The Allan McKay Podcast

Chris Ume is a visual effects expert with many years of experience in entertainment and corporate projects. In 2020, he began experimenting with deepfake technology, sourcing AI models from obscure Russian websites, and experimenting with new techniques. That led to a collaboration with an American actor known for Tom Cruise parody videos and Deep Tom Cruise was born. Since then, Chris has worked on titles like South Park and Sassy Justice.  Following the viral success of those deepfake videos and others, Ume co-founded Metaphysic.ai in 2021. The company recently closed a $7.5 million funding round. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX and Deepfake Expert Chris Ume about the process, challenges and the future applications of Deepfakes, his experience working on SOUTH PARK, as well as the ethics of this revolutionary technology. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/375.

Emily Dean is an Asian-Australian writer, director, and artist living in LA. Emily holds a BA (Honours I), History and English Major, from the University of Sydney. Following her academic studies, Emily pursued a career in animation first at the Australian Film TV Radio School (AFTRS) and earned a Graduate Certificate in Animation Directing, then further at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts). Following training at Pixar in the Story Department, Emily has worked as a Story Artist and Visual Consultant for Warner Bros and Animal Logic on films such as THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017), THE LEGO MOVIE 2 (2019); Lionsgate’s sci fi thriller HOTEL ARTEMIS (2019) starring Jodie Foster; and on Sony Picture Animation’s Oscar Award winning HAIRLOVE (2019) from creator/director Matthew A. Cherry. In 2012, Emily’s animated short film FORGET ME NOT was nominated for an Australian Academy Award (AACTA), and in 2018 her first live action sci fi short film ANDROMEDA played and was awarded at numerous genre fests including the Trieste Science Fiction Festival.  In 2019, Emily was awarded Variety Magazine’s Top 10 Animators To Watch; and in 2021, Emily was named one of Piaget’s Extraordinary Women. Emily is also currently serving a term on the inaugural Alumni Advisory Committee for the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS) for 2022-2023. Emily recently directed THE VERY PULSE OF THE MACHINE, written by Philip Gelatt and based on the Hugo Award -winning short story by Michael Swanwick for Volume 3 of the Emmy-award winning Netflix R-rated animated series LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS, under the creative leadership team of Tim Miller, David Fincher, and Jennifer Yuh Nelson. Emily currently writes, directs and executive produces content for film and television under her production banner Grade 8 Productions. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Director, Writer and Artist Emily Dean about her experiencing directing THE VERY PULSE OF THE MACHINE for LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS, directing her first short films, the lessons and mindsets for filmmakers, starting her own production company and importance of supporting up-and-coming artists. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/374.

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/373.

Evan Carmichael #BELIEVES in entrepreneurs.  At 19, he built and then sold a biotech software company.  At 22, he was a venture capitalist raising $500k to $15M. He now runs a YouTube channel for entrepreneurs with over 2 million subscribers, wrote 4 books, and speaks globally.  He wants to solve the world's biggest problem.  He's set 2 world records, uses a trampoline & stand-up desk, owns Canada's largest salsa dance studio and has a giant Doritos bag in front of him all day long to remind him that he's stronger than the Doritos.  Toronto is his home. He's a husband, father, TSM Fan and Teemo main. In this powerful interview with Allan McKay, Speaker, Author, YouTuber and self-proclaimed Introvert Evan Carmichael talks about #BELIEVE as the central message of his content, the problem of low self-esteem, failure, perfectionism; as well as the importance of mentors, consistency – and loving what you do! For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/372.  

The WHAT IF? Scenario: It’s an addictive concept for all of us. What if you give up on a career before you ever got started? Fear is just your mind trying to prevent you from change because change is unknown. It doesn’t want you to risk safety for something new. But the big growths and breakthroughs are on the other side of that fear.  If you aren’t willing to put in the extra work and see what it would lead to next, if you weren’t willing to leverage one experience to the next, none of that would be easy. We always get tested! It’s easier to take the lesser path. But we get to choose that Sliding Doors moment -- or we get to choose to have it all. In this Podcast, Allan reflects on the choices he’s made throughout his career that lead him to face his fears, take huge risks and to have his dream job (which would eventually lead to his night at the Oscars). For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/371.

