Creators Society Animation Podcast

On a recent trip to Kidscreen I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss distribution with Alison Taylor from Aardman and Ed Galton from Cake. With our industry undergoing so much change, I wanted to hear what it was like on the distribution side of the business, and how these two companies, with very different beginnings and operations were navigating the change. I also added some thoughts on the conference in general and the vibe I got while on the trip. Enjoy!And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Jonathan WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional community uniting all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to foster meaningful connections, encourage collaboration, and deepen the understanding of every role involved in bringing animated stories to life. Through networking, mentorships, education, and industry events, we celebrate the creativity and passion that drive animation forward, supporting the talented creators who make it all possible.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.netSend us a text

This episode is a must-listen for anyone developing an original series and wondering how they'll get it off the ground. A combination of passion, perseverance, and a great partnership of the right people made the special sauce to get Stan & Gran into production. Based on an idea Jon Mason had a whopping 12 years ago, perseverance looms large here. His partnership with Natalie Llewellyn was pivotal as you'll hear in this conversation.This is the third in a sporadic series looking at the anatomy of a project and rounds out the trio looking at an original series. I hope you find it as informative as I did. Super interesting.Enjoy!Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.netSend us a text

The Wild Robot is here - a film I and a lot of the industry have been looking forward to getting their eyes on since we first saw the teaser. Most of the major animated feature hits of late have been sequels and spin-offs, so when I got a glimpse of The Wild Robot from DreamWorks, I was very excited. First of all, I love robots of course. But there is something about the fish-out-of-water scenario of putting a robot into the wilderness that is immediately striking. Even the name of the film depicts so much and immediately you want answers to some questions that pop into your head. And no, it's technically not an original because it's based on existing IP, a book - but it feels fresh and new - and Dreamworks seems to do that a lot with book source material. Not only does it feel fresh visually - and stunning - but I was really curious about the process of adapting the source material. So in this chat with Director Chris Sanders, we talk about that in detail, as well as many other things. Just to let you know, there are some spoilers in this one - nothing devastating, but also because of the breakdown in the story and writing process, this one is best listened to after you've seen the movie. If you're a writer, I'd also recommend reading the book so you can better see the adaptation process.Chris was super generous with his time, and we got to cover a lot of things, so I hope you enjoy it.Send us a text

Survive til 25 is a term thrown about a lot lately, but it got me thinking that it's August, and perhaps we need to think more about longer-term survival. So this is the first in a series of Survive Beyond '25 episodes looking at various parts of that equation, from business to innovation to mental health and creativity. In this episode, Rick Mischel returns to chat about the general state of the industry and where we're headed. Rick recently bought a studio, so he has some optimism there! It's a fascinating conversation and I encourage you to engage in the ongoing conversation with us - we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Also, head back to episode 30 for a longer chat about Rick's career.Enjoy!Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.netSend us a Text Message.Send us a Text Message.

How low can you go with a CG feature budget to create a very entertaining, high-quality-looking animated film? Listen in to this one to find out as I dive into the deal-making and production of The Amazing Maurice with Producer Andrew Baker. Based on a Terry Pratchett book, The Amazing Maurice looks like it came out of a much bigger studio environment. It has a great voice cast, quality effects, and animation and is a great case study.Andrew was very generous not only with his time, but the detail he delved into, and he has some great insight into the industry from his work as a lawyer before his role as a producer. Hope you enjoy it!And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Jonathan WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.netSend us a Text Message.

'The old shool house', 'speeider' and 'the sun is warming up' were just some of the memorable lines quoted by my kids for years from the original Megamind movie originally released back in 2010 - a very different animation and media landscape than exists today. The movie was fresh and fairly successful, but gained a cult following in the years after its release. Fast forward to this year and original writers Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, after selling the original screenplay as a spec, had the chance to revisit the iconic character with a direct to streaming feature and limited series with Peacock. I got to chat with them along with Exec producer and showrunner Eric Fogel about the past and the present of all things Megamind, along with their backstories leading into these projects. Hope you enjoy it!And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Jonathan WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.netSend us a Text Message.

