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Episode 382 – ActionVFX CEO + COO: Building a Business!
ActionVFX creates the world’s largest library of visual effects stock footage elements for professional VFX Compositors. From Fire, Smoke, and Explosions, to People and Crowds. ActionVFX’s mission is to provide artists with the best VFX assets in the world.
ActionVFX’s footage has been used in films like: Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far from Home, Jumanji: The Next Level; television shows like Watchmen, Flash, Fear of the Walking Dead, Legends of Tomorrow, How to Get Away with Murder, Narcos, Series of Unfortunate Events; as well as in video games, music videos and the live Lady Gaga performance at this year’s Grammys.
Most recently, ActionVFX footage was used in The Last of Us: They Will Come and Marauder: The End is Near.
In this Episode, ActionVFX CEO Rodolphe Pierre-Louis and COO / Co-Owner Luke Thompson talk about launching the company, the lessons they learned along the way, upcoming technology and the importance of consistent learning, willingness to fail fast, leadership advice and so much more!
ActionVFX Website: https://www.actionvfx.com
ActionVFX on Allan McKay’s Podcast: www.allanmckay.com/77
Rodolphe Pierre-Louis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodolphe-pierre-louis-3349b956/
Luke Thompson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lukethompsonfilm/
EPISODE 382 – ACTIONVFX CEO + COO: BUILDING A BUSINESS
Hi, everyone!
This is Allan McKay. Welcome to Episode 382!
I’m sitting down with the guys from ActionVFX: CEO Rodolphe Pierre-Louis and COO Luke Thompson. We take a peek at the behind-the-scenes of running the company. I think we’ll all get a lot of value from this Episode.
I’ve been wanting to do this for about a year. I’ve been speaking to Luke a lot about the business. I really respect ActionVFX as a company, with their roots as a startup with Kickstarter as initial funds. These are quality people in general.
We talk about:
- Introducing and Launching Action VFX
- Lessons Learned Along the Way
- Innovation and Technology: AI, Digi Humans
- New Skills Required for VFX Artists
- The Importance of Consistent Innovation
- Creating and Maintaining the Company Vision
- Willingness to Fail — as Part of Success
- The Importance of Company Branding
- Building a Company Culture
- Metrics of Consistent Growth
- Leadership Advice and Resources
Let’s dive in!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM ALLAN McKAY:
[01:21] Have you ever sent in your reel and wondered why you didn’t get the callback or what the reason was you didn’t get the job? Over the past 20 years of working for studios like ILM, Blur Studio, Ubisoft, I’ve built hundreds of teams and hired hundreds of artists — and reviewed thousands of reels! That’s why I decided to write The Ultimate Demo Reel Guide from the perspective of someone who actually does the hiring. You can get this book for free right now at www.allanmckay.com/myreel!
[1:10:50] One of the biggest problems we face as artists is figuring out how much we’re worth. I’ve put together a website. Check it out: www.VFXRates.com! This is a chance for you to put in your level of experience, your discipline, your location — and it will give you an accurate idea what you and everyone else in your discipline should be charging. Check it out: www.VFXRates.com!
Okay, what did you think? I hope you got a lot from this Episode. I want to thank Luke and Rodolphe for taking the time to chat. Let me know if you’d like for me to have these guys back on the Podcast again, for the third time.
Next week, I’m doing a solo Episode on the subject of AI. This is the talk I did at SIGGRAPH, along with Google and Nvidia. I made sure to mention at that talk that I was the least qualified person in the room to speak on the subject.
Until next week –
Rock on!
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