The Allan Mckay Podcast

After the first 'Review my Reel' session was a total success with over 100 people attending, this episode follows the momentum of this and discusses a lot of advice on what we are all doing with our reels that we probably shouldn't, as well as key things to keep in mind - who your target audience is and how to maximize playability and have people watch your reel all the way through, and in the right mindset. This episode is jam-packed with key information to make the most out of all of your hard work and maximize the chances of landing your dream job! For more show notes, as well as links to download the PDF cheat sheet on building your reel - visit http://www.allanmckay.com/42/ or to directly download the cheat sheet go to http://www.allanmckay.com/42download/  

With the announcement of Gears of War 4 last week from Microsoft, this episode focuses on the talented character team behind the development of GOW4. Probably the most spectular features of Gears of War is the amazing creature and character designs and attention to detail in all of the characters within the game. In this episode we interview Dan Roarty, Daniel Bohrer Do Nascimento, Heber Alvarado on their process, techniques and methodology that goes into making some of the mind blowing-ly real characters for Gears of War. Discussing the tools, the process and the time involved to turn out a realistic hero character. As well as their backgrounds and insights into both the video game industry, technology as well as creative processes. This episode is a must see!   For more information and show notes, as well as to enter the competition this month go to http://www.allanmckay.com/41/    

Zsolt Poczos is a CG supervisor from Hungary that has worked around the world on my high profile projects - originating from architecture and moving to creating photorealistic car commercials through to now being part of the core team on the upcoming VFX heavy film 'Independence Day 2'.   This episode dives into Zsolt's inspiring story as well as seeing first hand how similar to many of the subjects we discuss on this podcast, how you can be bold and take chances that are high risk but high reward. for more show notes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/40/  

Alf is a 3D artist and film maker in Norway, partner of the vfx studio Gimpville. Recently Alf has completed an epic 6 month journey to complete his own parody short film (trailer) called Dawn of the planet of the zombies and giant killer plants on some serious acid (phew!), entirely by himself. Utilizing Maya, Redshift, and various other tools to render the entire 3 minute piece solo on a single machine.  Inside of this episode we go straight into a very hands on and in-depth discussion about the production of "Dawn"and what it takes to pull of a project of this magnitude by one artist. From balancing your day job, staying motivated and what tools and techniques used shot by shot throughout the short. What the reception of the video has been like from Vimeo Staff Pick to just under ~200,000 views in just over a single week and onto what is next. This is an episode that everyone can take a lot away from - whether you're an artist, a designer or even just want to make your own short film one day. If you haven'

Delcio originally from Brazil has worked on projects like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Terminator Genisys, Thor: The Dark World, Oblivion and many others as both a modeler and cg generalist.  This is a really great episode giving a lot of insight into Delcio's background as well as a lot of really great solid advice to advance your career, as well as insights into many of the production's he's worked on. Really great stuff, check it out! For show notes and links go to http://www.allanmckay.com/38/

This is by far the most random episode on the podcast so far! As Chad, Hnedel, Sol and Allan gather together over a few beers and do a free for all discussing a lot to do with the industry, film, virtual reality as well as process, pipeline and people. Lots of great insight, as we progressively get drunker and drunker! show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/37

Fred Ruff has been well known in the industry for his vast contributions for over 20 years working originally for Autodesk as a Max product manager and having influenced many areas of Max including the design of Particle Flow - Fred is a VFX Supervisor at Refuge VFX supervising the hit tv show Grimm. In this episode we discuss a lot of the history of CG, software slamming and the timeline of max and other software tools, studio pipelines and vfx as a business - but we also focus a lot on Medieval Monster's - the new tv show for Animal Planet that Fred is executive producing and also the creator of. We all have those long tail goals of wanting to make something of our own, and to all of us seeing 3D artists who grow into taking charge and creating their own property's and going after their big goals, this can be inspiring for all of us to see and understand the journey and see how this applies to our own careers. This episode focuses on an artist going into the industry to launching his own studio and then cre

This episode we dive right into what it takes to launch your own studio. Such a big subject and so much to cover - if you want to know more go to http://www.allanmckay.com/35/ leave a comment #Iwanttoknowmore! and I will gladly put together a step by step episode series on the business strategy and steps necessary involved in launching a visual effects studio!  

