The Allan McKay podcast is a creative and career related podcast focused on artists in Design, Film, Visual Effects and Video Games. Typically ranking in the top 50 in the career section of iTunes.

In the last few months the downloads have averaged around 40,000 downloads per month. Each episode typically is myself, interviewing other artists in the film or games industry, designers, or book authors, developers or entire software or film or game teams. Episodes range from interviews with Blizzard, Blur, Autodesk, ILM, Pixar and others.

As well as solo episodes I put out focused on specific hands on subjects to do with building your career and improving other areas of your professional and personal life. Our careers are so important yet typically neglected and this podcast is for me an opportunity to share with others and help build a platform around bettering yourself and getting the results that you deserve.

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Episode 396 – Important Looking Pirates Co-Founder Niklas Jacobson

  Episode 396 – Important Looking Pirates Co-Founder Niklas Jacobson Important Looking Pirates (ILP) is a visual effects and digital animation studio located in central Stockholm founded in 2007 by Niklas Jacobson, Yafei Wu, Carl Hermelin and Eric Hermelin. The studio has more than 200 artists and have worked on big titles like Jurassic World: […]

Episode 395 – Sir Wade Neistadt – From Animation School to Cannes

  Episode 395 – Sir Wade Neistadt – From Animation School to Cannes Sir Wade Neistadt is a Freelance Animator, VFX Artist and YouTube Creator. Currently, his YouTube Channel has over 205K followers. In 2014, after his short film about a sick superhero brought him to the Cannes Film Festival, he completed Animation Mentor’s Character […]

Episode 394 – Chris Zammit Talks TOP GUN: MAVERICK VFX

  Episode 394 – Chris Zammit Talks TOP GUN: MAVERICK VFX Christopher Zammit is a VFX Supervisor and Art Director. He’s 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 […]

Episode 393 – 2023. Is This the Year VFX Dies?

  Episode 393 – 2023. Is This the Year VFX Dies? It is amazing how far Artificial Intelligence has progressed just in the last year! No one could’ve predicted the speed of this innovation. A lot of artists are now worried about being replaced with machine learning. While AI can automate and speed things up, […]

Episode 392 – How Hollywood is Using Voice Cloning with Respeecher AI

  Episode 392 – How Hollywood is Using Voice Cloning with Respeecher AI Respeecher uses deep learning (AI) techniques to produce high quality synthetic speech.  The company was launched in 2018 by Alex Serdiuk, Dmytro Bielievtsov and Grant Reaber. In March 2020, Respeecher received $1.5 million in startup funding from ff Venture Capital, Acrobator Ventures, […]

Episode 391 – The Future of VFX – Lon Molnar of MARZ

  Episode 391 – The Future of VFX – Lon Molnar of MARZ The mission of Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ) is to deliver feature-film quality visual effects on television timelines by harnessing GPU clusters, game engine technology, AI and senior industry talent. Leveraging these pillars allows us to consistently execute with both speed and […]

Episode 390 – Stable Diffusion’s Creative Director

  Episode 390 – Stable Diffusion’s Creative Director Stability AI is the company behind Stable Diffusion, a powerful, free and open-source text-to-image generator that launched in August 2022. Since launching, Stable Diffusion has been downloaded and licensed by more than 200,000 developers globally. Stability AI’s consumer-facing product DreamStudio quickly grew to well over a million […]

Episode 389 – Should I Go to a VFX School?

  Episode 389 – Should I Go to a VFX School?  The most commonly asked questions that get asked are:  “Should I go to school to study VFX?”  “Should I study online?”  “What school / online community should I join?” Attending a school is a more traditional way of learning. However, because of the speed […]

Episode 388 – Brendan Kane – One Million Followers

  Episode 388 – Brendan Kane – One Million Followers Brendan Kane is the Bestselling Author of ONE MILLION FOLLOWERS: HOW I BUILD A MASSIVE SOCIAL AUDIENCE IN 30 DAYS and HOOK POINT: HOW TO STAND OUT IN A 3-SECOND WORLD, as well as the Founder and Managing Director of Hook Point. Since 2005, Brendan […]

Episode 387 – Stop Sabotaging Your Career!

