The Allan McKay Podcast

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. Scott Kirvan is a VFX and Virtual Production Supervisor, Tech Enthusiast and multidisciplinary creative. He is also the Co-Author of globally recognized Brazil Rendering System, a high performance production quality GI ray trace renderer. As a Virtual Production and Visual Effects Supervisor, Scott has over 20 years of leadership experience, including client-side supervisory roles and in-studio digital production work. He has a diverse background in filmmaking, VFX, business leadership, and engineering, making him a valuable asset to any production team. In this Podcast, VFX Supervisors Todd Sheridan Perry and Scott Kirvan do a deep dive into the making of the Amazon comedy series I’M A VIRGO by Boots Riley, the practical effects and some of the technology used in the show, its challenges and how they resolved them. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/425.  

With 10+ years of VFX industry experience, Digital Artist and VFX Sup Marco Baratto is more than ever interested in being an integral part of it through compositing and creative leadership. An understanding of light, color and composition are essential to his approach. His additional interests include photography, concept art, cinema and mathematics.  His most recent credit is the role of a Digital Artist in Christopher Nolan’s OPPENHEIMER. His other credits include EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY. In this Podcast, Digital Artist Marco Baratto talks about his work on OPPENHEIMER and how much CGI should or should not be utilized is storytelling; as well as the pros and cons of working remotely, the benefit of getting a degree in VFX and the importance of doing your personal work as a VFX artist. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/424.  

Allan McKay interviews Caleb Ward, Co-Founder of Curious Refuge, on the use of AI in art and filmmaking, going viral on YouTube, and embracing AI tools for positive change. They discuss the rise of AI in the creative industry, exciting tools and innovations in AI, the importance of sharing knowledge, and the value of passion and enjoying the creative journey.

Grant Miller is a Partner and an Executive VFX Supervisor at Ingenuity Studios. Grant brings a deep level of technical and artistic acumen to his role as Executive VFX Supervisor at Ingenuity Studios. He oversees the studio's CG, FX, and Pipeline teams, ensuring that final results meet the exacting demands of sophisticated clients. Working closely with directors and creative decision-makers, Grant provides guidance and methodology during preproduction, supervision on set, and ensures seamless collaboration and high-quality results through post. Over the years, Grant has supervised visual effects for a long list of notable clients, including episodic television shows such as The Night Agent, The Orville, The Boys, and Westworld; films such as Get Out and A Star is Born; music videos for Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Lady Gaga; and Super Bowl commercials for Fox Sports. Grant got his start working in video games in 2007, a background that he pulls from as the industry moves toward real-time VFX. Based in Los Angeles, Grant is a member of the Visual Effects Society and Film Independent. He received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Promotional in 2017, and is frequently called upon to share insights at industry events and conferences. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor and Partner at Ingenuity Studios Grant Miller about how up-and-coming Artists can launch their career: the importance of following your dreams, how to train your eye in visual effects, why keeping it simple always wins and some job interview red flags. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/422.  

With a passion for storytelling and a flare for the visual, Matt Whelan has been making short films and commercials for over 10 years. Training as a classical animator at Sheridan College, Whelan's experience spans live-action and digital Directing, storyboarding, CG animation, and VFX supervision, where he has received international nominations for multiple film/television works. His current focus is on live action narrative. Whelan received a 2023 Emmy® nomination for his work on Apple TV+ series FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL. Eric Durst is a Visual Effects Supervisor known for his work on GODS OF EGYPT (2016), SNOWPIERCER (2013), and BATMAN FOREVER (1995). Durst received a 2023 Emmy® nomination for his work on Apple TV+ series FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL. He was previously nominated for an Emmy® in 2017 for his work on National Geographic’s GENIUS. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisors Eric Durst and Matt Whelan about their work on FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL for Apple TV+, the most memorable and challenging sequences on the show, doing previs in Unreal Engine, photorealism in an historic project, as well as the innovation of AI and its influence on visual effects. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/421.  

James MacLachlan is a London-based VFX Supervisor and Director with a career spanning 19 years.He has worked for studios in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.  James has worked at a number of London VFX houses including Glassworks and The Mill and is currently a Freelance On-set VFX Supervisor, Flame and Nuke Artist. He offers secure remote artistry on both Flame and Nuke in his London studio. Over the years he has completed high end VFX on TV Commercials, TV Series effects and design, Channel Idents, Feature Films, Music Videos, Virals and Interactive Online Video projects. He is also known for his work on 28 WEEKS LATER (2007), WICKED SCIENCE (2004) and TED LASSO which has been nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Special Visual Effects, in 2023. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor James MacLachlan about his work on the 2023 Emmy-nominated Episode of TED LASSO, the preparation and improvisation of VFX supervision, the tools used on set, how to fast track your career as a VFX Supervisor and so much more! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/420.  