This episode is all about how impactful having mentors or experts in your life can be, and modeling those you idolize or see as successful. The key is to push yourself out of your comfort zone and find those that are able to push you and inspire you as well. This isn't about finding 'the one' mentor but finding mentors for every part of your life and for those areas that you are going through in your life 'right now'. Learning to ask for help and how to actually go about it, and identifying experts that are in a position to help you, and how you can truly benefit from them. One of the most important things you are probably neglecting is not idenifying people and seeking them out to mentor you and push you to greatness.  

This episode is truly epic - Rising Sun Pictures has been around for 20 years working on many of the leading visual effecs films. Speaking with Marcus Wells and Kirsty Parkin in the Training Department at RSP about their new graduate program, and future education and internships at RSP. As well as the production of many of their films - AND working overseas, diving in-depth into the visa processes and how to increase your opportunities of working for many visual effects studios. I give some of my own insight too into being proactive with this process. Lastly we take a look at the life of a job application, from first being received and where it goes from there - who reviews it all the way through to final interview and the applicant being hired. REALLY INSIGHTFUL. This is a really great episode I thoroughly recommend checking out, especially if you want to work overseas! http://www.rsp.com.au http://rsp.com.au/jobs/apply-faq/visas/ http://flinders.rsp.com.au/ http://rsp.com.au/jobs/training/getting-started-in

LinkedIn is the number one job finding and networking resource on the web! YET it's not optimized for artist use - it's optimized typically for more corporate, and start up jobs and long form productions. The typical approach to finding work with LinkedIn typically will not apply to Designers, Game Developers, TV and Feature Film Visual effects. I strongly believe LinkedIn is a AWESOME and POWERFUL weapon but you need to know how to use it. This episode we cover how to hack your ranking and get it up there, shift your positioning within LinkedIn searches and typically build a solid profile that is going to allow you to anchor the types of contacts you want for future work. This episode just touches the surface as there is far more we WILL be diving into at a later date but the most important steps to take first before the advanced tactics come, start with the foundation... Let me know what you think I would love to hear your feedback!  For more information and show notes go to http://www.allanmckay.com/32/  

By far the most different episode I have made to date. Rather than focusing on interviewing artists or on core ways to build up your career. I wanted to share some of the tools _I_ use in production or day to day that are pivotal to getting things done.     There are some very useful email tools that really go above and beyond that I highly recommend, and many other tools and insights.    Going with the trend of doing something not done on this podcast so far - you can also go through this episode as a VIDEO by going to the link http://www.allanmckay.com/31download/ to view the video and watch as I go through everything in the podcast on screen and demonstrate how I use these tools.    Furthermore I want to know what tools YOU use. Visit http://www.allanmckay.com/31/ to share in the comments what tools you find to be useful or critical to your day to day work! I would love to hear from you on this - maybe there's some tools I don't know about that might help me be more productive!    Visit ht

Dan's background working in video games on projects ranging from Star Wars 1313 to Tomb Raider to Gears of War to many other iconic projects as well as high profile studios such as Lucas Arts. What makes Dan stand out is his phenomenally realistic character work, many of his pieces have received much acclaim, awards and can be seen in magazines worldwide. If you've followed Episode 28, interviewing Christopher Nichols of the Digital Human League, Dan is also a member of this and both have collaborated on the high profile 'The Newyorker' digital human piece. This episode we dive into Dan's process - discussing what it takes to make characters photoreal, as well as his habits, his process and giving much insight into his background as an artist. We also discuss in great depth work visas and working in other countries, as well as many other exciting subjects! For more information and shownotes visit http://www.allanmckay.com/30/  