  Episode 387 – Stop Sabotaging Your Career!  Perfectionism holds artists back. It gets the best of us, both junior and senior artists like. It’s part of the inability to manage ourselves.  It also ends up costing more: You’re spending so much time on the project, you burn through the budget. You end up paying […]

Episode 386 – Productivity Expert Chris Bailey

  Episode 386 – Productivity Expert Chris Bailey Chris Bailey is a Productivity Expert and the bestselling Author of two books about productivity: The Productivity Project and Hyperfocus: How to Be More Productive in a World of Distraction. Chris writes about productivity at www.alifeofproductivity.com and speaks to organizations around the globe on how they can […]

Episode 385 – Fighting the Seeds of Doubt

  Episode 385 – Fighting the Seeds of Doubt We all have doubts if we’re on the right path. Being an artist requires a lot of patience, perseverance and skill. In addition, we have to continue learning and innovating.  There is this inner voice that asks, “Am I investing my time into something that’s going […]

Episode 384 – Tim Miller’s Advice for Artists

  Episode 384 – Tim Miller’s Advice for Artists Tim Miller is a Film Director, Animator, Creative Director and VFX Artist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the work on his short film Gopher Broke. He made his directing debut with Deadpool. He is also known for creating […]

Episode 383 – AI Art is Taking Over

  Episode 383 – AI Art is Taking Over AI is exploding everywhere. There are so many technological innovations that use AI in visual effects. You might be already following the massive growth of AI. For VFX artists, the question is: Is AI taking over the art world? Will art be replaced by AI? Are […]

Episode 382 – ActionVFX CEO + COO: Building a Business

  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 […]

Episode 381 – Everypoint – Jonathan Stephens

  Episode 381 – Everypoint – Jonathan Stephens EveryPoint combines photogrammetry techniques with the iPhone Pro’s LiDAR scanner to fill in the gaps, as well as utilizes the positional / accelerometer data from the Apple AR toolkit. When combined, this delivers color 3D models that are said to be more accurate than simply using the […]

Episode 380 – Positive Outcomes of COVID-19

  Episode 380 – Positive Outcomes of COVID-19 COVID-19 created havoc in people’s lives and for a while, we thought it would shut down the VFX industry. But it turned out to have the opposite effect. As productions shut down, the studios sent artists home and their equipment to their homes, allowing for artists to […]

 

Episode 379 – CTO Epic Games – Kim Libreri

  Episode 379 – CTO Epic Games – Kim Libreri 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 […]

Episode 378 – Advice for Entry Level Artists

  Episode 378 – Advice for Entry Level Artists  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 […]

Episode 377 – VFX Supervisor Christopher Zammit

  EPISODE 377 – VFX SUPERVISOR CHRISTOPHER ZAMMIT 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: […]

Episode 376 – Cinematographer Darin Moran

  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 […]

Episode 375 – Deepfake Expert Chris Ume

  Episode 375 – Deepfake Expert Chris Ume 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 […]

Episode 374 – LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS Director Emily Dean

  Episode 374 – LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS Director Emily Dean 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 […]

Episode 373 – How To Stand Out from Competitors

  Episode 373 – How To Stand Out from Competitors 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. […]

Episode 372 – YouTuber Evan Carmichael – How to Get 3 Million+ Subs

  Episode 372 – YouTuber Evan Carmichael – How to Get 3 Million+ Subs   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, […]

Episode 371 — CRUSHING Your Bigger Goals

  EPISODE 371 — CRUSHING Your Bigger Goals 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 […]

Episode 370 – Zoic Studios – Virtual Production Sup for the Real Time Group – Scott Rosekrans

  EPISODE 370 – Zoic Studios – Virtual Production Sup for the Real Time Group – Scott Rosekrans Scott Rosekrans is a VFX Supervisor and Virtual Production Supervisor for the Real Time Group at Zoic Studios. He has been working to integrate Unreal Engine into every facet of the facilities post production workflow, from previz […]