The podcast features Jim Morris, President of Pixar Animation Studios, discussing his career at Pixar and Lucasfilm, as well as the challenges and innovations in creating realistic characters and scenes in visual effects projects. They also explore the significance of a brain trust in the creative process and the importance of delivering difficult news with compassion and empathy. Additionally, they touch on the challenge of valuing one's worth as an artist and suggest using vfxrates.com as a helpful resource.

David Baylis is a 3D Artist living in Vancouver B.C Canada who specializes in automotive real-time rendering using Unreal Engine. He is originally from Lille, France. David works at Epic Games as a Consultant who produces demos, tutorials and webinars. Having always been a car enthusiast, David loves exploring new ways to deliver photorealistic renderings. There is a lot of history behind each car, and that is what he tries to portray in his artworks. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews 3D Artist David Baylis about innovations in ray tracing and AI, the future of VFX careers in the era of machine learning, NVIDIA and Chat GPT, DLSS technology, how to get started in Unreal and why learning 3D is a lifelong occupation. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/418.

James David Hattin is the Founder and Creative Director of VFX Legion. James oversees every aspect of the visual effects process for episodic television shows and feature films, from start to end, and provides clients with 20+ years of skill and experience as a lead creative and Visual Effects Supervisor. Prior to launching VFX Legion, James spent three years as senior compositor and compositing/digital effects supervisor at Zoic Studios. James exited Zoic in 2013 to apply his creative skill set and technical ingenuity to a new challenge: designing a leading-edge digital management pipeline. Looking beyond long-standing traditional VFX business models, he tapped state-of-the-art technology to build the new infrastructure from the ground up.  Legion was launched later that year, with James’ pioneering digital pipeline positioning the studio at the forefront of the next generation of visual effects companies. Legion’s LA-based studio is structured to work as an on-site collaborative partner with TV and film studios. It provides an end-to-end approach that maximizes the quality and efficiency of VFX for episodic television shows and feature films around the globe. Under the VFX Legion banner, Hattin's supervised VFX for a mix of TV shows and movies. Episodic series include SCANDAL, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER, THE CATCH, SUITS, EL CHAPO, EYE CANDY, REVOLUTION and GONE. Film work includes SINISTER 2, STEPHANIE, OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL, THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR and THE PURGE: ANARCHY to name a few. James' work has been recognized with a VES Award nomination for 'Outstanding Visual Effects in Broadcast Programming,' for FALLING SKIES, and a Primetime Emmy nod for WORLDS APART, to name a few. He is an Emmy Award honoree of the California Channel’s, The Three Branches of Government and a member of The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. In this Podcast, Allan interviews the Founder and Creative Director of VFX Legion James Hattin about launching his own company and the lessons he’s learned along the way: how to build trust, negotiate contracts, keep clear communication with clients and VFX artists alike, as well as the importance of humility in visual effects. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/417.  

Martin Hall is a VFX Supervisor with 30+ years of experience in visual effects. Trained in the traditional fine arts, he found visual effects to be the perfect synthesis of art, technology, and business, while being the most collaborative of all creative endeavors. Among his numerous film and television credits include, LOVE DEATH & ROBOTS, VENOM, GAME OF THRONES, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY, PERRY MASON, ALL THE OLD KNIVES, ENCOUNTER, and many others. Based in Los Angeles, Hall is CEO at Epic Entertainment Enterprises / Epic-FX and VFX Supervisor at Paramount Pictures. In addition, he serves on the VES Board of Directors, Los Angeles section, and is an educator at Gnomon. Martin’s most recent project as a VFX Supervisor is the CBS-VFX television project RABBIT HOLE on Paramount +, starring Kiefer Sutherland as a corporate spy who is framed for murder by powerful forces who have the ability to influence and control populations. Each episode of RABBIT HOLE contains as many as 200 visual effects shots. The majority of the shots are designed to be "invisible" to viewers. These include creating digital set extensions, designing and building digital environments, and augmenting backgrounds, in addition to the more noticeable effects.  RABBIT HOLE is set in New York City but filmed in Toronto, which is just the beginning of the creative challenges for the visual effects team. They needed to create numerous digital 3D New York streets filled with computer-generated cars and buildings and make sure they were seamlessly blended into the action.  In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor Martin Hall about his work with CBS-VFX on RABBIT HOLE for Paramount +, as well as the importance of staying on top of new technology, the creative power of empathy; and the soft skills and tools of VFX Supervisor. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/416.