Animation Industry Podcast

This episode features Director/Producer Ryan Crego who created the Netflix 2D animated feature film Arlo the Alligator Boy. In this chat Ryan shares his journey from story artist at Dreamworks to getting to create his own film at Netflix. You’ll also learn: *3 great tips to avoid burnout in animation *Ryan’s underlying motivation that leads him to new and amazing opportunities *Ryan’s version of success that drives him to create amazing stories Follow Ryan on Instagram: *https://www.instagram.com/creegsmamation/

This episode features stop motion animator Laura Tofarides, who is known for her work on Isle of Dogs, Early Man, Love Death + Robots, Robin Robin, and Kiri & Lou. In this chat, Laura shares how she went from a Runner on Chuck Steel and everything she did in between to become a super stellar, full-time stop motion animator. You’ll also learn: *What you need to showcase in your work to work on feature films *The number one reason to specialize in an area of stop motion *How to actively further your career in stop motion and become in demand ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode is sponsored by HUE, makers of colorful, affordable USB cameras and animation software for creative teaching, work and play. Available from huehd.com and Amazon, the new HUE HD Pro camera features 1080p image and video resolution, a built-in microphone and LED lights. HUE’s funky, flexible, Plug & Play cameras are easy-to-use and they are compatible with any apps that recognize USB cameras including Discord, Dragonframe, OBS, Twitch,

This chat features Stop Motion Animator Lindsay Berkebile. Lindsay’s ten-year career has spanned commercials, televisions, and more recently feature film as she is now animating on Henry Selick’s Wendell and Wild. Tune in to Ibele and Berkebile to hear: *How Berkebile got her start in stop motion *The number one thing Berkebile did to move from TV to feature film animation *The show Berkebile is currently pitching Social Links: *Follow Berkebile on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/10secondday/?hl=en

This chat features Greg Franklin, Co-Founder and Creative Director at Six Point Harness Studios. Throughout his 20-year career in animation, Franklin has worked on many award-winning projects including the Oscar-winning Hair Love, Guava Island, and Cosmos with Neil Degrasse Tyson. In this chat, he shares what it was like founding a studio and keeping it running for nearly two decades. You'll also learn: *How Franklin turned a professional wrestling career into animation *The mindset that’s kept his business going for 20 years *The crazy backstory to how Tig Notaro’s Drawn got animated Social Links: *Follow Franklin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/greg_franklin?lang=en *Check out the trailer to Tig Notaro: Drawn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDC_ze4IQXQ *Check out Six Point Harness Studios: https://www.sixpointharness.com/

This chat features senior character animator Justin Weg who shares his journey into CG character animation. Justin has worked on films like Rio, Spies in Disguise, The Peanut’s Movie, and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. He is also a teacher at Animschool, teaching class 5 on character performance, and on the side he is a stop motion hobbyist. You'll also learn: *What it was like working at Blue Sky during the closure *What Justin did to get his first job in CG animation *The number one thing he tells his students to work on Social Links: *Follow Justin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JustinWeg *Follow Justin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jweg/ *Check out https://tvtropes.org/

This episode features Story Arist Keith Baxter and Music Composer Greg Sims. Keith has worked as a director, songwriter, character designer, 2D and 3D animator, and story artist on previous projects like Flushed Away and The Croods. Greg has worked in television on Oprah and Dr. Oz as well as animated film like The Lion of Judah. In this chat they share the unique way they created the boards for Tom and Jerry in New York. You'll also learn: *How Keith made the switch from music school into animation *How Greg made his break from television music into animated film *The two biggest skills that have made them invaluable to work with *Find Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregsimsmusic/ *Check out Greg’s website here: http://gregsimsmusic.com/ *Find Keith on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-baxter-04223631/ *Watch Keith’s Cheesemonger here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ZF2TRthfI *Check out Keith’s YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC01T3K5h0QJthJYh2uTJ8Pg

This episode features Create Director of Spire Studios, Ted Mathot. Mathot spent over 20 years as a story artist at Pixar working on some of their biggest films like The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, and Wall-E. In this chat, he shares everything he’s learned to make compelling stories audiences eat up. You’ll also learn: *The book Mathot read that helped him move from Story Artist to Supervisor *The number one piece of feedback Mathot gives Story Artists *The secret formula to a boarding a compelling scene *Look up Ted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-m-898a26169/ *Read Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B004J4WNL2/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 *Read Leaders Eat Last: https://www.amazon.ca/Leaders-Eat-Last-Together-Others/dp/B084D3XK1Z/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=leaders+eat+last&qid=1629238323&s=digital-text&sr=1-1