Welcome to our second annual Kidscreen Conversations episode. I headed to San Diego, not Miami this year for the first west coast Kidscreen. As always it was a great event, although the sun decided to skip it this year! Our guests this year are Rob Doherty, a consultant with great insight into the industry and founder of Festivus, an animation org that parallels the Creators Society in some ways in the UK, Sueann Rochester, Managing Director of Wild Child Animation in Scotland, and Lucy Murphy, director of kids content at Sky in the UK. There's some really great thoughts and insight here so I know you'll get something from these conversations.  Please excuse the on location audio, a little rougher than usual, along with my voice.Enjoy!And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Jonathan WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Welcome to the 4th season of the Creators Society Animation Podcast. We're thrilled to have made it this far! As you know, our business is changing all the time, rapidly. But that means that there is more to talk about than ever, so we're going to be talking to different people and discussing different topics of change and importance. Today we chat with Sean Charmatz and Peter McCown from DreamWorks about their new film Orion and the Dark, which is out on Netflix. This one is super interesting to me from a few perspectives. When I saw the trailer, I was intrigued - it was written by Charlie Kaufman, so you had me interested in seeing what he'd do with an animated film right there, but I was also intrigued by the creative execution, how that vision was executed on a streaming film budget, and its directed by Sean Charmatz, a long time story artist who spent a chunk of his career on Spongebob. If you haven't had the chance to watch it yet, I encourage you to do so. One thing I've noticed after chatting with several people about Orion is that it sparks discussions. It's interesting to me because it deviates from a regular linear narrative, which it easily could have followed. However, this departure from the norm fosters dialogue and, I believe, adds depth to its storytelling.Hope you enjoy it!And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Jonathan WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Today we have a treat as I chat with Mike Lasker of Sony ImageWorks. I don't know about you but I was blown away by Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - and actually when it finished, I sat there with so many questions - mainly around the theme of 'how the hell did they do that?!'I have long had a fascination with render styles that veered away from realism, playing with toon shaders and compositing techniques in my own work and trying to find new looks that were fresh or different. Of course, Sony's recent films have been an explosion of fresh and different, starting with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, then Mitchells vs the Machines and now exploding again with Across the Spider-Verse.So when I had the opportunity to chat with someone at Sony about this film, Mike Lasker, the VFX supervisor seemed the perfect choice. But when I got into this chat, I actually realized what a pivotal role he's had in helping to change the way we look at animation styles. Mike worked on Into the Spider-Verse and also Mitchells and Across the Spider-Verse, bringing a wealth of experience from both live-action and animated films - something we often see with Sony ImageWorks folks that seems to broaden their range and perspectives and help them to adapt to challenging briefs. Mike was a delight to chat with - and I only really scraped the surface of some of the amazing tools and development work they did on these films - we really could have chatted for hours. Hope you enjoy it!And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Jonathan WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In today's episode, we have a conversation with Sandy Wax - a former Discovery, Disney, and Sprout executive. Sandy is delightfully curious, and that curiosity really paved the way for so many things - from her interest in research, to how that ties into content development and marketing and branding - and what led to her becoming CEO of Sprout for over over 10 years. Branding is something we don't talk enough about, so I loved diving into this with Sandy - and she's had 3 different and major experiences with brand building in our industry that I think we all can learn from.I hope you enjoy this one!And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Jonathan WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

For this episode, we're breaking down The Inventor with an 'Anatomy of an Indie Stop Motion Film'.We first had Jim Capobianco on the show almost two years ago! In that chat, he talked about the stop motion feature project he'd embarked upon. With the Inventor releasing in theatres on Friday, September 15th, we thought doing a deep dive and breaking down how it made it to screen would be a great idea. To do so we were joined by Jim, the film's writer and director (Jim was also Oscar-nominated as co-writer of Ratatouille), Co-Director Pierre-Luc Granjon, and Line Producer Kat Alioshin. When looking at how a low-budget film came to be, Kat's role as Line Producer was key. And since Jim came from the 2D and CG world, Co-Director Pierre-Luc, with a wealth of experience in stop motion, was also key. All three joined me to walk through the project, which itself is a charming depiction of not only Leonardo Davinci's latter years but also captures the spirit of creativity and curiosity of a man who gave the world so much. Really hope you enjoy the podcast - but also the film! Go see it!- - If you enjoy the show, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonEdited by: Jonathan WakelamAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

