The Allan Mckay Podcast

Bidding isn’t an exact science, especially with 3D. Most of the time, clients are coming to you asking for something that’s never been done before. Even if it has been done before, there are so many curveballs. You have to be notorious for asking questions in the beginning. The more you cover in the initial conversation, the more accurate the bid is going to be; and the more you can address the problems early on. A lot of the clients don’t understand what we do in VFX. You have to keep that in mind. When they ask for something ridiculous, they may not understand the work that goes into it. The more you educate your client, the more they will trust you and the more they will understand why something may be more expensive or more difficult to do. In this Podcast, Allan McKay teaches how to create VFX bids, explains the importance of communication from the get-go of a job and gives insight on how to grow your studio. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/222.  

Michael Janda is an executive level creative leader with more than 20 years of experience in both in-house creative departments and agencies working with some of the greatest brands in the world. In 2002, he founded the creative agency Riser, a nationally recognized agency creating high-profile work for clients including Disney, Google, ABC, Fox, Warner Bros., NBC, TV Guide and numerous other notable companies. The company’s 3 year growth rate of 235% in 2013 resulted in a ranking on Inc. 5000 (#1657). Riser’s work quality and successful business practices yielded some of the most coveted awards in the industry including Webbys, FWA, Awwwards, AIGA and Addys. After selling Riser in 2015 and becoming its Chief Creative Officer, Michael orchestrated a rebrand of the agency as EKR. In collaboration with the other partners, he successfully migrated Riser’s clients and acquired new notable clients including Google, National Geographic, ABC, Intel and Netflix. In addition to his robust experience managing creative

Tony Giglio is a writer, director and producer. He worked his way up from a production assistant to become one of Hollywood's most versatile multi-hyphenates. Universal's 1440 has tapped Tony to write and direct a reboot of Doom: Annihilation. Previously, Tony directed feature films S.W.A.T.: Under Siege, 2nd Unit on Resident Evil, Timber Falls. In 2005, Giglio wrote and directed his best known work, the action-thriller Chaos, starring Jason Statham, Ryan Phillippe and Wesley Snipes. He also wrote, produced and directed Sony Crackle's first ever made for new media feature Extraction; and co-wrote and directed the WWII drama In Enemy Hands, starring William H. Macy. Nina Bergman is an actress, singer, songwriter and model. She was born in Denmark and is the granddaughter of Russian actor Pavel Kadochnikov (Ivan The Terrible). Nina spent her early childhood traveling around Europe with her Russian Gypsy grandparents. At 14, she received a scholarship to the musical theater school Urdang Academy in London. A yea

Rob Bredow is a strategic and visionary leader with a unique understanding of how media and innovation can join forces to tell great stories and create groundbreaking experiences. As SVP, Executive Creative Director and Head of Industrial Light & Magic, he is responsible for the company’s overall creative strategy and global operations. Most recently Bredow was the Visual Effects Supervisor and Co-Producer on Solo: A Star Wars Story. He served as a creative partner to the filmmakers throughout the production, from the earliest story meetings to the final frames of visual effects. He leveraged his background in innovative technology to help tell the story of the film, creating grounded images with a unique shooting style designed for the movie. In his former role as Lucasfilm Chief Technology Officer, Bredow oversaw all technology development for Lucasfilm and ILM. Bredow joined Lucasfilm in 2014 as Vice President of New Media and Head of Lucasfilm’s Advanced Development Group. He helped launch ILMxLAB in

The title of this Podcast is based on the story of Roger Bannister, the runner that broke the 4-minute mile. Prior to the 1952 Olympics, we all believed that that was impossible to do. Yet when he stepped onto the track that day and broke that barrier, it broke the World Record. It also changed the concept of limitation in many people’s minds. Until then, no one was able to break through this barrier. This was the rule we set in our minds: This was impossible! So why did it take only two months after Bannister’s victory for the next person to break that record? Here is the reality: Most of us fail before we even begin because we fool ourselves into believing the opposite of the truth. Before anyone had success, they were exactly where we are now. The only difference was: They just got started. It’s as simple as that. They -- got started! More than likely, the ones that succeeded stuck it out. They didn’t give into the negative mindsets or their inner critic! The simple fact is this: If they can make it -- so

The key two things with everything Instagram related are: relevance and consistency with everything you post. It’s about consistency, seeing it through and nurturing it. There is good content and bad content; but you have to have our finger on the pulse to see what’s working -- and double down on that. There are certain subjects that people want to consume. When you give value to others -- that’s when it changes everything! In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks about how to build an Instagram following, how to translate that into your own brand -- as well as how to get traction, jobs and opportunities out of it! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/217/.

