450 - The Sympathizer - Chad Wanstreet - VFX Supervisor
The Allan McKay Podcast
EPISODE 450 - THE SYMPATHIZER - CHAD WANSTREET - VFX SUPERVISOR In this episode, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor Chad Wanstreet about: His role as VFX Supervisor on the highly anticipated series The Sympathizer, an adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel; Collaborating closely with visionary director Park Chan-wook to bring his unique vision to life; The extensive previs and planning process that went into executing the show's complex VFX sequences; Overcoming the challenges of creating digital doubles and face replacements for Robert Downey Jr.'s multiple characters; Ensuring...
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449 - Olivio Serikas - Your Guide To AI Art Workflows
The Allan McKay Podcast
In this episode of the podcast, Allan McKay sits down with Olivio Sarikas, a renowned AI expert and YouTuber, to dive deep into the world of AI image generation. Olivio shares his extensive knowledge and experience working with various AI tools, providing valuable insights for both beginners and advanced users. The conversation covers a wide range of topics, from getting started with AI image generation to exploring the latest advancements in the field. Olivio offers practical advice on navigating the learning curve, finding the right tools, and unleashing your creativity with AI. He also...
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448 - Director Roxana Baldovin
The Allan McKay Podcast
In this episode, Allan McKay interviews Roxana Baldovin, an esteemed music video and commercial director known for her vibrant visual style. Roxana discusses her creative journey, from her early aspirations of being a screenwriter to becoming a sought-after director collaborating with major artists like Snoop Dogg, Steve Aoki, Doja Cat, Bella Poarch and Maluma. She shares insights into her creative process, the challenges of directing, and how she finds inspiration. Roxana also opens up about imposter syndrome, the importance of preparation, and rolling with the punches on set. Finally, she...
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447 - Important Looking Pirates - David Wahlberg
The Allan McKay Podcast
In the latest episode, I'm excited to spotlight David Wahlberg, an esteemed 2D Pipeline Supervisor and Comp Supervisor at Important Looking Pirates VFX in Stockholm, Sweden. With an expansive career of over 17 years, David has traversed the globe, contributing his vast skills to studios in Stockholm, Oslo, London, Sydney and Wellington. His work encompasses roles as a comp supervisor, senior compositor, and a pioneer in developing tools and plugins for Nuke, leveraging his programming expertise in C++ and Python to advance the VFX industry. David's portfolio boasts participation in major...
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446 - A personal 2024 Podcast Update
The Allan McKay Podcast
Quick updates on many things happening in 2024 and on the Podcast! Resuming back to the normal Podcast starting next week but thought I would share views on AI, the industry as it is right now in Q1 of 2024 and more!
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445 - GEN V - VFX Supervisor Karen Heston
The Allan McKay Podcast
Karen Heston is a VFX Supervisor on feature films and episodic tv. They began their VFX career at commercial houses in NYC on the night shift; while finishing their MFA in computer art by day. Starting as a Flame artist, they led VFX teams and engaged with creatives from storyboards to finals. On-set supervision and taking projects from pre-production through post remains their passion today. Karen’s projects include titles like GREEN LANTERN, BEASTS OF NO NATION, OCEAN’S EIGHT, and most recently GEN V. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews VFX Supervisor Karen Heston about their...
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444 - Film Producer Josh Rosenbaum - Waypoint Entertainment
The Allan McKay Podcast
Josh Rosenbaum is a Producer at Waypoint Entertainment. Josh majored in Business Administration at the USC Marshall School of Business and minored in Music Industry through the USC Thornton School of Music. Before he joined Waypoint Entertainment, he worked as an Agent Trainee at William Morris. After joining Waypoint Entertainment in 2015, he worked his way up from being a Production Coordinator to now a Producer. Since joining Waypoint, he worked on titles like THE FAVOURITE, CUCKOO, MID90S, HOSTILES. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Producer at Waypoint Entertainment Josh...
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443 - “NO CGI = INVISIBLE CGI” - VFX Supervisor Jonas Ussing
The Allan McKay Podcast
With 15 years in the VFX business, Jonas Ussing has supervisor credits on several feature and television titles, including the Netflix series THE RAIN. Jonas has furthermore earned nominations for an Emmy and a Danish Academy Award. In 2012, Jonas was nominated for an Emmy for his work on INSIDE THE HUMAN BODY. In 2014, he directed a short film ZOMBIEHAGEN which he also wrote. During 2023, Jonas launched his own YouTube Channel The Movie Rabbit Hole. He released two videos that have immediately gone viral in the VFX community, in which he talks about the collective publicity stunt...
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442 - Infinite-Realities Founder and Director Lee Perry-Smith
The Allan McKay Podcast
Infinite-Realities (IR) specializes in digital humans. Founded in 2007, IR has been developing static and motion scanning systems for over 15 years. Lee Perry-Smith is the original Founder of Infinite-Realities. As CEO, he has led various large scale project developments. He has a deep passion for human scanning and the ongoing pursuit of the perfect digital human. In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews Founder of Infinite-Realities Lee Perry-Smith about his passion for digital humans and scanning technology, the inspiration for his launching of Infinite-Realities; his first feature film...
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441 - Writer, Producer & Head of Writing at Vancouver Film School Kat Montagu
The Allan McKay Podcast
Kat Montagu is the Head of Writing for Film, Television and Games Program at the Vancouver Film School. She has taught for over 20 years in VFS’s Writing and Film Production Departments. Her Career Launch class has prepared countless VFS graduates to work on feature films, in the writers’ rooms of tv series and in video game studios. Kat has been named a VFS Instructor of the Year three times. Kat is also the author of the best stilling book The Dreaded Curse: Screenplay Formatting for Film and Television. This twist on the how-to guide demonstrates best practices through a riotous story...
info_outlineEric Wachtman is a CG / VFX Supervisor and Art Director at LAIKA where he’s been working for nearly 20 years. Prior to that, he served as the Director of CG / Visual Effects and Art Director at the Cartoon Network.
LAIKA was founded in 2005 in Oregon and is guided by the vision of its President & CEO Travis Knight. Located just outside Portland, Oregon, LAIKA was awarded a Scientific and Technology Oscar® for its innovation in 3D printing in 2016.
Its five films – MISSING LINK (2019); KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS (2016); THE BOXTROLLS (2014); PARANORMAN (2012), and CORALINE (2009) – were all nominated for Oscars® and PGA Awards as Outstanding Animated Film.
MISSING LINK was the first LAIKA film to win the Golden Globe® for Best Animated Feature and was awarded two Visual Effects Society (VES) awards for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature and Outstanding Animated Character, and received seven Annie Award nominations. KUBO received a second Oscar® nomination for Outstanding Visual Effects and won the BAFTA Award, as well as three Annie Awards, the National Board of Review's Best Animated Feature citation, and 19 regional and critics’ group awards. THE BOXTROLLS earned Critics’ Choice and Golden Globe Award nominations and 13 Annie Award nominations, more than any other film that year. PARANORMAN garnered BAFTA, Critics’ Choice, and GLAAD Media Award nominations, won two Annie Awards, and was cited as the year’s best animated film by 14 critics’ groups. CORALINE earned Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Critics’ Choice nominations and was named one of the year’s 10 Best Films by the American Film Institute (AFI).
In this Podcast, Allan McKay interviews the CG / VFX Supervisor at LAIKA Eric Wachtman about his experience working on award-winning titles of CAROLINE and PARANORMAN, his leadership in founding the Portland Chapter of VES, how curiosity and passion drives one’s VFX career, the secret to winning reels and so much more!
For more show notes, visit www.allanmckay.com/438.