If you're looking for some career inspiration, look no further than this episode with guest Bobby Chui. Bobby's career is an example of tenacity, purpose, and a drive to not only be a great artist but to be great FOR artists.We start out early in his career journey and talk through all the obstacles he encountered before his big break, which was really a big gamble that turned into a big break. Our industry throws up continual obstacles, whether it's a no from a pitch, a no from a school, being part of layoffs caused by Wall Street's whims, or a myriad of other barriers, this episode will encourage you to keep going and to help others to keep going. Enjoy!- -Show Notes:Bobby Chui InstagramCheck out Lightbox Expo hereWatch the Lightbox Expo 23 Trailer Visit Schoolism hereVisit Imaginism Studios here- - Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonEdited by: Jonathan WakelamAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In this episode, I got to chat with Kirk DeMicco and Faryn Pearl, the director and co-director of DreamWorks Animation's latest film, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. As with most films, what we see onscreen is only part of the story. If you look at the math, Kirk's last directorial project was Vivo, released around 2 years ago, which means Ruby was a sprint from when he came aboard - pun intended. This film is refreshing in that it's focussed on a young female protagonist, and the entire thread of the story focusses on 3 generations of women - well, kraken women. The production design on this project was just beautiful. I understand the focus and fawning over experimental looks in recent films, DreamWorks films included, but design and shapes take centre stage here for a really cool look that I enjoyed. Combine that with awesome bioluminescence and you've got a beautiful looking film. Ruby is Faryn first co-director role, and Thoroughly enjoyed chatting with her and Kirk and hope you enjoy it!- - Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonEdited by: Jonathan WakelamAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In this episode, we chat with Gary H. Lee, a layout, pre-viz, and cinematography guru who has also directed a couple of amazing shorts. Gary has an amazing career story that we know you'll enjoy, from working on one of the biggest film franchises of all time at age 19 to working with Ang Lee on Life of Pi, he has an incredible amount of experience and insight. We discuss his career, his thoughts on where pre-viz is going with Unreal, and how he used pre-viz to get his ambitious short films into production. Check out the trailer for Gary's short Aden here. We'll let you know when it's live online. And check out "The Magician's Elephant" on Netflix.Enjoy!Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In 2022 Animation Magazine celebrated 35 years, so I sat down with Jean Thoren, a serial encourager, to talk about her's, and the magazine's journey.Jean and Animation Magazine have seen so much change in the industry over the past 35 years, and we chat about how it all got started when Pixar was emerging, Disney was changing, and the evolution of animation from being pigeonholed for kids to having the wider audience it has today. Jean and Animation Magazine also put on the Animation Summit in LA each November which we also chatted about.Enjoy!Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Sometimes you see artwork that leaps off the screen - almost like visual click bait! Joseph Feinsilver's concept art did that to me when I spotted it on Instagram, so I wanted to chat to him about his story, his process and his work on Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. Joe shares his story about breaking into the industry just out of college which is really inspiring if you're painting day and night, posting online and wondering what's going to happen next, and also chats about his process and tips for using color in storytelling. If you're a fan of great art or interested in an Art Director's role in the pipeline of an animated film, I think you'll enjoy this episode. I did!Show notes:Check out Joseph's ArtStation hereThe speed painting video I reference can be seen herePlease like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

This week's episode is a bit of a departure from our regular format, as I chat with 3 people from Kidscreen Summit in Miami and share some of my own thoughts.First up is Tom Bancroft, a well-known and very accomplished animator who worked at Disney for many years and recently started his own studio, Pencillish. Tom was visiting Kidscreen for the first time, so it was a great opportunity to sit down and chat.I then spoke with Dylan Edwards from Copernicus Studios in Canada about the journey of the show they're just beginning production on but which had a 10-year development cycle.And finally, I spoke with Rich Dickerson, an Emmy Award-winning composer who has been part of this podcast from the beginning as he created the music for our theme. It was great to sit down and chat with Rich about his journey.We would love to hear your feedback on this episode so please get in touch.Show notes:Pencilish Studios can be found at Pencilish.comCheck out Tom and his brother Tony's podcast - The Bancroft Bros Animation PodcastCopernicus Studios can be found at CopernicusStudios.comAnd Rich Dickerson can be found herePlease like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Getting to have these conversations is such a treat for me, and I really enjoyed getting to have this conversation with Jonas Rivera from Pixar. After starting as an intern on the original Toy Story, rising up to producer on UP, Inside Out, Toy Story 4 and helping to shape Soul, Jonas has 4 Oscars under his belt and is now Executive Vice President of Production at Pixar. That would be a great story itself, but there are a lot more ingredients mixed in here, and really, this conversation was so enjoyable because Jonas is a super nice guy, gracious, humble and obviously absolutely loves what he does.  We talk about the early days of Pixar, touch on all the films he produced and his work with Pete Docter, chat about a producers role in the brain trust, and lots moreI know you'll really enjoy this one and Jonas was really generous with his time, which was essential in sharing such a long and interesting career. And Jonas is still a pretty young guy, so there's a lot more career to come.The book referred to toward the end of the episode is 'You Negotiate Like A Girl' by Amy Trask.Enjoy!Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

