in July of 2011 by three visual effects veterans Jason Sanford, Chris LeDoux and Tim LeDoux. Believing that strong 2D compositing is the backbone behind quality visual effects, Crafty Apes was formed to primarily offer high-end compositing services for feature films and television clients. 

Crafty Apes specializes in compositing effects and visual effects supervision. By paying extra attention to the detail and integration that 2D work requires and by working with the best technology available spread among a select group of artists, Crafty Apes can deliver a superior product to higher end clients in a shorter time period.

Their recent credits include: The Babysitter: Killer Queen, Lovecraft Country, Doctor Strange, Hidden Figures, Lalaland, Fist Fight, Pete's Dragon, Captain America: Civil War, Killing Reagan, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Dirty Grandpa, Allegiant, Insurgent, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Mass, The 33, Foxcatcher, 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, The Monkey King, White House Down, Single Mom's Club, The Last Stand, A Madea's Christmas and many more.

In this Podcast, VFX Supervisor Marc Smith and VFX Comp Supervisor Tanner Bartlett discuss their work on Mark Mylod’s THE MENU, the way their studio Crafty Apes approaches a new project, as well as give advice to artists on why it’s important to admit your shortcomings and the skills that make you most hireable. 

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/408.

Frank Petzold is an internationally acclaimed Director and VFX Supervisor, and he’s been working in film for over 25 years. Whether working in film or television, Frank creates cutting edge visuals.

Before stepping into the world of directing, this award-winning VFX Supervisor enjoyed a successful career in Germany as a Director of Photography, specializing in shoots with visual effects components. In the early 90s, Frank joined the Tippett Studio in California to supervise and direct VFX work for major Hollywood films. Starting with the cult classic STARSHIP TROOPERS, he quickly moved from one blockbuster to the next, including ARMAGEDDON, THE MATRIX, HOLLOW MAN, THE RING, GOLDEN COMPASS and many others.

Working closely with Directors such as Steven Spielberg, Paul Verhoven, Frank Oz, Gore Verbinsky, Ivan Reitman, Frank learned how to bring story to life. With that extensive experience, he began directing complex commercials for the international market.

When ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT Director Edward Berger called Franks, with whom he worked on the AMC Series THE TERROR, the idea of working on such an iconic literary IP made Frank intimidated and inspired at the same time. Based on Erich Maria Remarque’s best-selling 1929 novel of the same name, the film follows an idealistic young German soldier in WWI who soon learns the harrowing reality of war. Because of the intimate perspective and to capture the verisimilitude of life in the trenches, Petzold’s goal was to ground the visual effects in photorealistic reference points. In other words, in this case, less is more. In 2023, the film won 4 Academy Awards.

Frank has been a member of VES since 1999.

In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks to the VFX Supervisor and Director Frank Petzold about his start in VFX at the legendary Tippett Studio; his work on STARSHIP TROOPERS, HOLLOW MAN, ARMAGEDDON, as well as the 2023 Academy Award Winning film ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/407.

Some people argue that you can’t make more than $50K in VFX. Others compare their lives to the curated lifestyles on social media and demand to get paid more. It really comes down to your WHY: Why do you need more cash? The quickest pay rise you can give yourself is figuring out your budget. It’s better to figure out your finances and take control of your money. And if you still want to earn more money, you need to understand the industry you’re in and what it pays people.

That being said, you can earn bigger numbers in VFX. If you want to earn more, you have to rethink the whole process. Recently, I was offered a Director position on a AAA game. Working in video games, you can make extra cash either in bonuses or by having a side hustle. If you were to start to think about dealing with things on a bigger level – as a studio – you can start to understand the process. 

As a VFX Supervisor and previously a Producer and Studio Owner, I understand budgets. When Producers create budgets, they don’t have the money allocated yet. Once vendors submit their bids, Producers sit down and figure out what the budget for a project might be and the number of artists they need to hire. Then they worry about their margins, their expenditures and profit. The Producers on the client side don’t scrutinize the details. All they care about – is deliverables. That allows you to rethink the process by changing the way you charge your rate.

Now, you could go work at the same place your entire life. If you take that linear career trajectory,  you end up waiting for a pay rise every year. If making more money is all you’re after, you need to examine a few things: 

• First of all, ask yourself if you’re in the right industry? 

• If you do want to do it in VFX, can you create a side hustle?

• Do you see yourself launching your own studio?

• Can you move from the vendor to the client side of VFX?

If you want to make money by simply doing VFX, you need to get creative. I’ve talked about this in the past: There is no limit to how much money you can make in visual effects! Ask yourself the question: How do the people who pay me – pay themselves? Once you understand that, you can position yourself in a way that justifies the money you want to make.

In this Podcast, Allan McKay busts the myth that a VFX Artist cannot make a lot of money in visual effects and gives his insight as a VFX Supervisor, Producer and Studio Owner about how you can make a lot more money in this business.

For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/406.