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Episode 436 - Hanno Basse - CTO, Digital Domain Jul 24, 2023

Show notes

Hanno Basse has been a guiding hand behind the scenes of the modern entertainment experience. At 20th Century Fox, he pushed HDR into the movie experience at home and in theaters, and he helped the entertainment industry adopt cloud computing via his role at Microsoft Azure. Today, Hanno is bringing his expertise to Digital Domain, where he serves as CTO.

In this podcast, Hanno reveals how advances in machine learning have taken DD's famous digital humans from the Avengers' Thanos to She-Hulk: Attorney at Law's protagonist and added realism to the video game The Quarry. Hanno also discusses how real-time technology is improving the entire production process and gives his thoughts on the future of VFX.

Episode 435 - Terrence Masson - Chair, SVA MFA Computer Arts Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

Terrence Masson's students are probably the luckiest on the planet. The computer arts lecturer draws on 30 years of experience in the industry, from working on innovative movies including True Lies and Interview with the Vampire, helping create South Park's progenitor in CG, and retooling the original Star Wars trilogy for its 1997 reissue.

In this podcast, Terrence talks through some highlights of his career, including how he flew the Millennium Falcon and killed Boba Fett for Star Wars, and how he was called on to review UFO footage for Ancient Aliens. He also talks about his gaming and archviz experiences, and shares some interesting perspectives on AI in education.

Episode 434 - Michelle Munson - CEO & Co-Founder, Eluvio Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

Michelle Munson's passion for internet technology took her from streaming video over LAN to founding data transfer company Aspera. Now, she's launched Eluvio, a Web3-based content distribution system that makes it easier and cheaper for producers to share media while giving consumers fair access to a high-quality product with added extras.

Michelle discusses Eluvio's partnership with Warner Bros, and its first content: Superman and Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of The Ring. Michelle also busts some of the myths around NFTs and blockchain technology, and talks about how the Eluvio Content Fabric Protocol could be adopted by streaming platforms, indie producers, and live events in the future.

Episode 433 - Joshua Lastine Esq. - Founder, Lastine Entertainment Law Jul 03, 2023

Show notes

After being inspired by Star Wars to pursue a career in entertainment law, Joshua Lastine helped with clearances on everything from American Idol to The Man in the High Castle to Midway to the Hulkbuster armor in Avengers: Age of Ultron and weapons for TV series Echo 3. Today, Joshua runs Lastine Entertainment Law, which drafts bespoke agreements for everything from YouTube videos to big-budget movies, and he teaches law at Los Angeles Film School.

In this podcast, Joshua covers all the hot topics in the film and TV industry, including AI, the causes of the writers' strike, digital celebrities, and the effects of streaming media. Joshua offers an informed perspective on where the industry is going, details the strengths and weaknesses of artificial intelligence, and explains how copyright law applies to everything from code to works of art.

Episode 432 - Marc Simonetti - Art Director, DNEG Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

Marc Simonetti's dreamy visual style has made him a big name in sci-fi and fantasy art — but what does this mean in the age of AI? In this podcast, Marc tells Chris how it feels to have your name used as an AI art prompt some 400,000 times, and what it's like to see your name attached to artwork that isn't yours.

But it's not all bad — Marc delves into the advantages of AI art and how it might put the concept back into concept art, and offers positive advice for budding artists who are about to embark on art courses. He also talks about his fascinating career, which has seen him rub shoulders with George RR Martin, and he discusses his work on movies including Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and the upcoming Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel.

Episode 431 - Linden Vennard - CG Generalist Jun 20, 2023

Show notes

Hailing from Detroit, Linden Vennard began his career in visualizing vehicles (of course!). Having established pipelines that turned raw CAD data into sumptuous CG images, Linden became a core part of Speedshape, the VFX studio that specialized in creating visuals for automotive companies. After Speedshape closed, Linden traveled to Asia and Africa before returning to the US to become a freelance CG generalist.

Linden talks about his early inspirations to pursue a career in VFX, how he got started in automotive visualization, and how he worked with budding Hollywood director Joseph Kosinski to bring his "Blackbird" commercial to life. Linden also talks about his explorations in Midjourney AI imagery, where he's created over 10,000 images.

Episode 430 - Sean Faden - VFX Supervisor Jun 12, 2023

Show notes

Here's a masterclass on rising to the top of VFX supervision. Inspired by classic 80s movies, Sean Faden began his career in practical effects for Starship Troopers and The Fifth Element, helped sink Titanic, and became VFX supervisor on movies including A Nightmare on Elm Street and A Good Day to Die Hard. Then he switched to studio-side VFX supervision for Power Rangers and Mulan, the latter of which earned him a VFX Academy Award nomination.

Sean reflects on his career and regales Chris with stories about the early days of visual effects. He also highlights the importance of traveling and immersing yourself in new cultures, goes into detail on how Moon Knight turned Budapest into Cairo, and talks a little about his upcoming projects, The Last Voyage of Demeter and Family Leave.

Episode 429 - Stan Szymanski - President & Founder of StanleyVision Jun 05, 2023

Show notes

If recruiters are the unsung heroes of the VFX industry, Stan Szymanski is Superman. This huge film fan began in graphic design and post-production but quickly worked up the ladder into recruitment, via movies including Virtuosity, Independence Day, Starship Troopers, and Hollow Man.

Today, Stan's company, Stanleyvision, has become a go-to source for the perfect talent for companies including Crafty Apes, MPC, The Mill, and Method, as well as PlayStation, MSG Sphere Studios, and TurboSquid. Stan reveals what it takes to be a recruiter in the VFX world, from maintaining up-to-date expertise on new technology to understanding how people will fit in at certain companies. If you're job hunting or headhunting, it's worth staying with the podcast to the end, where Stan gives crucial advice on how to market yourself in the VFX industry.

Episode 428 - Jeff Barnes - EVP, Creative Development Light Field Lab May 30, 2023

Show notes

Jeff Barnes' career has taken him from two Amigas and a VHS deck to the world's most cutting-edge digital display screens. After discovering a love for post-production, Jeff co-founded CafeFX in the early-90s and created VFX for over 90 movies including Flubber, Armageddon, Panic Room, Pan's Labyrinth, Sin City, The Mist, and Alice in Wonderland. Jeff then oversaw DD's 3D pipeline and consulted in the industry before moving to the innovative lightfield company Lytro, where he produced the world's first 2k light field short.

In this podcast, Jeff reminisces about the early days of CafeFX, revealing how the company demonstrated its abilities via a Rocketeer laserdisc, reveals the pros and cons of being based in Santa Maria, and talks about meeting directors including John Hughes, Robert Rodriguez, and Guillermo del Toro. Jeff also discusses his current work at the Light Field Lab, in which he shares one of the company's goals to make immersive Star Trek Holodeck-style experiences a reality.

Episode 427 - Isaac Bratzel - Founder & CEO, AvatarOS May 22, 2023

Show notes

If digital humans are evolving, Isaac Bratzel is the scientist altering their DNA. Beginning his career as a character artist (because it represented the biggest challenge), Isaac helped create Amelia, a conversational AI with a digital human face, and then went on to establish virtual social media phenomenon Lil Miquela.

Today, Isaac is bringing his expertise in AI and digital humans together in AvatarOS, the company he founded to create digital humans with personalities. In this podcast, Isaac reveals how he overcame some of the technical challenges of creating digital humans that work across the platforms of tomorrow and reveals his ultimate goal for the company.

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