This episode is a chat with Julie Kane-Ritsch, Talent Manager and Head of Animation at The Gotham Group. It's a fascinating chat that shows that managers and agents have all kinds of paths into the industry, and Julie's journey is really cool. When Hanna Barbera's shorts program produced 12 shorts, with 4 of them being Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, Dexters Lab, and the Powerpuff Girls, Julie was there. We chat through how she got started, and touch on various parts of her career, before chatting about the state of the industry now, the cyclical nature of original IP in the marketplace, and how to stand out from the crowd when shopping around yourself and your ideas. Enjoy!Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoy it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In 2022 Sony Pictures Animation celebrated its 20th birthday, and Kristine Belson has been president for around 8 of those years, overseeing the industry-changing hit "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse", and a growing number of film-maker led projects with varying styles and storytelling techniques. Join me in this conversation with Kristine as we chat about her career, which started in live-action, and traces through the Jim Henson Company and DreamWorks Animation before she started at Sony. We touch on "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and talk about how it impacted the industry, the development process, and ethos at Sony, including working with ImageWorks, Phil Lord, and Chris Miller, touching on the upcoming k-pop movie and the agent Elvis series. So I really hope you enjoy this and get as much from it as I did. Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media if you enjoyed it.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here.Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Puss In Boots: The Last Wish is fresh off a Golden Globes nomination and being widely praised - along with a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes as I write this. Join us as we jump into a nearly hour-long chat with Director Joel Crawford and Co-Director Januel Mercado.These guys were so fun to chat with and they were very generous with their time in a week where they probably did a hundred interviews. What's cool is that Joel and Januel are really close friends, and got to work side by side on a movie which is really a fun ride. And you can tell they have loved making this - it comes through in every frame. It doesn't matter if you've seen the previous Puss In Boots or not, or any of the Shrek films, this one stands alone. It's fresh in style, darker in tone in places with a real depth. We get to chat about a lot of that, but somehow I felt like we were just scratching the surface. And we stayed pretty much out of spoiler territory I think so that you can listen to this before or after you see it - or both.Show notes:If you want to check out Joel's student film, you can find it here. Well worth the watch.Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.plus

If you've been taking in all the animated features this year, you no doubt have The Bad Guys as one of your favorites. For me, it's one of my favorite films of the year, animated or not. And it certainly has its own flavor, a flavor which is really fresh, reminiscent of great heist films, and infused with a lot of today's guest, director Pierre Perifel. We chat about Pierre's career journey from studying in France to DreamWorks, and we touch on a few projects, including canceled while in production projects - which may speak to many people affected this year - to his feature directorial debut.Pierre clearly had a great time making this film. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.A few notes from the show:Highly recommend you watch the teaser animatic that Pierre put together to sell the project internally can be found here. A great example of how to sell a concept.Pierre's short film from Goblins can be seen here - Super fun!Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.plus

I bumped into LP Vermette and Virginie Lavallée in Annecy this year and right away was intrigued by what they're doing. LP and Virginie are Canadian producers who have pivoted to focus on training producers in the industry. What is wonderfully refreshing is that aside from being super capable and experienced to teach other producers, they're taking the angle of wanting to turn out producers capable of balancing the well-being of their role and their team with everything a role in production entails. Aptly named the Happy Producers, we had a wonderful conversation talking about their careers, their approach, and really their mission to have a lasting impact on the mental health of the industry. Of course, they're still hands-on producers in their own right, keeping them in touch with everything that's happening within the industry and their field.I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.You can find out more about L.P ,  Virginie, and The Happy Producers here.Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Daniel Ross has worked as a voice actor for many years and does a vast array of voices, including many legacy characters, and new ones, big and small, in various shows. We chatted about his journey into voice acting, and the craft. Getting started into acting is a challenge, so you'll love Daniel's story of how he landed a role in a transformers video game to kick off his career.Daniel is the third actor to voice Donald Duck for Disney, a role that recently earned him an Emmy nomination. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In 2017, when the industry caught sight of the first teaser trailer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, our collective jaws dropped. The rest is history of course as the movie went on to win just about every award imaginable. In this episode, I chat with Josh Beveridge, Head of Animation on Spider-Verse, and we talk through his career, all of which has been at Sony Pictures Imageworks, and how the animation on Spider-Verse was a culmination of things that had been building for years, and how that first trailer drop allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief. Josh was also Head of Animation on Netflix's surprise gem, The Sea Beast which premiered earlier this year.I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Zoe WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

