CG Garage

Latest Episodes:

Episode 366 - Maxx Burman & Banks Boutté - KitBash3D Mar 14, 2022

Show notes

KitBash3D has become massive. What started as an easy way to provide concept artists with ready-made 3D assets has become an essential resource for movies and video games. KitBash3D now contains 10,000 assets in 75 kits, ranging from real-world locales to sci-fi cities, fantasy worlds, and gravity-defying spaceships. It's even been named by Fast Company as one of the most innovative gaming companies in 2022, alongside Microsoft, Roblox, and Epic Games.

In this podcast, KitBash3D founders Maxx Burman and Banks Boutté discuss their company's phenomenal success. They talk about the challenges of managing their growing collection of assets and reveal how they dream up and create the next kit. They also discuss their software's vital role in the metaverse and give some hints about big upcoming news for KitBash3D.

Episode 365 - Jonas Ussing & Stine Sørensen - Space Office VFX Mar 07, 2022

Show notes

Stine Sørensen and Jonas Ussing have got your VFX needs covered. With a background in animation, Stine is able to create and rig characters, while Jonas can handle the 3D pipeline. They've worked on everything from award-winning games to Hollywood movies to frenetic videogame trailers. But, they also happen to be a husband-and-wife team with two children.

In this podcast, Stine and Jonas — aka Space Office VFX — talk about how The Little Mermaid and The Empire Strikes Back inspired their careers and the differences between movies made in their native Denmark and the USA. They also delve into how a fast internet connection and Chaos Cloud have made it possible for them to work with freelancers from a rural location in Denmark.

Episode 364 - Zap Andersson - Random Renderer Guy, Autodesk Feb 28, 2022

Show notes

This week, Zap Andersson returns to the CG Garage podcast — and he's brought a whole new theme tune with him. Nestled among Klein bottles, Nixie tubes, and Kung Fury posters, Zap reveals his latest passion: streaming live music sessions on Twitch, and tells Chris how it's given him a new approach to the creative process.

Zap also delves into new open-source standards in computer graphics, such as OSL, USD, and Material X, and details the methodology behind his advanced wood shader. It's great to catch up with Zap and hear his tales of surviving COVID-19, as well as some of the workarounds he and Chris made in the world of pre-raytraced VFX.

Episode 363 - Mariana Acuña Acosta — Senior Vice President, Global Virtual Production and On-Set Services, Technicolor Feb 22, 2022

Show notes

Aliens and The Terminator inspired Mariana Acuña Acosta to get into movie-making — and now, she's on the cutting edge of new production methods. After working on movies including The Day After Tomorrow, Planet Terror, and Green Lantern, Mariana joined Foundry's Media and Production department. She then founded JoltVR to create virtual reality experiences, and Glassbox Technologies, which specializes in the unique toolset used for virtual production.

Mariana talks Chris through the past, present, and future of filmmaking, from rubbing shoulders with stunt people on-set through to the enticing promise of creating movies within the metaverse. She dives into the Glassbox's Dragonfly virtual camera, which enables directors to explore sets and shoot films in virtual environments. She also offers her thoughts on how gaming companies are changing the movie-making process.

Episode 362 - Christina Heller - CEO, Metastage Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

Volume capture is fast becoming one of the easiest and most practical ways to transform real people into digital assets. Pioneering this new field is Metastage, a company that captures performers on a state-of-the-art stage and then turns them into 3D content that you can play back as AR and VR experiences on even the most humble hardware.

Joining Chris this week is Christina Heller, Metastage's CEO. After working in media production, Christina co-founded VR Playhouse to deliver stunning immersive content and then took her expertise to Metastage. She tells Chris about the process of volume capture and its incredible advantages, including how it was put to use on a convention-defying commercial featuring Charli XCX.

Episode 361 - Katrina Salicrup - Podcast Creator / Flame Artist Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

Katrina Salicrup's story packs as many twists and revelations as a finely crafted thriller. After studying art, she worked as a Flame artist for companies including Method Studios, The Mission Studio, and Wieden + Kennedy. Following the birth of her daughter, her life took an unexpected turn, and she began writing as a hobby — which has grown into an award-winning podcast.

A natural storyteller, Katrina tells Chris about her make-or-break move to LA, some of the amusing shots she helped fix, and how she learned the tricks of the trade. She also details her new adventures in fiction, from early storytelling advice to going to the recording studio. You'll find out what makes a Flame artist different from a compositor and why podcasts are the new movies.

Episode 360 - Christian Lang, Peter Mitev, and Vlado Koylazov - Chaos/Enscape Merger Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

2022 began with exciting news: Chaos is merging with Enscape. Referred to as a slam-dunk for both companies, the business move will combine Chaos' award-winning photorealistic ray tracing expertise with Enscape's flourishing knowledge of real-time rendering. But what will it mean for the companies, their software, and their customers?

In this extra-special podcast, host Chris Nichols joins Chaos CEO Peter Mitev, Chaos CTO Vlado Koylazov, and Enscape CEO Christian Lang, to answer burning questions about the merger. The trio explains how they see the future of visualization, and how a combination of real-time and ray-traced rendering could blur the lines between arch-viz and VFX, reach a broader audience — and even power the metaverse

Episode 359 - Peter Baustaedter - VFX/Virtual Art Director, Amazon Studios Jan 24, 2022

Show notes

Peter Baustaedter's Hollywood career is an adventure worthy of a movie. After cracking the demoscene in Austria, he took a chance and wrote to Digital Domain — only for them to offer him a job. From here, he worked on a string of movies with groundbreaking VFX: Apollo 13, Dante's Peak, The Fifth Element, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, Sin City, King Kong, and Avatar.

In this extraordinary episode, Peter explains the minor role Arnold Schwarzenegger played in his career, discusses the dangerous world of practical effects in the mid-90s, and reveals why the power kept tripping at Square Pictures' Hawaiian production facility. Peter also talks about stepping up to become a visual effects art director and shares tidbits on using Unreal Engine to produce a major upcoming TV series from Amazon Studios.

Episode 358 - Raf Grassetti - "God of War" Art Director & NFT Artist Jan 17, 2022

Show notes

By day, Raf Grassetti works at Sony Computer Entertainment's Santa Monica Studio, where he art directs the God of War games. But there's more to Raf than epic videogames: he's also carved a successful path in the world of NFTs, with his hyperreal sculpts becoming hot virtual commodities.

Raf talks about his NFT artwork and how he's tailored pieces — such as his Crypto History sculpts of Elon Musk, Snoop "Doge" Dogg, and Beeple — to attract the crypto audience. Raf also reveals his approach to marketing and building a community eager for his next release. It's a fascinating conversation that helps unravel and explain the keys to success in the world of NFTs.

Episode 357 - Mallory Yund - Producer, Cobra Kai Jan 10, 2022

Show notes

Mallory Yund always knew she wanted to work in the entertainment industry — and now she's a post-producer on some of the biggest shows in the world. Beginning in Kansas, she moved to LA, where she slept on a couch (for three years!), worked in restaurants, and became an extra. After PAing on feature films, she worked her way into post-production, where her organizational skills and technical know-how helped her become a producer.

Today, Mallory's credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm, Silicon Valley, Cobra Kai, and many more shows and movies. She tells her fascinating story, including how a major natural disaster indirectly changed her career path. Mallory also reveals her favorite parts of being a producer and sheds light on the rapid evolution of the technology behind TV series.

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