As the host of over 160 tutorials and creator of title sequences for tv's Fringe and the film Star Trek, Andrew Kramer has participated in many forms of production: from visual effects artist, to directing commercials and promos. His website Video Copilot has been a progressive force in the visual effects industry, with his upbeat training style and innovative plug-ins. As a freelance artist and web designer at age 20, Andrew began to work on the Video Copilot website from his apartment in Southern California. The website started with a single product and a handful of short After Effects tutorials that were featured on the Creative Cow community. His unusual training style and off-beat humor intrigued viewers by showing them powerful techniques for visual effects that were detailed and also entertaining. The site’s online presence has also led to collaborations for Andrew to work with major companies and even the unique opportunity to work with Director J.J. Abrams on film & tv Projects. Video Copilot has

Christopher Nichols has an impressive resume of working for many of the leading studios, from The Day After Tomorrow, I, Robot, Stealth, Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Maleficent and The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo to photo real cars and photo real humans. Chris works with Chaos Group - the developers of V-Ray as one of the main people behind Chaos Group Labs, an experimental outpost based in Los Angeles. Where Chris has been involved with many high profile projects and pushing tech in new directions, being involved in projects ranging from the upcoming 'Construct' short film to photoreal human projects - there's such a wide range of subjects covered in this episode from getting a job in the industry to what it takes to make things photoreal, to more the backstory of so many really 'really' cool projects - check it out! http://www.allanmckay.com/28/   CG Garage Podcast: https://labs.chaosgroup.com/index.php/category/cg-garage-podcast/ Chaos Group Labs: https://labs.chaosgroup.com Pixel Perfect Article: http://www.new

Zerply is an amazing new platform for artists to promote themselves and network with other industry followers. This is an amazing and exclusive platform to get connected with other studiso and artists and find work easily and frequently. I'm blown away by this platform and what it can do, it's exactly, and I mean 'exactly' what this industry needs. I sit down with James Bennett one of the founders of Zerply to chat about this amazing platform, as well as James' career, and his really solid advice for others to both utilize Zerply, and utilize their career for high success! LOADED with really great advice! Show notes @ http://www.allanmckay.com/27/    

This episode is a unique solo episode packed to the brim with a lot of workflow hacks and core advice to manage yourself better and get a lot more done inside of your standard work day. This is vital methods I apply to my work every day of every week and have developed many of these techniques over the span of the past 20 years of my career.   Show links Time Doctor Rescue Time Focus @ Will Polder Buzz'n'Beep Digital Timer Parkinson's Law Power of automationg with Scripting Google Docs - for Spreadsheets More information about FLOW Overtime Vs Productivity    

Part 2 of the really great and insightful interview with Sol Rogers! Covering a lot of really great industry advice and career advise based on his lengthy experience in the industry as well as lecturing at London universities. Lots of great stuff - this was our chat prior to diving into our discussions on Virtual Reality. Check it out! Rewind FX Oculus Rift Microsoft Hololens Career Opportunities @ Rewind FX! Red Bull Air Race Canon London Fashion Week Experience Lexus NX Experience   Allan McKay speaking at It's ART Master Class in Paris March 14   For more information, as well as to check out the job opportunities at RewindFX check out the show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/25/

Sol Rogers, all round nice guy and super knowledgeable on all things VR! This episode we dive into what Rewind FX - Sol's company has been able to pull off in the realm of Virtual Reality for massive clients from Red Bull, Lexus, and just many many massive events worldwide. This is such a great and insightful episode into an area we all feel we know a 'little' but don't really quite understand what is currently going on in VR or where it's headed. The tech, the big players, the process and the business end. From Unreal Tech to Oculus Rift and Microsoft Hololens, we discuss how studios such as Rewind FX are currently developing many of their productions and taking advantage of a lot of the amazing technology available. I had such a great time doing this episode, as I've secretly been obsessed with the idea of VR for some yet have absolutely no experience with it. So this is a chance to dive in and get schooled on such an amazing and up and coming industry that is surely going to change how we live our lives, f

This episode is an amazing one with the lead product manager for 3DS Max at Autodesk! Eddie has a MASSIVE amount of background and knowledge to do with 3D and gives major insights into the industry as it is and where it's heading, as well as a lot of where it came from! The greatest thing of all is getting more of an insight into 3DS Max and behind the scenes at Autodesk, a really great episode through and through! Show notes at http://www.allanmckay.com/23