This week we were saddened to receive the news that long-time Pixar production designer Ralph Eggleston passed away after a long battle with cancer. I spoke with Ralph for one of our first episodes, so my instinct was to remember him by re-running that episode this week instead of what we had planned. I'm joined by long-time Pixar animator Shawn Krause, who has known Ralph, or Eggman as many knew him, since the early Pixar days.Ralph shared his journey and his wisdom generously in this interview, talking about his beginnings at Cal Arts, his big break animating on Family Dog with Brad Bird, Fern Gully with Bill and Sue Kroyer, and his time at Pixar. He gets in-depth about his process and adds tips and advice for young artists. This episode was our longest and one of our most popular, so I encourage you to listen and learn and appreciate this talent who is gone too soon. Toward the end of the episode, Ralph talks about a recommended reading list for filmmaking and production design. We've shared the list below. The Big Goodbye, by Sam WassonAll text, a few pics.  An exceptionally well-written account of the making of the movie Chinatown, with lots of design insight by the film's production designer Richard Sylbert.  Can get on iPad…one of the best books on making a film EVER.  Blast to read (like Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, but on one film!)By Design, by Vincent LoBruttoAll text.  Interviews with film production designers. Hollywood Art , by Beverly HeisnerGREAT survey of the design departments of the major film studios in the early to late 20th Century.  Lots of medium-quality pics, but a great starting place for names and films to look into further. Designs on Film:  A Century of Art Direction, by Cathy WhitlockExcellent book LOADED with high-quality images.  Selznick's Vision, by Alan David Vertrees and Thomas SchatzEXCELLENT book on the design and making of Gone with the Wind.  At first, it reads like a doctoral thesis, which it probably is.  But endlessly fascinating.  The first film to give credit to Production Design to the great William Cameron Menzies.William Cameron Menzies:  The Shape of Films to Come, by James CurtisTerrific biography of the great William Cameron MenziesDesigning Movies:  Portrait of a Hollywood Artist, by Richard SylbertAutobiography of Richard SylbertProduction Design and Art Direction (Screencraft Series), by Peter EttedguiGreat overview of more modern films.  Lots of interviews and TONS of images!   Production Design:  Visual Design for Film and Television, by Peg McClellanExcellent book.  Lots of practical stuff.Production Design for Screen:   Visual Storytelling in Film and Television, by Jane BarnwellLots of good basic info.The Art of the Hollywood Backdrop, by Richard M. Isackes, Karen L. Maness- - Thanks for listening. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.

Today's guest, Rick Mischel, walks us through his career as a producer and executive for renowned studios such as Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Imageworks, Rainmaker/Mainframe, and Bardel, offering some great advice along the way. I first met Rick at my first Kidscreen event in Miami, a meeting we discussed at the beginning of this episode, and then ran into him at Annecy this year.  A humble, generous exec, Rick does things the right way, balancing the company's needs with genuine care for people.  I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Zoe WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Skydance Animation's first feature film Luck just dropped on AppleTV+, and we were able to chat with director Peggy Holmes this week about her career and the making of the film. Peggy was a delight to chat with and I thoroughly recommend this episode for anyone interested in taking steps toward directing - from wherever they are now!Being Skydance's first animated feature, they obviously wanted to come out of the gate with something ambitious. There were some leadership changes at the studio and at the helm of this film which left them with a short time frame to produce this feature, during the pandemic, over zoom as Peggy talks about.But it is a big, ambitious, world building project, the type of project that has a simple premise, but a lot of moving parts. I really like some of the choices in regards to storytelling that veer away from the easy and obvious, which we talk about toward the end of the conversation. We don't get too spoilery - we do talk about a few things in the last quarter or so which you'd probably want to see the movie before hearing, at least if you're as spoiler averse as me.We also discuss Peggy's super interesting career path! I mean, how many feature animation directors started as dancers? I'm going to say you could probably count them on one hand, if not one finger. Interestingly, I missed this in our conversation, but Peggy really got the crowd in Annecy when she showed herself dancing in an 80s Lionel Ritchie Pepsi commercial and then filming herself as dance reference for the animators of Luck.Luck is also the first in a bigger deal between Apple TV+ and Skydance animation, so it's going to be interesting to see what comes next.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Zoe WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In this episode we've got a double scoop of talented creators in Karen Disher and Sharon Bridgeman, who join me to chat through their careers.Karen and Sharon have recently joined the multi-talented crew that Brad Lewis and P.J. Gunsagar have been assembling at Spire Animation Studios. After glittering career journeys through major animation houses, Karen and Sharon were drawn to Spire's creative culture.Karen's career began with Beavis and Butt-Head and continued onto Blue Sky where she worked on pretty much every project they produced. Her journey at Blue Sky ended with Disney's purchase of Fox's assets, as did a feature film directorial debut project that was in the works.Sharon started out on TV with Ninja Turtles and has worked on iconic films such as Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas and spent many years at Dreamworks as a Story and Storyboard Artist. One of her more recent films has been none other than the groundbreaking Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse.Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaEdited by: Zoe WakelamThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In this episode, I chat with David Sheldon-Hicks, co-founder of Territory Studio. Territory Studio began as a screen graphics specialist studio; creating user interfaces for films like Prometheus, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers, continuing this work on more recent films such as The Batman, Dune, and Blade Runner 2049. Over the years Territory has grown while remaining independent, enabling them to experiment with new technology and work on innovative projects.Today we talk through David's career, including the launch and growth of Territory, stopping to talk about key projects and company culture. To check out Territory's work, please visit their website.For more information on Territory's Epic MegaGrant visit FX Guide.Enjoy!Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

