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Episode 386 - Sean Devereaux - Producer & Visual Effects Supervisor Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

Sean Devereaux has fulfilled his childhood dream of making movies, and he started and sold a software company along the way. After being inspired by a viewing of The Wizard of Oz, Sean got a break at Digital Domain thanks to fellow alumni Jonathan Egstad. After working on movies including How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Vanilla Sky, he returned to Boston to found Zero VFX, which has created shots for American Hustle, The Equalizer, and Patriots Day.

Sean also discovered the financial and practical benefits of cloud computing, leading to the development of Zync, which was subsequently bought by Google. Sean reflects on his incredible career with contagious enthusiasm and a knack for storytelling. He recounts some great stories involving directors Peter Berg and Antoine Fuqua, and reveals how his work ethic helped him get hired by Digital Domain. He also reveals some of the important life lessons he's learned, from how to balance creativity and finances, to how to deal with directors.

Episode 385 - Mathew Giampa - VFX Supervisor, Scanline VFX Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

After getting on-set experience for a Canadian TV series, Mathew Giampa picked up compositing roles on White Noise 2, Sucker Punch, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Green Lantern, and more. He then moved up to progressively more challenging VFX supervision work on The Joker (yes, there were visual effects in that movie!), Black Widow, The Suicide Squad, and the Cowboy Bebop TV series.

Mathew talks about the joy of invisible VFX, moving between studios and countries to further his career, and some of the incredible projects he's worked on. He also dispels some of the myths about the importance of color accuracy and security when working on Hollywood productions, and offers a compositor's perspective on virtual production and real-time.

Episode 384 - Bill Plympton - Animator, Graphic Designer, Cartoonist, and Filmmaker Jul 18, 2022

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Episode 383 - Marc Morissette - VFX Supervisor/Owner, Cluster Jul 11, 2022

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Thinking about starting your own VFX company? This week's podcast guest, Marc Morissette, has done just that. After gaining experience and friendships at Digital Domain on projects including Peter Pan and Ghost Racer, Marc returned to his native Canada to form his own studio, Cluster. The company has taken on a variety of CG work, from a VR version of the Universal Studios globe for The Mummy to product shots and digital de-aging.

Marc explains the reasons behind starting Cluster and his vision for the company. He also talks about how the VFX industry changed when multiple vendors started working on the same shows, and the effects of the pandemic on smaller studios. Finally, Marc discusses how real-time technology will transform the future of filmmaking, and its advantages for smaller studios.

Episode 382 - Scott Kirvan - VFX Supervisor Jul 05, 2022

Show notes

This week Scott Kirvan shares his unique and in-depth understanding of the VFX pipeline, from on-set supervision to rendering the final frame. While working as a VFX programmer at Blur Studio, Scott developed Brazil R/S, the early ray-tracing renderer used on Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and Sin City. That's not all — he also VFX supervised movies including Swordfish and Jeepers Creepers. And he's started Slaughter County Brewing, a successful craft beer producer.

After a hiatus from the entertainment industry, Scott is now back on-set for I'm a Virgo, the upcoming Amazon TV series from Sorry to Bother You director Boots Riley. Scott reveals how he's embracing a new suite of tools for VFX production, including real-time engines and virtual production technology, to get talent to believe they're interacting with a 15-foot-tall teenager.

Episode 381 - Eddie Smith - Visual Effects Artist, Digital Domain Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

Eddie Smith is a MacGyver of the VFX industry. Over his career, he's figured out how to unveil the president as the bad guy for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, explode characters into cubes for Tron: Legacy, destroy planets in Ender's Game, all the way up to some spoiler-ific effects for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.

Eddie's weapon of choice for VFX is Houdini, SideFX's versatile node-based effects software. Eddie breaks down some of his favorite work and reveals how he's often charged with figuring out the best way to tackle complex scenes. He also talks about how effects software has changed in his 14 years at Digital Domain, and the future for the industrious effects studio.

Episode 380 - Ioanna Ivanova - 3D Artist, INK Jun 21, 2022

Show notes

Originally from Bulgaria, Ioanna Ivanova was inspired by Pixar and Tangled to pursue a career in CG. Having studied at Bournemouth University in the UK, she subsequently moved to London where she works for INK, the inventive creative studio that's rendered everything from funny furry planes to amazing Maseratis.

In this inspirational podcast, Ioanna talks about the importance of networking and meeting people, and the benefits of working for smaller CG studios where you can have more creative input. She also discusses what INK's been up to lately, including medical equipment visualization and a pet project she's masterminded herself.

Episode 379 - Jeff Stringer - Director of Production Technology, Laika Jun 14, 2022

Show notes

There's a surprising amount of tech in Laika's movies. The Portland, Oregon-based studio still makes use of its intricate hand-crafted stop-motion techniques, but it's increasingly augmenting them with CG elements, 3D printing, and even virtual production. Jeff Stringer, Laika's director of production technology, reveals the advantages of combining the physical and the digital.

Jeff also talks about his career in the entertainment industry, from his early days in theater projections to software sales, Atari arcade games, Starship Troopers, and Digital Domain, all the way up to how he got started at Laika. He gives some amazing insight into how a successful studio is built and run, and reveals how Laika is pushing its pipeline forward again with Wildwood, its next production.

Episode 378 - Adam Sidwell - Founder, Future House Studios Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

Adam Sidwell is pioneering a new generation of entertainment. His CG career began working with Chris on I, Robot, and he went on to create effects for movies including King Kong, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and Warcraft: The Beginning. Now, Adam has taken his modular approach to VFX into real-time to create AR, VR, and online content featuring Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, and Kaskade, through to Sonic the Hedgehog and Georges W. Bush and Clooney.

In this podcast, Adam breaks down the story behind Future House Studios, the company he founded to create immersive, interactive experiences. He also talks about the pros and cons of working in real-time, the metaverse and NFTs, reveals why some shots in Avatar look better than others — and discusses making The Weeknd lick a frog.

Episode 377 - Jeff Mottle & Lon Grohs - CGarchitect & Chaos May 26, 2022

Show notes

CGarchitect has become a massive part of the global archviz community. The all-in-one site incorporates LinkedIn-style job listings, the latest industry insights, and a super-smart AI-powered gallery that curates impressive renders from thousands of submissions. And now, CGarchitect has become part of the Chaos family.

In this podcast, Chris is joined by CGarchitect founder Jeff Mottle as he prepares to pass the mantle of running the site to Chaos' Director of Creative and Communications, Lon Grohs. Jeff goes into detail on why he founded the site, how it works, and the exciting next steps for his career, while Lon talks about the future of CGarchitect, what it means for its community, and its first major change: to a completely free model for all users.

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