This episode features Marty Cooper, a feature storyboard artist turned social media animator. Over the years Marty has created pieces for Wendys, Nike, Will Smith, Rick and Morty, and even the Biden 2020 Campaign. In this chat he shares his journey from full-time studio work, to building up his career as a freelance animator through social media. You’ll also learn: *How Marty originally went viral with his animation on YouTube *The pros and cons of being your own boss *His strategy for finding success in his career through social media Social Links: Find Marty on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkNqSFUZ4XXuiJ8JWpFPs1w Follow Marty on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hombre_mcsteez/

This episode features animator and Ataboy Studios owner, Vikkal Parikh. Originally Parikh pursued a career as an architect in India, but realized working in the animation industry would be much more fulfilling. So, in the early 2000s he decided to make the switch and applied to SCAD. In this chat, Parikh shares the challenges of making the journey from India to the US as well as starting his own studio in New York. You'll also learn: *How to win commercial projects without compromising on budget *The secret formula to selling an ad *Where the future of animation advertising is heading Follow Ataboy Studios on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ataboystudios/

This episode features veteran Disney animator and current Creative Director of Story and Animation at Spire Animation Studios, Michael Surrey. In this chat, Surrey shares how he got his big break at Disney in the 90s, how he worked his way up the animation ranks, and what he learned about pursuing a lasting and fulfilling career in animation without burnout. You'll also learn: *How to make yourself invaluable when you’re just starting out *The mindset you need to get into to make a character perform naturally *His best advice for those looking to have a long career in animation Add Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-surrey-6525a234/ Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael.surrey/?hl=en

This episode features Egyptian stop motion animator dina Amin, who reveals how quitting her job and deconstructing appliances led to a full time career in stop motion. You’ll also learn: *How to make it as a stop motion animator in Egypt *What you need to give up to truly follow something you love *What dina does to get new client work ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode is sponsored by HUE Animation Studio, which is a stop-motion starter kit that introduces beginner animators, aged 7 - 13, to claymation, lip-synching, rotoscoping, cut-out animation and more! The kit contains: *The flexible and posable HUE HD camera with a built-in microphone… *Their easy-to-use animation software with onion skinning, time lapse, and chroma key tools… *The HUE Book of Animation containing step-by-step instructions to create 20 exciting stop-motion videos… *And digital resources such as free sound effects, storyboard templates, printable backgrounds and activity sheets. So, if you’d like to start creating stop motion video

This episode features Shawn Krause, the Creative Director of Animation and Story at Spire Studios. Krause brings with him more than two decades of experience working as an animator and animation supervisor at Pixar, which he shares in this chat. You'll also learn: *Why Pixar hired him only one year into CalArts *The number one piece of advice Krause gives to animation newbies *What it was like working at Pixar before the Toy Story days

This episode features writer, director, and VFX/Animation Production Manager Wahid Ibn Reza. Originally from Bangladesh, Reza became an accomplished actor before deciding to give up everything to pursue a film career in Vancouver, Canada. In this chat, Reza shares the impact that decision had and the unheard-of risks he took that led to big career payoffs. Tune in to Ibele and Reza to hear: *How to become top-of-mind for new production roles *The must-needed skills to develop for a successful production management role *How to get into exclusive meetings with higher-ups Social Links *Watch Reza’s spot on Conan: https://vimeo.com/39140173 *Watch The Paranoid Cat: https://vimeo.com/188103427 *Watch the Surviving 71 Teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jx3-pRmMdo *Check out Wahid’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNUI-1QPKrb9J2hqcrsU4Sg *Watch the toothpaste commercial that made Wahid famous in Bangladesh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDz5cl_Uopk *Find Wahid on Directors.ca: https://w

This episode features Co-founder and Director of Toronto-based Head Gear Animation. Since its inception in 1997, Head Gear has worked with world-class clients like Nestlé, Ikea, Kellogg's, and Sesame Workshop, and has garnered a long list of awards for their work in stop motion, 2D, live-action, and puppetry. In this chat, Angel shares how he quickly went from animator, to director, to starting his own studio, and all the ups and downs that has brought over the last two decades. You’ll also learn: *How to start your own professional studio on a dime *The secret sauce to staying in business (successfully) in the long term *The number one way to sell a new client on stop motion Social Links: *Visit Head Gear’s website: https://www.headgearanimation.com *Check out Head Gear on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/head_gear_animation/