This week I chat with Peter Demarest, compositing supervisor on Boba Fett and The Mandalorian, as well as working on some of the most iconic shots and movies for the past decade, such as The Avengers, Avatar, Jurassic World, and the Star Wars films. I saw Peter's reel a few weeks back and was just blown away, so wanted to reach out and chat to him, and here's that chat!Take a look at Peter's compositing showreel  - there's a link below. I loved this chat, we talked about Peter's career and some specific films and turning points in compositing, and also how the role has changed and is changing with virtual production on projects like Boba Fett and The Mandalorian. Peter's recently started at Pixar, so we also touched on how the role of compositing is changing in animated features. Regardless of whether you think you're interested in compositing or not, I encourage you to dig into this episode, because I always find that I learn the most from episodes I least expect to, not just here, but in other podcasts as well.Enjoy!Peter's Compositing reelPeter's IMDBPlease remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Today's guest is Nancy Kanter, a producer and executive who didn't start out in animation or on an executive track - although I'm not sure exactly what an executive track is since so many people I speak to have non-linear career paths. Nancy began her career as an editor on feature films and documentaries spent a few years creating Sesame Street specials and wound up being an integral part of Disney Junior's birth and expansion around the planet, including overseeing the development of shows like Doc McStuffins and Vampirina. Nancy joined Netflix on an overall deal early in 2021, has won multiple awards, overseen oodles of great content, and was really a joy to chat with.Enjoy!Please remember to like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Aron Warner was the producer of DreamWorks' first CG animated feature, Antz. He then won the first ever academy award for an animated feature as the producer of Shrek, before going on to produce Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, working with Jorge Gutierrez on The Book of Life and more recently, Wish Dragon. Before all this, Aron had a career in live action films, from horror films like Freddy's Dead - The Final Nightmare, to big budget blockbusters like Independence Day and True Lies. In today's episode of the Creators Society Animation Podcast I sat down with Aron and tried to cover as much of his career as we could in the time we had! With all his success, Aron is as humble as they come, always singing the praises of the great teams around him - a real pleasure to chat to. Enjoy!Please remember to like, rate and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

After studying at CalArts, Shawn Krause jumped almost straight into Pixar, where he stayed for many years, working on 15 Pixar features including the first two Toy Story films, Finding Nemo and Dory, Incredibles and Incredibles 2 and all three Cars films,  along with multiple shorts and other projects. Now he's made another leap, to Spire Animation Studios as Creative Director of Animation and Story, where I caught up with him to talk about his incredible career, his path to Spire and what they're doing, and a bit of baseball. Shawn's career is vast and so there was plenty to talk about, and this episode really complements the episode from a couple of weeks ago with Michael Surrey - they have had different careers, but are now working together and complementing each other. Really hope you enjoy this episode!Please remember to like, rate and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

When Kristen McGregor published an article at the start of the year on getting into kids media, I immediately wanted to chat with her on the podcast. So when I was in LA recently, we sat down to talk about her career and also her article. Kristen has worked as a writer, director, producer and exec at places like CBC, Sinking Ship, Nelvana and Apple TV+, so has plenty of experience across the board. Not only is Kristen is willing to give back to the community she's a part of, but is excited about doing so, and actively encourages people into kids media. And if you get a chance to chat with her, her infectious enthusiasm is also going to brighten your day, as I'm sure this episode will. Enjoy!Click here to read Kristen's original articleVisit kristenmcgregor.comPlease remember to like, rate and comment on your favourite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael WakelamExecutive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich DickersonAudio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Spire Animation Studios is a new studio with some ambitious plans for combining high end features with realtime tech, but to do this they've assembled an all-star team of creatives. Michael Surrey, Creative Director of Story and Animation, is one of those all-stars, and the first of a few conversations with Spire creatives we'll have over the coming weeks. Michael's career started out in 2D animation in classics like 'Beauty and The Beast', 'Aladdin' and 'The Lion King', and then 3D animation with projects like 'Tangled' and 'The Croods' before switching to the Story department. Now at Spire, he's tasked with helping shape Spire's initial projects, which include 'Trouble' from Danny McBride. I'm sure you'll enjoy walking through Michael's career and then our discussion about Spire.This is our first in-person podcast, part of a few recorded on my recent trip to the US, so please excuse the less than perfect on location audio, tweaked by the masterful Mike Rocha.You can check out Spire here: https://www.spirestudios.comPlease remember to like, rate and comment on your favourite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Join me for this in depth conversation with Linda Simensky, discussing her incredible career, including adventures as an exec at Nick, Cartoon Network, PBS and her new gig at Duolingo as Head of Animation and Scripted Content at Duolingo.One of the many things Linda and I touched on was the lack of books about becoming a producer or an executive. If you want to become an artist or an animator, there are a lot out there. But books on other jobs in the industry are few and far between, and that's now. There certainly wasn't when Linda was starting out. Obviously now, even without books, there are a lot more ways to learn about these other roles in the industry, including podcasts like this. I feel like hearing Linda talk about how she approached being a development exec with a heart for creators is something we rarely get to hear, so whether you're an artist or an aspiring exec or just a fan of Linda's work, I know you'll get a lot out of this as we walk through her career and talk about what she's doing in her new role at Duolingo.Please remember to like, rate and comment on your favourite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

