The Allan McKay Podcast

Sam Wickert is a director and VFX supervisor who has worked closely with many clients such as Epic Games, Google Daydream, AMD, BlackMagic Design, Universal Orlando Resorts, Redbull, and Discover.  The most exciting projects he has enjoyed working on is the content featured on his YouTube Channel, SOKRISPYMEDIA, which has accumulated over 1.6 Million subscribers and 400+ million views - most notably recognized from its web series, Chalk Warfare. In this Episode, Allan and Sam talk about the journey of being a content creator, imposter syndrome and cycles of creativity, taking pride in your work, the importance of relationships and having your own creative community.  For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/325/.

Erika Burton brings over 25 years of senior-level experience to her role at DNEG. Most recently, she led as EVP, Global Features & Streaming VFX at Method Studios. Prior to that, she held senior leadership positions at major studios, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, PDI / DreamWorks Animation, Digital Domain and Rhythm & Hues.  Erika Burton is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the Producers Guild of America and the Visual Effects Society. 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) and Asia (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai). DNEG’s critically acclaimed work has earned the company six Academy Awards® for Best Visual Effects and numerous BAFTA and Primetime EMMY® Awards for its high-quality VFX work. Upcoming DNEG projects on behalf of its Hollywood and global studio and production company partners include Dune (October 2021), No Time To Die (October 2021), Ron’s Gone Wrong (October 2021), Last Night In Soho (October 2021), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (November 2021), The Matrix 4 (December 2021), Uncharted (2022), Borderlands (2022), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022), The Flash (2022), and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). In this Podcast, Erika Burton speaks about her career, her experience and her role as the President of Global VFX Production at DNEG, as well as the importance of paying your dues and the path to becoming a supervisor. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/324/.

Paul Lambert is a Visual Effects Supervisor. He is also the inventor of IBK Keyer in Nuke.  Over the course of his over-two-decade long career, he’s worked on such titles as Gone Girl, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, TRON: Legacy, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, I, Robot, Mission Impossible II, Lost in Space and many, many others. Paul has won two consecutive wins for Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects: one for the 2017 film Blade Runner 2049 at the 90th Academy Awards, and one for the 2018 film First Man at the 91st Academy Awards. 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) and Asia (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai). DNEG’s critically acclaimed work has earned the company six Academy Awards® for Best Visual Effects and numerous BAFTA and Primetime EMMY® Awards for its high-quality VFX work. Upcoming DNEG projects on behalf of its Hollywood and global studio and production company partners include Dune (October 2021), No Time To Die (October 2021), Ron’s Gone Wrong (October 2021), Last Night In Soho (October 2021), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (November 2021), The Matrix 4 (December 2021), Uncharted (2022), Borderlands (2022), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022), The Flash (2022), and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). DNEG was the lead vendor on Denis Villeneuve's Dune, along with Rodeo (https://www.rodeofx.com/) and Wylie Co (https://wylie.co/.) In this Podcast, Paul talks about Dune -- from its conception to completion -- the value and advancement of AI and virtual production and importance of creating authentic relationships for creatives. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/323/.  

A lot of the time, artists feel like clients do them a favor by hiring them. The more you understand the ecosystem, the more you start seeing this as a service-based industry: You’re delivering value to your client, they’re delivering value to theirs -- and it goes up the latter. Each step in that latter is a much bigger profit margin. They need their problems solved. They need you as much as you need them.  It’s not just about raising your rates. It’s also about what it is that you’re doing that’s aligning with the client’s needs. How do you give them value? That’s always the trick to communicate. You need to be self-aware about what services you provide. This is the big thing we need to get over: the money friction.  A lot of us get resistance in the beginning. We’re afraid that if we raise our prices too high, we’ll lose our clients. “Raise your rates and scare away your clients” is an absurd idea. Instead, you can raise your rates and if the clients get alienated, they’ve identified themselves as cheap. It’s okay for them to go!  In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks about how to raise your value, both as a brand and a business, and how to communicate it to those premium clients that will meet your worth. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/322/.

The Harmon Brothers is a marketing firm based in Provo, Utah, that has a history of making viral advertising videos. Founded by brothers Daniel, Neil, Jeffrey and Theron Harmon and CEO Benton Crane, the company creates marketing campaigns that are usually the length of an infomercial — but with a distinct sense of humor. Their campaigns for Squatty Potty and the Purple have more than 100 million views. They have also created campaigns for Poo-Pourri, FiberFix, Camp Chef and several others. Since then, the company launched the Harmon Brothers University where through online courses, Daniel Harmon and Lead Writer Dave Vance share their insight on how to create successful marketing videos. With writer Chris Jones, they also co-wrote the book From Poop to Gold: The Marketing Magic of Harmon Brothers that “reveals the behind-the-scenes magic including their innovative business model [and] one of the biggest secrets behind their success”. In this Podcast, Daniel Harmon the CCO of Harmon Brothers and CEO Benton Crane talk about their company’s creative process, pipeline, how to meet and relate to clients, the impact of COVID-19 on businesses; and the content they teach at Harmon University. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/321/.