Episode 369 – DI4D – Colin Urquhart & Douglas Green

  EPISODE 369 – DI4D – Colin Urquhart & Douglas Green DI4D the world’s leading 4D facial performance capture service that specializes in animation for digital doubles. Their proprietary technology is derived from over 30 years of cutting edge research and development dating back to their own PhD research. Since then, the company has consistently […]

Episode 368 – YouTuber and VFX Artist Eloi Andaluz Fullà

  EPISODE 368 – YouTuber and VFX Artist Eloi Andaluz Fullà Eloi Andaluz Fullà is a visual artist with over 18 years of experience in 3D. He’s worked in architecture, motion graphics, advertising, mappings, interactive installations and movies. He is specialized in particles and dynamics simulations. He has worked as a freelancer for different VFX […]

 

Episode 367 – Magnopus – Co Founder / CEO Ben Grossmann

  EPISODE 367 – Magnopus – Co Founder / CEO Ben Grossmann Oscar-winning Visual Effects Specialist Ben Grossmann has been paving the way for the new immersive web for nearly 20 years. As a Co-Founder of Magnopus, he’s long had a vision of bringing physical and digital worlds together through connected spaces. His passion for […]

Episode 366 – VR Entrepreneur – Sally Slade

  Episode 366 – VR Entrepreneur – Sally Slade Sally Slade worked for eight years in the VFX Industry, supporting visionary creators at Oscar award-winning studios, before pivoting to the XR Industry in 2016.  Sally was nominated as “Reality Mixer of the Year” by Microsoft for her HoloLens product, Muralize, and further decorated by the […]

Episode 365 – BUCK – Creative Director Orion Tait

  Episode 365 – BUCK – Creative Director Orion Tait Orion Tait is a Director and Partner at Buck, leading its New York studio in creating commercials and content for major brands from all over the world. With a background in filmmaking, fine arts and graphic design, his varied body of work is rooted in […]

Episode 364 – Filmmaking in Unreal – Aaron Sims

Episode 364 – Filmmaking in Unreal – Aaron Sims    Aaron Sims, the visual creator behind some of this generation’s most unforgettable cinema creatures, began his career over two decades ago as a special effects makeup artist. His pioneering techniques in the world of visual effects influenced the face of character and creature design in […]

 

 

Episode 363 – Director Carlos Stevens – LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS

  Episode 363 – Director Carlos Stevens – LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS Carlos Stevens is an Animation Director, Writer and Executive Producer. He’s a former Student Academy Awards nominee for his animated short film Toumai. This achievement kick-started Carlos’s career working on a variety of Cannes Gold Lion award-winning commercial campaigns, notably for Sprint and […]

Episode 362 — Henrique Reginato – NOX Visual Effects

  Episode 362 — Henrique Reginato – NOX Visual Effects Henrique Reginato is a VFX Supervisor and the Founder of NOX Visual Effects. After working in VFX for over 13 years, Henrique launched NOX Visual Effects during COVID-19 by purchasing the Nuke Indie license and working from home. Born in Brazil, Henrique first studied at […]

Episode 361 – ILM – David Vickery

  Episode 361 – ILM – David Vickery David Vickery is a VFX Supervisor at ILM, well known for his work on films such as Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 and 2, Fast & Furious 6 and Jupiter Ascending. His work has been recognized with an Academy Award® nomination and […]

Episode 360 – Fred Ruff – Running a VFX Studio

  Episode 360 – Fred Ruff – Running a VFX Studio Fred Ruff is the founder of Refuge FX, a Portland based visual effects studio responsible for projects like For All Mankind, Helstrom, Queen of the South, Runaways, Grimm, Last Knight.  Fred has over two decades of experience in computer graphics, visual effects and software […]

Episode 359 — VFX Supervisor Bilali Mack – Alkemy X

  Episode 359 — VFX Supervisor Bilali Mack – Alkemy X Bilali Mack is a VFX Supervisor Based in NYC. Born in Accra, Ghana and based in Brooklyn, Bilali has spent the better part of the last decade honing his craft at visual effects at studios such as Brickyard VFX, Smoke and Mirrors, MPC and […]