Scott Rosekrans is a VFX Supervisor and Virtual Production Supervisor for the Real Time Group at Zoic Studios. He's been working to integrate Unreal Engine into every facet of the facilities post production workflow, from previz and on-set virtual production to final renders. He is also Unreal Authorized Instructor Partner for Epic Games. Scott graduated in 2005 from Savannah College of Art and Design, with a degree in Computer Arts. He was trained as a generalist and chose to pursue my focus of rigging. He joined Zoic Studios in 2007 as an intern; and within two years, he was handling all rigging work for the entire studio.   In this interview with Allan McKay, VFX Supervisor and Virtual Production Supervisor for the Real Time Group at Zoic Studios Scott Rosekrans talks about his journey from being an artist, to joining Zoic Studios, to becoming Unreal Authorized Instructor Partner for Epic Games. He also talks about working in Unreal, incorporating realtime into Zoic’s pipeline and the future of virtual production. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/370.

DI4D the world’s leading 4D facial performance capture service that specializes in animation for digital doubles. Their proprietary technology is derived from over 30 years of cutting edge research and development dating back to their own PhD research. Since then, the company has consistently innovated at the cutting edge of what is technically possible in the field.  With bases in the UK and US, they work globally with partners across the entertainment and research sectors to develop and deliver high resolution 3D facial image capture, 4D facial performance capture systems, ground-breaking digital double creation software and services. Some of the titles that DI4D has worked on, both in film and games, are: Blade Runner 2049, Morbius, The Matrix: Resurrections, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Free Guy, Call of Duty, F1 2021, and many more! In this Podcast, Allan McKay speaks to Co-Founders of DI4D Colin Urquhart and Douglas Green about the DI4D technology for facial capture, the innovative thinking behind the process, digital doubles, uncanny valley, the facial capture rig and other behind-the-scenes of the motion capture process.  For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/369.

Eloi Andaluz Fullà is a visual artist with over 18 years of experience in 3D. He’s worked in architecture, motion graphics, advertising, mappings, interactive installations and movies. He is specialized in particles and dynamics simulations. He has worked as a freelancer for different VFX studios, providing tools and workflows for specific shots.  For the last 7+ years, he’s been working for Scanline VFX. As part of the Scanline VFX team, he won an Emmy for Outstanding VFX for their work on the last Episodes of Game of Thrones. Eloi is also a Co-Founder of Effective TD’s, a community of Technical Directors and a specialized store for VFX solutions. On his YouTube Channel – which has over 30K subscribers – you will find tutorials, tips and tricks. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews YouTuber and VFX Artist Eloi Andaluz Fullà about transitioning careers from architecture to 3D, working for Scanline VFX; realtime, TyFlow and other upcoming technology; and why simplicity is always key. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/368.

Oscar-winning Visual Effects Specialist Ben Grossmann has been paving the way for the new immersive web for nearly 20 years. As a Co-Founder of Magnopus, he’s long had a vision of bringing physical and digital worlds together through connected spaces. His passion for immersive technologies has made him a prominent voice on the subject. Over the years, Ben has used his experience in films to lead augmented and virtual reality projects for brands like Sony, Disney, Meta, and NASA. He led the creation of a virtual live-action world for the makers of Disney’s The Lion King. And most recently, directed Expo Dubai Xplorer, bringing the world’s largest social digital twin to life for tens of millions of visitors globally.  Prior to Magnopus, Ben supervised visual effects on more than a dozen feature films including the Oscar-nominated Star Trek Into Darkness, and Martin Scorsese’s Hugo — earning him the Oscar for Outstanding Special Visual Effects in 2012. His work continues to transform the way movies are made today. Ben has also directed award-winning commercial campaigns and worked on iconic projects like The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park. He is also a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Visual Effects Society.  In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews the Co-Founder of Magnopus Ben Grossmann about his journey in VFX, taking initiative as a young Artist, the state of VFX versus the promise of VR, visual fidelity versus interactivity, the power of communication and persuasion, how Artists pigeonhole themselves, the power of “WE” and how and when to say NO. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/367.

Sally Slade worked for eight years in the VFX Industry, supporting visionary creators at Oscar award-winning studios, before pivoting to the XR Industry in 2016.  Sally was nominated as “Reality Mixer of the Year” by Microsoft for her HoloLens product, Muralize, and further decorated by the AWE for her contributions to back-to-back Auggie award-winning XR experiences: Meow Wolf’s The Navigator, and the Virtual Production System used by Disney’s The Lion King.  Most recently, Sally served as a Senior Technical Designer at Magnopus. She is currently the CTO at VOLTAKU.  Her hobbies include illustration and VTubing. She has released a “virtual production for anime” app called Vodcasto. In this Episode, Allan McKay talks to the CTO of VOLTAKU, AR/VR Developer Sally Slade about her work in VR, AR, MR, XR; launching VOLTAKU, developing her own app, upcoming technology and the importance of programming skills for artists. For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/366.