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. By not niching down -- by not being a specific brand -- you’re missing out on an opportunity to make yourself the ideal candidate for the job. So what are you doing to stand out? How do you make sure your reel doesn’t blend in in the hundreds of other reels? You have to be ultra specific on how to categorize yourself. Because you need to set context for the positions for which you’re applying. It also helps to have your name anchored to the solution to their problem.  The more you’re able to clearly define yourself and associate your skills with something -- the easier it is for your name to resonate when that something is needed. That singles you out as a go-to person. In this Podcast, Allan talks about finding your niche, how to have different niches for different audiences; but most importantly, why having a niche is so crucial for getting hired for the jobs you want. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/320/.

Peter Chiang is co-founder of DNEG and a prolific and critically acclaimed Visual Effects Supervisor. He is one of the leaders in his field with over 30 years experience in the industry. Starting out as a graphic artist, animator and later visual effects art director, he moved quickly into visual effects supervision on films including Pitch Black (DNEG’s first project), Chronicles of Riddick, Flyboys, The Bourne Ultimatum, Green Zone, John Carter, Total Recall, Pacific Rim: Uprising, as well as Ridley Scott’s Exodus: Gods and Kings and Justin Lin’s Star Trek: Beyond. 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) and Asia (Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Mumbai). DNEG’s critically acclaimed work has earned the company six Academy Awards® for Best Visual Effects and numerous BAFTA and Primetime EMMY® Awards for its high-quality VFX work. Upcoming DNEG projects on behalf of its Hollywood and global studio and production company partners include Dune (October 2021), No Time To Die (October 2021), Ron’s Gone Wrong (October 2021), Last Night In Soho (October 2021), Ghostbusters: Afterlife (November 2021), The Matrix 4 (December 2021), Uncharted (2022), Borderlands (2022), Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2022), The Flash (2022), and Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). In this Podcast, Allan and Peter talk about the beginning of DNEG, the projects the studio has worked on, the rate of technological innovation, adapting to the challenges of COVID-19 and their most recent work on F9: The Fast Saga. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/319/.

Knowing when to raise your rates is really critical. A lot of us get the resistance in the beginning. We’re afraid that if we raise our prices too high, we’ll lose our clients. But that’s kind of the idea!  A brand is our position in the market: How people perceive us and whether our clients are willing to pay higher rates. In the beginning, we’ll be taking on lower-paying clients because we’re desperate to get a job after job, after job. But to be profitable in that situation, we’ll have to take on a lot more work. The worst part about it is that cheaper clients are the ones that try to squeeze us for everything or to micromanage us. That goal changes over time, later in our career. The difference between being a successful artist versus an unsuccessful artist is that the artists without a brand are frustrated because they aren’t getting the result they want.  In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks about stages of an artist’s career: from the initial goal when starting out -- to creating a successful brand that eventually attracts better paying clients and the type of work you already enjoy doing. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/318/.

Imagine the world where the global space race never ended. For All Mankind is a thrilling “what if” take on history from Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica, Outlander) spotlights the high stakes lives of NASA astronauts and their families. Jay Redd is a VFX Supervisor on For All Mankind whose extensive resume also includes titles like Contact, Men in Black 3 and Monster House. Todd Sheridan Perry is an On-Set Supervisor on the show with a diverse background in video games, film and television. He’s worked on titles like Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers to Final Destination 5, The Immortals, Total Recall, Resident Evil 5 and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Todd has also worked as a CG Supervisor on Marvel’s Doctor Strange which was nominated for a Best Visual Effects Oscar. On this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor Jay Redd and the On-Set Supervisor Todd Sheridan Perry about their work on For All Mankind, making smart decisions on set, balancing between artistry and tech skills, VFX in film versus television and the future of virtual production.  For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/317/.

Linus Tech Tips is a passionate team of professionally curious experts in consumer technology and video production which aims to inform and educate people of all ages through entertaining videos. They create product reviews, step-by-step computer build guides and a variety of other tech-focused projects. Taran Van Hemert is a Senior Video Editor at Linus Tech Tips. He is also a Writer, Host and Camera Operator. In this Podcast, Allan McKay and Taran Van Hemert talk about the art of being an efficient editor, the importance of scripting, automation and customized tools, and other tips for successful artists. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/316/.