Episode 358 – Tim Miller – Founder of Blur Studio

  Episode 358 – Tim Miller – Founder of Blur Studio Tim Miller is a Film Director, Animator, Creative Director and VFX Artist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film for the work on his short film Gopher Broke. He made his directing debut with Deadpool. He is also known […]

Episode 357 – EmberGen CEO – Building a Business

  Episode 357 – EmberGen CEO – Building a Business Janga FX was founded in 2016 by Nick Seavert, an entrepreneur who is well versed in both startups and real-time VFX. Janga FX was initially bootstrapped with credit cards, software sales, and many thousands of man hours instead of outside investments. The company’s core motive […]

Episode 356 — Channel Makers – Nate Black

  Episode 356 — Channel Makers – Nate Black  When Nate Black decided to start a YouTube channel, he had a significant advantage: As an actor, he’d been in thousands of live stage performances and knew how to play to an audience. After leaving the stage, he moved through various jobs until he found a […]

Episode 355 — NFT’s and Other “Hacks” — Clinton Jones

  Episode 355 — NFT’s and Other “Hacks” — Clinton Jones Clinton Jones is a Director, Content Creator, VFX Artist and Photographer. He has worked at Rocket Jump and at Corridor Digital. On his YouTube Channel, where he is known as Pwnisher, he launches challenges for his community, as well as creates tutorials. His YouTube […]

Episode 354 – Ian Spriggs – Photoreal 3D Character Portraits

  Episode 354 – Ian Spriggs – Photoreal 3D Character Portraits Ian Spriggs is a 3D Digital Artist and a VFX Artist. He completed his first 3D portrait in 2014. His work has become widely known for being photorealistic because they seem to represent the subjects’ inner selves.  As a Lead Character Modeler, he has […]

Episode 353 – ILM – Manager Emerging Talent – Kim Paris

  Episode 353 – ILM – Manager Emerging Talent – Kim Paris Since 1975, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) has set the standard for visual effects, creating some of the most stunning images in the history of film. At the forefront of the digital revolution, ILM continues to break new ground in the field not […]

Episode 352 – Activision Blizzard – Executive Principal Recruiter for Art in Animation and Creative Robin Alan Linn

  Episode 352 – Activision Blizzard – Executive Principal Recruiter for Art in Animation and Creative Robin Alan Linn 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 […]

Episode 351 – CBS VFX – Ava DuVernay’s ONE PERFECT SHOT

  Episode 351 – CBS VFX – Ava DuVernay’s ONE PERFECT SHOT   When Oscar®-nominated, Emmy® award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay teams with some of cinema’s most noted directors in the new HBO Max original docuseries One Perfect Shot, movie lovers will see dazzling, unprecedented views inside memorable shots from film history. The series provides a […]

Episode 350 – F is for Family – Showrunner Mike Price

  Episode 350 – F is for Family – Showrunner Mike Price Mike Price is a Writers Guild Award and three-time Emmy Award-winning Writer and Producer. He is the Executive Producer and Showrunner of the acclaimed Netflix animated comedy series F is for Family, which he co-created with series star Bill Burr.  He is also […]

Episode 349 – Blur Studio – Head of Character Effects Kemer Stevenson

  Episode 349 – Blur Studio – Head of Character Effects Kemer Stevenson  Kemer Stevenson is the Character Effects Supervisor at Blur Studio in Los Angeles, California. With more than 15 years of experience in feature film, marketing and communications, he has previously worked for DreamWorks Animation, Rhythm & Hues, Republic Studios. His credits include: […]

Episode 348 – Foundation – DNEG’s VFX Sup Chris Keller

  Episode 348 – Foundation – DNEG’s VFX Sup Chris Keller  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) […]

Episode 347 – Perfectionism is the Enemy

  Episode 347 – Perfectionism is the Enemy Perfection is our inability to balance out our priorities or see the big picture. We get so fixated on everything being perfect, we fall behind our responsibilities, eventually failing to deliver anything at all. This is a huge problem for a lot of junior artists who make […]

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