Dan Katcher is a renowned Los Angeles-based creature designer for television, video games, and film. He is best known for his design of the dragons on HBO’s hit, Game of Thrones, which earned him Emmy recognition for three straight seasons. In addition to Game of Thrones, Dan is currently at work on creatures for a number of DC Comic productions, including The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Supergirl. Dan’s previous work includes the dinosaurs on Fox’s Terra Nova, alien designs for the Green Lantern film, creature designs for MTV’s Shannara Chronicles, and sculpts of the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” for Sideshow Collectibles, as well as many other works. He got his start creating collectibles in wax for Todd McFarlane Toys in New York.  Dan was trained at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he majored in Animation; and at the Art Students League, where he learned clay figurative sculpture from experts in the field. Dan credits his traditional art background for the depth of understanding of a

Sergio Paez is a Director and Story Designer who got his start working at companies such as Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Sony. He is also a founding member of Storyboard Art, an online visual story community, with both a content creation and educational focus to further techniques in visual storytelling. In 2012, Sergio authored the book Professional Storyboarding: Rules of Thumb which has become the go-to reference for story artists looking to enter the entertainment business. Mitch Bowler is the Founder of Pencil Kings and Evolve, an online community that provides world class art education for artists, whether they’re trying to get back into art or are working professionals. Founded in 2010, Pencil Kings has established a library of courses on illustration, comics, digital media, entertainment art. In this Podcast, Allan, Sergio and Mitch do a live stream about the mindset of successful artists and give tips on how to overcome challenges and resistances in your learning and evolution.  For more show notes, visit w

The biggest pain point for a lot of us -- is not having enough time. But what would you be able to do if you had an extra 10 hours per week? And if the excuse is “I don’t have enough time", then the question is: Where are your priorities? Most of us want to grow in our careers, and we want to get the most out of what we are doing. On the other hand, we don’t always have time. We’re exhausted from work and other commitments. You’re always going to have distractions. Part of what this Podcast focuses on is how to handle your distractions and be in control of your time; and gives you actionable productivity hacks. This Podcast by Allan McKay is around the subject on How to Win the Day: How to get the most out of your day -- whether it be for your freelance job or your work -- by creating more time for yourself. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/214/.

Ruairi Robinson is a Filmmaker: Director, Writer and VFX Artist. His science fiction short film Fifty Percent Gray was nominated for an Academy Award. His short film The Silent City with Cillian Murphy concerns a group of soldiers wandering through a perilous post-apocalyptic wasteland. In 2013, Ruairi directed a feature film The Last Days on Mars, starring Liev Schreiber, which was an adaptation of the science-fiction short story The Animators by Sydney J. Bounds. In early 2015, he directed the proof of concept short film Leviathan which became a viral hit In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Ruairi Robinson about his career as a VFX Artist and Film Director, his latest short film Corporate Monster -- as well as the importance of being familiar with all the aspects of film making. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/213/.  

Image Engine is a high-end visual effects studio based in Vancouver, BC, that specializes in creature design and animation for feature films and television. Founded in 1995, the studio has worked on films like District 9 and Chappie, Independence Day: Resurgence and Jurassic World; shows like X-Files and Game of Thrones. In 2010, the company was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, for their work on District 9. In this Episode, Allan McKay moderates a round table with the Emmy Award Winning VFX Supervisors Jörn Großhans and Thomas Schelesny about their experience on Game of Thrones and how that show changed the realm of VFX for tv. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/212/.

An FX Technical Director is the coolest job in the world. You get to create some really cool shots! It’s a position that’s challenging to do, is fulfilling and fun and it’s not going to get extinct -- so it has legs to it! You’ll have more options and opportunities in your career as a TD. The more you embrace what this role is, the more you’ll become irreplaceable. But it’s a job that demands problem solving skills. It’s all about exploring and constant learning. The more you play around -- the more you deal with challenges -- the more likely you will become an FX TD. In this Podcast, Allan explains the job and the skill sets of an FX Technical Director, explains how to stay relevant and in demand -- and why this is the coolest job in the world! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/211/.