If you could create a character design masterclass without any visuals, this would be it. Joe Moshier shares a wealth of knowledge about his process along with his path to becoming one of the best character designers in the business today. You've seen his work in films including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Emporer's New Groove, Bolt, the Dragons films, Boss Baby and recently Sony Pictures Animation wonderful Vivo. He's also just finished work as the character lead on Sony's upcoming 'Across the Spider-verse'. Join me in this in depth discussion and ensure you share it with anyone interested in a career in character design!Please remember to like, rate and comment on your favourite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Carlos Zaragoza's journey to production design in animation started out as a youngster in Madrid, and wove through fine art and live action, including working on Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. We walk through his entire career including key films, and touching on how sees the role of production design. Carlos has recently been nominated for an Annie for his work as production designer on the Sony Pictures Animation film Vivo, a beautiful Lin Manuel Miranda musical directed by Kirk DeMicco. Vivo is a delightful feast of colour and texture expertly crafted to deliver the vibrant characters and great story. I know you'll love this conversation, so jump in!Please remember to like, rate and comment on your favourite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.Show Notes:Watch the short film by Carlos Baena, La Noria, hereVisit Carlos's instagram hereAnd Carlos's website hereWatch Vivo on NETFLIXIf you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Genevieve won an Emmy as a producer for Amazon's first preschool show, Tumbleleaf.  Join me as we walk through her career as a writer, creator, producer, songwriter and voice actor, including her fascinating back story and great 'breaking into the industry' story.  We also talk about her latest project, the music driven Star Forest. Enjoy!Show Notes: Listen to Star ForestStar Forest websiteIf you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you're loving the podcast, please share with friends and colleagues.Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Rex was there in the early days of CG, attending NYIT and joining PDI and working with Jim Henson, before animating on Toy Story and then joining DreamWorks. He was head of animation on all three Madagascar films, won a Sci-Tech Oscar for leading the design of DreamWorks animation software Premo. He then went on to found  Nimble Collective, along  with Scott LaFleur, Jason Schleifer and Bruce Wilson, a cloud based solution for animation production, which was acquired by Amazon in 2019.I know you'll love this conversation about Rex's career. Please remember to like, rate and comment on your favourite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media.Show Notes:Referenced clip of Rex with Jim Henson - Click HereNimble Collective - Now Amazon Nimble Studio - Click HereIf you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you're loving the podcast, please share with friends and colleagues.Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Ken's career spans more than two decades in the cutting edge confines of PDI and DreamWorks Animation. Ken was there for Antz, the Shrek films, Monsters vs Aliens and much much more.  We talk about his career and touch on the evolution of visual effects within the animation industry, including pushing the limits at DreamWorks on Shrek, the Golden Gate Bridge destruction in Monsters Vs Aliens and the clouds in Puss In Boots. Ken was very generous with his time so enjoy!If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you're loving the podcast, please share with friends and colleagues.Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

Jim Capobianco's list of credits and achievements is too long to list here, but his career spans Disney and Pixar as a story artist, where he worked as a story artist on many great films, the Lion King, A Bug's Life, Monsters Inc, Finding memo, Inside Out and Coco among them. He was Oscar nominated for co-writing Ratatouille, and his personal short film is in the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art. I talk with him about his career path from Cal Arts all the way through to what he's up to now. Jim has a laid back, affable personality, so chatting with him was a joy and the time flew by.  Enjoy!Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

In this episode of The Creators Society Animation Podcast, I chat with award winning producer Bonnie Arnold at length about her career journey. Bonnie produced the first CG animated film in Toy Story, but didn't begin in animation. With a wealth of experience under her belt, including Toy Story, the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy, Over the Hedge and Dances With Wolves, Bonnie's story to becoming a producer is inspirational and I really enjoyed it. This episode is a must for anyone interested in becoming a producer, whether in animation or live action. Enjoy!If you enjoy this podcast, please take the time to share, rate and comment!And if you have any suggestions for show guests or topics, please get in touch.Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to bring the animation community together to build strong relationships, provide education, and form a better understanding of the different roles we all play in creating animated stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation, and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net

