The Allan McKay Podcast

Dave Walvoord is a VFX Supervisor at DreamWorks who has worked on films like How to Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda, Shark Tale, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. He was the Head of Lighting for the Academy-nominated film Kung Fu Panda 2. After receiving a Masters degree in Visualization Science from Texas A & M University, Dave Dave joined Blue Sky Studios where he worked on projects like Fight Club and Star Trek: Insurrection. He served as a Supervising TD on Ice Age and as a Digital Effects Sup for the Academy Award winning short film Bunny.  In this Episode, Dave talks about the lessons he’s learned throughout his career as a VFX Sup and the advice he would give to any up-and-coming artist.   For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/107/.  

Redshift is the world’s first fully GPU-accelerated biased renderer. It is built to meet the specific demands of contemporary high-end production rendering. It provides the most features and flexibility among all GPU renderers.  In this Podcast, Allan McKay talks with Nicolas Burtnyk, Co-Founder and CEO, as well as Rob Slater, Co-Founder and VP of Engineering. They discuss the benefits of GPU vs CPU rendering, the software Redshift currently supports and the renderer's future direction. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/106/.

Ruben Mayor is a Senior FX TD at Weta Digital. Over the course of his career, he has traveled the world while working for giant studios like Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Mill, Mr. X. Ruben has worked on high profile films like Avengers: Infinity War, War for the Planet of the Apes, Dr. Who, Resident Evil, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and many more. Ruben began his career in 2011 when he worked for nWave Digital Studios in Belgium. Before he discovered his passion for visual effects, he was an engineer for BMW. In this Podcast, Ruben Mayor talks about the lessons he’s learned throughout his career: to always learn and improve your skills; to work hard and to take risks! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/105/

Victor Navone is a Supervising Animator at Pixar Animation Studios. Since 2000, he has worked on such high budget animated features as Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars 2 & 3, WALL-E, Brave, Inside Out and many more.  After graduating from the University of California, Irvine, Victor began working as a 3D artist at Presto Studios, a video game company. He continued to study 3D character animation in his spare time. In 1999, Victor’s first animated short Alien Song, which was a result of some animation and lip sync tests, went viral. When it caught the attention of Edwin Catmull, the President of Pixar Animation Studios, Victor was invited for an interview. He joined the company in 2000. For his work on WALL-E, Victor has won an award from the Visual Effects Society. He has taught at Animation Mentor and Animation Collaborative.  In this Episode, Victor talks about his career -- with its victories and detours -- tools of a successful artist and insider tips for a demo reel that’s guaranteed to get you noticed! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/104/

Having the hunger, the passion -- the fire under your butt -- is a driving force that’s essential for success! In this Episode, Allan McKay talks about change as the catalyst for new levels of growth in your career, artistry and finances; as well as how to welcome and create change -- while making sure you have a failsafe environment for success. After listening to this Episode, you will learn to: - Identify the way you measure progress.  - Make sure you aren’t overwhelmed by grandiose goals.  - Eliminate excess. - Force yourself to have massive changes.  - Create new environments and friendships. - Grow and achieve new levels of success! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/103/

Bay Raitt is a designer, sculptor, character lead, animator, animation director and graphic novel creator. He was one of the first 30 employees hired at Weta Digital. As a Creature Facial Lead, he was responsible for building the facial system for Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. In 2003, Bay received a VES Award for Best Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture, for his work on Gollum. Bay began his career working for Steve Oliff doing color separations for Image Comics. He has also worked for Protozoa, Nichimen Graphics, Weta Workshop and Valve Corporation. His current project is Nanite Fulcrum, a first of its kind, fully immersive Virtual Reality comic, based on the screenplay by Bay.  In this Episode, Allan McKay and Bay Raitt discuss the history of CG animation, its future platforms (including VR) -- and how to get your dream job! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/102/  

Ben Snow is a Senior VFX Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic. Since joining ILM in 1994, he has worked on such influential films as Twister, The Mummy, Pearl Harbor, Star Wars, Iron Man, Avengers and many more. He has also worked a VFX Supervisor on King Kong, at Weta. Ben recently finished working on Darren Aronofsky’s film mother! which is his second collaboration with the director since feature film Noah.  Born in Australia, Ben studied computing and film at the University of Canberra. His first job was at a graphics company in London, U.K. He later helped set up a computer animation department for Conja, a company in Sydney, Australia. There, he worked on a title sequence for the television series Beyond 2000. Currently, Ben is collaborating on a virtual reality Star Wars experience called Secrets of the Empire. Throughout his career at ILM, he has been honored with four Academy Award nominations, VES and BAFTA nominations for Achievement in Visual Effects. In this Podcast, Allan McKay and Ben Snow talk about his career at ILM, the development of the VFX industry -- including virtual reality -- and the best tools that get you hired! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/101/

Allan McKay is an Emmy-award winning VFX Supervisor and Technical Director. Over the course of his career, which spans over almost two decades, he’s worked on films like Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Superman, Flight, Star Trek: Into Darkness, The Equalizer and so many more! He’s also created effects for video games like Halo, Call of Duty, Half-Life, Bioshock, as well as multiple commercials. Fred Ruff is the founder of Refuge FX, a Portland based visual effects studio responsible for projects like Grimm, Last Knight. He has over two decades of experience in computer graphics, visual effects and software development. He’s worked as a Lead Product Designer at Autodesk. He currently serves on the advisory board for Turbosquid, the world’s leading 3D model marketplace. Fred launched Refuge FX in 2013.  In this Podcast, Fred Ruff interviews Allan McKay about his career -- from starting as a generalist to becoming a studio owner and VFX Supervisor -- as well as the importance of branding and treating yourself as a one-person studio. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/100/

Christina Burton is a graphic designer and vehicle wrap artist. Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, she began drawing at a very early age, developing an understanding of color and an interest in portraiture. After graduating high school, she pursued a variety of professions but she always returned to her main passion: art. She began pursuing art as a career a few years ago when she launched an Etsy shop that sold her original paintings. After trying her hand at tattoo designs and airbrushing of motorcycle tanks, she found herself learning about vehicle wraps. Currently, Christina custom designs wraps for exotic cars like Lamborghinis, Porsches, Ferraris.  In this interview, Allan McKay and Christina Burton talk about her journey as an artist: from recognizing negative influences and personal resistance -- to learning how to negotiate, build a brand and become a successful business. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/99/.

Nicolas Prothais is a Senior CG Animator who has worked for studios like Disney, Double Negative, Illumination Mac Guff and Ilion. Self taught, he began his career as a generalist and learned most aspects of the pipeline. He later switched his focus to 3D and 2D animation.  The list of Nicolas’ projects includes features like Moana, Despicable Me, Wreck-It Ralph, Zootopia, Frozen and many more. In this Episode, Allan McKay and Nicolas Prothais talk about working abroad, the discipline for bettering your skills and learning to balance between the director’s vision and your own talent. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/98/.