CG Garage

Latest Episodes:

Episode 426 - Lala Gavgavian - President and Chief Operating Officer, Digital Domain May 15, 2023

Show notes

For the past 30 years, Digital Domain has been ahead of the CG curve, delivering everything from True Lies' CG jet to The Last of Us' desolate landscapes. But what does the future hold for this innovative VFX studio? This week, Lala Gavgavian, the president and COO of DD, explains how it's charting a course through the waters of new technology.

Lala talks about how Digital Domain has branched out beyond blockbuster VFX and is now taking on gaming projects and medical imaging. She also talks about how AI and machine learning have been changing things behind the scenes at Digital Domain and how the technology behind its Digi Doug and Digi Zoe projects is helping create the perfect digital double.

Episode 425 - Adam Martin - Co-Founder, Macroverse Media, Inc May 08, 2023

Show notes

Could Macroverse change the way creative content is created and consumed? In this podcast, Chris is joined by Adam Martin, an assistant director who has worked on productions including Transformers, Dave, and Barry. After growing frustrated with the Hollywood system, Adam co-founded Macroverse to give writers and artists a platform to share their stories and visions.

Adam gives a full overview of Macroverse and what makes it work, explaining how its Tap Story system enriches comic stories and gives them a cinematic flair, and covering how this democratized web 3.0 platform gives everyone a chance to tell their story and adds a level of transparency to funding and payments.

Episode 424 - Chris Browne — VFX Supervisor/Writer/Director May 01, 2023

Show notes

We want some of Chris Browne's energy. This multiskilled VFX supervisor, currently working at Sony Pictures Animation, has helped bring animated series to life, including The Fast and Furious Spy Racers, Kung Fu Panda, and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. At the same time, he's devoted his spare time to his own award-winning short films, beginning with "Gibb" at university, alien sci-fi "Beating the Abductors," and now "Pleroma," which examines themes of AI versus humanity.

Chris breaks down what it was like to work on "Pleroma" during the pandemic, talks about shooting in a dangerous particle accelerator facility, and shares how he single-handedly created 200-plus visual effects shots and built robots for the short. He also reveals his big plans for the future of "Pleroma," as well as discussing what's coming up in the world of animation.

Episode 423 - Janelle Croshaw Ralla & Jonathan Rothbart — VFX supervisors, John Wick: Chapter 4 Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

With John Wick: Chapter 4, the sleeper franchise reaches a violent crescendo, peppering the rogue assassin's globe-trotting bone-crunching fights with jaw-dropping plot twists. This week, the film's Production VFX Supervisor Janelle Croshaw Ralla, and Prep and On-Set VFX Supervisor Johnathan Rothbart join Chris for a spoiler-free discussion of the movie.

Janelle and Jonathan talk about working with director Chad Stahelski, who takes a meticulous, frame-by-frame approach to filmmaking and prefers to work in camera and on location over bluescreen or virtual production sets. They reveal the feats of stamina and endurance performed by star Keanu Reeves, share how to hit someone with a car or set them on fire without hurting him, and discuss the creative decisions behind the film's incredible 1,500 invisible VFX shots.

Episode 422 - Sean Looper - Chief Technology Officer, Crafty Apes Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

Over the course of his career, Sean Looper has gone from humble beginnings as an architectural draftsman to chief technology officer at VFX studio Crafty Apes. Along the way, the pipelines he's built have provided seamless effects for movies including Zathura: A Space Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Edge of Tomorrow.

In this podcast, Sean talks about his career and reveals a natural inclination toward the technical nuts and bolts that help a VFX pipeline run smoothly. He shares some of the important lessons he's learned from being in the industry and gives his thoughts on how machine learning, cloud, and gaming technology will reshape the way movies are made.

Episode 421 - Ben Procter - Production Designer, The "Avatar" Sequels Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

This week, Chris takes a trip to Pandora to delve into the design of Avatar: The Way of Water, James Cameron's latest jaw-dropping cinematic epic. His guide is Ben Procter, the super-talented production designer who specializes in creating vehicles and environments for Avatar antagonists the RDA — to the extent that he thinks of himself as the "bad guy" of the art department.

Ben goes into a fascinating deep-dive into the design and construction of the S-76 SeaDragon, the formidable whaling ship that becomes the setting for the film's final act. Ben talks about how the design process works between the writers, other artists, VFX studios, and James Cameron himself. Ben also gives his thoughts on artificial intelligence and how it's going to change a generation.

Episode 420 - Molly Pabian - Head of Studio at Crafty Apes VFX Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Inspired by scary movies to pursue a career in the film industry, Molly Pabian has worked her way up to head of studio at VFX company Crafty Apes. Along the way, she's worked on over 100 movies and TV shows, including Avatar, Real Steel, Star Trek: Picard, The Last of Us, 1923, John Wick: Chapter 4, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Molly talks about her roles and responsibilities as she's risen up the ranks. She also discusses the differences between working at big and small companies on 2D and 3D shots, how the bidding and budgeting processes work, and the effects of the pandemic and AI on the VFX industry. If you're about to start in VFX, this podcast is an essential primer on its inner workings.

Episode 419 - Chris Edwards - Co-Founder and CEO of THE THIRD FLOOR Visualization Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Almost every major recent and upcoming film and TV series has had THE THIRD FLOOR involved in the visualization stage — and beyond. Recent productions include Avatar: The Way of Water, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and The Mandalorian season 3.

This week, Co-founder and CEO of THE THIRD FLOOR, Chris Edwards, reflects on his 20-plus years of experience in the VFX industry. He also discusses how crucial visualization has become in the movie-making process and reveals how his colleagues Casey Schatz and Ryan Champney developed the Eyeline system, which enabled Avatar actors to convincingly interact with one another even if their performances were separated by time and space. This episode is an unprecedented insight into what goes on behind the scenes of movies — and you'll even learn how THE THIRD FLOOR got its name.

Episode 418 - Philipp Wolf - Executive-in-Charge, Corporate Strategy, DNEG Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Philipp Wolf has always had a passion for storytelling. He began his career in journalism, then helped shape stories for the reality TV show Big Brother before moving into visual effects production on movies and TV series, including Game of Thrones, Ghost in the Shell, and The Predator. Today, Philipp works at DNEG in Montreal, where his credits include Dune, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Altered Carbon, and The Battle at Lake Changjin.

As well as discussing his incredible career, Philipp details his role in the RealTime Society and how he's helping the industry tap into more diverse pools of talent. He also talks about the effects of the pandemic on the industry, and he offers some interesting thoughts on virtual production, AI, and what's needed to take the metaverse to the next level.

Episode 417 - Martini Giant Returns Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

The Martini Giant is back! It's been almost five years since Chris and fellow VFX artists and frequent CG Garage guests Daniel Thron and Erick Schiele created the Martini Giant podcast to indulge in their love of all things cinematic and argue about Star Wars. This week, Dan and Erick return to their roots and talk about what they've been up to since they last visited the CG Garage.

Which turns out to be a lot of stuff! Dan is back in the videogames industry, while Erick is using AI to help realize his childhood experiences with rock star Alice Cooper. Both discuss their experiences with AI and share thoughts on how it's changing the industry, but also reveal how important it is to keep doing the things you love. As ever, this is a hugely entertaining discussion, and it's great to hear Dan and Erick's voices again.

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