We're back with season two of the Creators Society Animation Podcast. In this mini-episode/trailer, I chat with Eric Miller, the founder of The Creators Society about his journey from Ohio to Dreamworks to what he's up to now. We also chat about some of the exciting episodes we have coming up including Bonnie Arnold, Ken Bielenberg, and Jim Capobianco.If you enjoy this podcast, please take the time to share, rate and comment!And if you have any suggestions for show guests or topics, please get in touch.Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org

Today's conversation with Nate Barnard is really interesting in many ways. Nate's journey followed an unusual path from production management to CG supervision, certainly not typical of someone in his position. He got his start at Mainframe and has worked on series and features from Sausage Party to Cinesite's The Addams Family.  Nate was also CG Supervisor on Cinzia Angelini's short film Mila, a project 10 years in the making that Cinesite picked up to help finish last year. Currently working on the Addams Family sequel, he took time out over a few weeks to chat about his career.If you enjoy this podcast, please take the time to share, rate and comment!And if you have any suggestions for show guests or topics, please get in touch.Episode Recorded: 3/4/2021  &  3/15/2021Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

José Inesta - EPISODE 010: How does a swimmer with a computer engineering degree go from designing computer chips to boosting the South American animation industry? Today's guest José Inesta took an unusual path on his way to helping create an eco-system of talent development in Mexico City. This is a great story because no matter which country you are in, the type of organization that José and his brother have built in Pixelatl looks through a different lens at not only talent development in animation, but IP, studio, and business development. We hope you enjoy this conversation with José Inesta. For more about Pixelatl and the various programs and festivals they run, visit pixelatl.com.To view the short film I mention in the intro, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRc-pbE_a90If you have any suggestions for show guests or topics, please get in touch.Episode Recorded: 4/6/2021Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Jorjeana Marie - EPISODE 009: Today I got to chat with a super talented writer, creator, voice actor, comedian, and author, Jorjeana Marie. Jorjeana not only has a passion for writing but for sharing and teaching what she knows. She's also the author of the book, Improv for Writers. Now I'm sure most of you are aware of improv even if you haven't been a part of it, but it's really clever how Jorjeana has adapted a lot of improv exercises into a book for writers.  We talk about it in the show, and I even read one of the exercises I did. If you're a writer or creator, we obviously should always be looking for ways to grow and stretch our creative muscles. And if you're a producer or director or an artist, then this approach could be really helpful for you too. Jorjeana has run workshops based on her book at places like Disney and Cartoon Network and she talks about how artists have been able to use the exercises to give life to a drawing that has been sitting around for years. This was a really great conversation, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.Find "Improv For Writers" on Amazon.Episode Recorded: 3/24/2021Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Irene Weibel - EPISODE 008: In today's episode, we chat with creator, producer, and exec producer, Irene Weibel. Irene has produced and exec produced hundreds of hours of animated content over her career including the Hotel Transylvania series, Little Charmers, Bravest Warriors, and Moon & Me. She oversaw a production studio of hundreds of artists at Nelvana and is now working with host Michael Wakelam and recent guest Fonda Snyder on a preschool show.Episode Recorded: 2/18/2021Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Steve D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins - EPISODE 007: Who can imagine what animation would be like without music? Quite bland I expect. And our guests in this episode are certainly not bland! Join us for a conversation with composers and songwriters Terry Tompkins and Steve D'Angelo from PopSound (formerly Eggplant) in Toronto. Steve started his career as a jazz musician and Terry in Canadian band Lost & Profound. We discuss how they broke into animation, pushing the boundaries, and the music landscape for artists starting out today.Steve and Terry's work can be found at popsound.ca.We hope you enjoy this episode. If you have questions or suggestions, you can email us at podcast@thecreatorssociety.org.Episode Recorded: 2/23/2021Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.

Mikkel Lee - EPISODE 006: In this episode, we speak with Mikkel Lee, Story Lead at Lego in Denmark. Whether your kid wants to work at Lego when they grow up or you need help as a creator with your work, this is a fascinating listen.Mikkel talks through his career path to Lego, which includes creating shows for the BBC and Nickelodeon, and then the turning point where he started to see content creation for kids from a different perspective. We hope you enjoy this episode. If you've questions or suggestions, you can find host Michael Wakelam on Twitter @mikewakelam or email podcast@thecreatorssociety.orgEpisode Recorded: 2/16/2021Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)Executive Producer: Eric M. MillerMusic by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)Audio Engineering: Mike RochaThe Creators Society is a group of passionate, and respectable creators working in different areas of animation from development through distribution. We work to bring these members of the animation community together through education and networking.Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at thecreatorssociety.org.