Over the past decade of doing my Mentorship and publishing free training, it’s changed my perspective on how I do things, as well as how to help people get results. I’m not out there teaching you how to understand a tool or how to create some crappy explosion. What I am trying to teach is: What tools do I need to give you to get you the end results that you want? Getting on YouTube has been interesting! I just hit 25K Subscriptions. What’s been fascinating is seeing firsthand all the negativity that comes up. In my courses, we weed that out and we get more personable with people. But on YouTube and social media, it’s a different thing. If someone’s tearing everything apart, it allows them to use that as an excuse and sit back and not be successful! They never get the results that they want and hope they no one else does either. What they don’t realize is that there are no shortcuts to success! I had this realization recently: We need to call these trolls out, to point out why they aren’t succeeding. It’s not

In this Podcast, Allan talks about his first real job, getting fired and becoming homeless -- and what he’s learned from that in order to remain successful in his career over the past 20 years. An experience like that affects someone so much that you never want to go through it again! It changes how you handle things. Having something like that happen allows you to think, “Never again!” It fuels you and makes you stay in control of your life. It ensures that you’re always killing it. It also makes you confront any excuses that you may be telling yourself. It teaches you to find the thing that you’re most passionate about -- and go for it! -- because the rest will fall into place. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/209/.

Brian Dixon is a Business Coach, a Marketing Strategist, a Teacher, Speaker and an Author who helps artists and businesses clarify their message, build their audience, and create and launch life-changing products. His book Start with Your People comes out September 10th, 2019. In this Podcast, Brian talks about the importance of being the artist and the business -- how to increase your impact online and build your audience -- and gives specific tools for visualizing and achieving success! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/205/.

This Podcast is dedicated to a very common question: “Am I too old (or too young) to work in VFX?” A lot of what gets said out there isn’t true, especially when it comes to the subject of age discrimination. This Episode cover why it’s not true -- and how to avoid it, whether you’re “too old” or “too young”! Visual effects and all the surrounding industries share one thing: They are result based industries. That means that you don’t tell someone how good you are -- you show how good you are. Your work speaks for itself. It’s as simple as that. So it always comes down that: Can you do the work? That’s all that matters in the end. Your age doesn’t matter at all! In this Podcast, Allan demolishes the common fear about being “too old” or “too young” to work in VFX -- and gives some insider tips on how to start working in VFX or how to transition into your dream job from your first career. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/207/.

This Episode is on the subject of building exposure: Leveraging what you’ve already done in your career to build a content machine and to use that to build a bigger name, to get attention, to get work and to build your brand. To be able to harness our passion to build our name and our brand -- is important to what we do. A lot of us are insecure about it, however. There is a difference between being a sell out and knowing that you’re running a business. This Episode presents you with a painless process how to do that. You can sell anything these days! When it comes to your work, there will always be people interested in seeing your work! The inner critic that beats us done needs to be avoided. You need to keep doing your work and showing it. So how can you leverage your previous job and your current one for the next one? How can you get more attention? How can you keep building your brand? For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/206/.

This Podcast tackles the subject of working from home and how to get started. The first step is to seek additional work (Allan McKay’s Two Trains Theory) until that side hustle becomes your second career. In addition to investing in that side business, you have to start building relationships with studios and potential clients. By using the tools and technology out there, you could get the attention of some amazing companies and become a successful freelancer. The key thing here -- is the transition. You have your full-time job but on the side, you start bringing in additional work. After a while, that side career will start to take off. Once it gets to the point where you main job holds you back -- that’s when you jump! In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks about how to build a successful side hustle until it launches your second career; how to take advantage of today’s tools to build your brand and become so successful, you could work from ANYWHERE! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/205/.

Lucas Ridley is an Animator, a Director, a VFX Supervisor and the Creator and Teacher at Digital Creator School. For the last decade, he’s worked on films like Avengers: Infinity War, Ready Player One, Transformers: The Last Knight, Suicide Squad and many others. He’s also directed short films, including for LEGO. In this Podcast, Lucas and Allan talk about the importance of having a healthy mindset about your work, how to get into flow states to achieve higher productivity -- and the importance of taking responsibility for your success! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/204/.

This Episodes covers a topic that has come up a lot recently: Will Artificial Intelligence take away our jobs? Not so long ago, it would’ve been a paranoid question to ask. Nowadays, we’re constantly getting innovation and new technology, especially in our industry. A lot of us question if there will be a major disruption. It’s been really fascinating to see what’s been happening, but more importantly -- where it’s all going. Disruptive Innovation presents an opportunity for those of us who are willing to embrace change. If we stick to what we know, we will eventually become extinct. For a lot of animators who weren’t willing to adapt, for example, that’s exactly what happened. We should always be evolving and improving and adapting to new technology and techniques. The more you have your finger on the pulse of what’s effective, the more you can become the futurist for our industry and begin to anticipate where trends will go. In this Podcast, Allan talks about Disruptive Innovations, like A.I., and how to lo