Watch the teaser for Kara here: https://vimeo.com/563435693 This chat features Turkish/American/German stop motion film, commercial, and music video director, Sinem Sakaoglu. She shares what it was like moving from Turkey to the US and finally Germany in pursuit of a creatively fulfilling animation career. You’ll also learn: *The unique funding structure in Europe which allows directors to produce feature films *Sinem’s path from businesswoman to stop motion director *How to consistently land work when you’re competing with every other country in Europe for projects *Watch the teaser for Kara here: https://vimeo.com/563435693 *Check out Sinem’s website: https://www.sinemsaka.com/ *Follow Sinem on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sinem_sakaoglu/

This episode features stop motion animator Max Winston (of I Live in the Woods fame) who shares his journey into running his own independent stop motion studio, RatBat studios. He also shares: *How he landed clients like Cartoon Network *Three tricks that have improved his animation performance *What it took to emotionally leave his steady job and go independent ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode is sponsored by HUE Animation Studio, which is a stop-motion starter kit that introduces beginner animators, aged 7 - 13, to claymation, lip-synching, rotoscoping, cut-out animation and more! The kit contains: *The flexible and posable HUE HD camera with a built-in microphone… *Their easy-to-use animation software with onion skinning, time lapse, and chroma key tools… *The HUE Book of Animation containing step-by-step instructions to create 20 exciting stop-motion videos… *And digital resources such as free sound effects, storyboard templates, printable backgrounds and activity sheets. So, if you’d like to st

This chat features Mikey Heller, Head Writer for Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears and the spin-off series, We Baby Bears. In this chat he shares how publishing webcomics landed him his first writing role, and a behind-the-scenes look into the writing room at Cartoon Network. You’ll also learn: *How to make your writing stand out *What to do to bump your application to the top of a writing position *Three ways animators and writers can better work together ~[Sponsored Message]~ This episode is sponsored by HUE Animation Studio, which is a stop-motion starter kit that introduces beginner animators, aged 7 - 13, to claymation, lip-synching, rotoscoping, cut-out animation and more! The kit contains: *The flexible and posable HUE HD camera with a built-in microphone… *Their easy-to-use animation software with onion skinning, time lapse, and chroma key tools… *The HUE Book of Animation containing step-by-step instructions to create 20 exciting stop-motion videos… *And digital resources such as free sound effects

This episode features Musa Brooker, a Stop Motion Animator turned Creative Director. In this chat Musa shares his journey from animator to lead, supervisor, director, and his most recent role as Creative Director for Six Point Harness, the Academy Award Winning studio that produced Hair Love. You’ll also learn: *How to make the jump from animator to director in your career *What studios look for when hiring a Creative Director *The types of skills you can develop that will help you advance in your animation career Social links: Follow Brooker on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moosaybrooker/ Check out Brooker’s Website: Platypuspictureworks.com Catch up with Six Point Harness’ latest work: https://www.sixpointharness.com/

This episode features Co-Founder and CEO of SyncSketch, Bernhard Haux. Bernhard is also a multi-talented animator who has worked with several big-name companies such as Pixar, Oculus, and Facebook. In this chat, Bernhard shares how and why he created SyncSketch and where the platform is heading. You’ll also learn: *How Bernhard ended up working at Pixar (for 8 years) *The biggest hurdle in animation that SyncSketch solves *How Bernhard created SyncSketch from scratch Check out SyncSketch: https://syncsketch.com/

This chat features Ottawa Animator Joel MacKenzie who shares his philosophy on how to manifest your dream animation career. Joel’s career has spanned writing, directing, pitching, and character design for clients like Cartoon Network, Sesame Workshop, HBO, and the CBC, as well as creating his own pilots, Spaceman and Robotron, The Myth of Robo Wonderkid, and Tuff Pom. You’ll also learn: *What to do if you’re working at a job that you like, but it’s not exactly what you want? *What it’s like to go through development for a pitch *How to make a career out of being your own artist Check out Joel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joeltron2000/ Visit Joel’s website: https://joel-mackenzie.com/