School of Motion: Design & Animation Training for MoGraph Artists
The #1 podcast for designers who animate, animators who design, and anyone who is 3D-curious. We interview Designers, Animators, 3D Artists, Producers, Studio O...
From Self-Taught Animator to Oscar Winner: Gints Zilbalodis on Creating "Flow"
Oscar-winning director Gints Zilbalodis just proved you don't need fancy film school or million-dollar software to snag that golden statue. See the corresponding blog post with key takeaways here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/gints-zilbalodis-flow EJ sits down with animation's newest golden boy, Gints Zilbalodis, the genius behind "Flow" (yep, the one that just took home an Oscar). From doodling in Flash to accepting Academy Awards, Gints' journey is the ultimate inspo for anyone who's ever thought, "Maybe I could make cool stuff too?" Spoiler alert: You absolutely can. 👉CHAPTERS👈 00:00 Intro 00:18 Chapter 1: Journey Into Animation 03:00 Chapter 2: Transitioning to Blender ∑ 09:41 Chapter 3: From Working Solo to Teamwork 16:09 Chapter 4: Custom Workflows and Tools 19:15 Chapter 5: The Aesthetic of Flow 24:32 Chapter 6: Pushing Blender to Its Limits 26:42 Chapter 7: Future of Blender 28:37 Chapter 8: Advice for Aspiring Animators 32:35 Wrap Up ARTISTS Gints Zilbalodis https://x.com/gintszilbalodis Martin https://x.com/_martinsh PIECES Flow (2024) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4772188/ Away (2019) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8288450/ RESOURCES Geo-Scatter https://www.geoscatter.com/ Ghibli https://www.instagram.com/ghibliusa/ DillonGoo https://80.lv/articles/goo-engine-devs-team-up-with-blender-foundation-on-blender-npr-prototype ClayPencil 2 https://www.instagram.com/_pepeland_/reel/DDt21XWsvne/
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33:59
Unreal Engine, Creative Communities, and Career Growth with Cart & Horse
What happens when a small group of motion designers in Detroit evolves into a powerhouse of collaboration and innovation? The crew from Cart & Horse sat down with Joey on the School of Motion podcast to share their journey—from navigating the tight-knit creative community in Detroit to pioneering new workflows in Unreal Engine. Check out the corresponding blog post and key takeaways here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/cart-and-horse 👉 CHAPTERS 👈 00:00 Chapter 1: Welcome! 01:27 Chapter 2: Chris's Experience in Detroit 03:08 Chapter 3: Dan's Journey from LA to Detroit 04:34 Chapter 4: Unreal Engine Early Adopters 08:06 Chapter 5: Why Is Unreal Engine Making Its Break Out Right Now? 11:58 Chapter 6: Live Working Sessions with Clients 17:43 Chapter 7: Unreal Engine's Learning Curve 24:22 Chapter 8: What Types of Projects Are You Using Unreal For? 28:44 Chapter 9: Virtual Production and the Travelers Spec Collab Project 43:22 Chapter 10: The Value Proposition of Virtual Production 57:42 Chapter 12: Cart and Horse Origins Artists: Dan Maurer https://www.linkedin.com/in/maurerdan/ Kris Bargen https://www.linkedin.com/in/krisbargen/ Julie Craft https://juliecraft.work/ John Einselen https://jeinselen.com/ Clemens Conrad https://www.linkedin.com/in/clemens-conrad/ Elliot Ruddy https://www.elliotruddy.com/ Jonathan Winbush https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmzWP6o2cw73moEF7LO_KvA John Bugg https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonbugg/ Joel Pilger https://www.joelpilger.com/ Andy Blondin https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyblondin/ Geoff George https://www.geoffgeorgedp.com/contact Studios: Cart and Horse https://www.cartandhorse.studio/ Launch by NTT DATA (formerly Vectorform) https://launch.nttdata.com/ Gunner https://gunner.work/ Rocket Mortgage https://www.rocketmortgage.com Activision https://www.activision.com/ Golden Hour https://www.goldenhourgr.com/ Lunar North https://www.lunarnorth.tv/ Work: Travelers https://vimeo.com/938752533 The Mandalorian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mandalorian 8 Mile https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8_Mile_(film) Michigan Lottery commercial https://vimeo.com/938889801 Resources: MoGraph Mondays https://www.mographmondays.com/ Unity https://unity.com/ LightWave https://www.lightwave3d.com/ Rive https://rive.app/ After Effects https://www.adobe.com/products/aftereffects.html Cinema 4D https://www.maxon.net/ Unreal Engine https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US Octane https://home.otoy.com/render/octane-render/ Redshift https://www.maxon.net/en/redshift Nanite https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/nanite-virtualized-geometry-in-unreal-engine Lumen https://lumenandforge.com/services/animation-visual-storytelling/ Activision https://www.activision.com/ Viz Artist (Vizrt) https://www.vizrt.com/products/viz-artist/ Chyron https://chyron.com/products/all-in-one-production-systems/3d-real-time-graphics/ Fox Sports https://www.foxsports.com/ Miro https://miro.com/ Datasmith https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/datasmith Cineware for Unreal https://support.maxon.net/hc/en-us/articles/4411492995730-Cineware-for-Unreal
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1:05:39
Inside the Mind of Territory Studio: VFX, UI, and an Epic Dune Graphics Breakdown
Territory Studio’s creative minds behind Dune: Prophecy, Call of Duty Black Ops 6, and Vast Haven-1 spill the beans on designing for Hollywood, gaming, and the ever-evolving world of motion design. Check out the corresponding blog post here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/t... Ever wonder how mind-blowing sci-fi interfaces, cinematic VFX, and hyper-realistic game graphics come to life? In this episode, Joey Korenman sits down with the brains behind Territory Studio—Marti Romances, Luke Kaile, Russ Gautier, and Liam Proniewicz—to talk shop. They’re the artists making blockbuster visuals happen, and trust us, you’ll want to hear what they have to say. If you’re a motion designer, VFX artist, or just someone who geeks out over killer design, this is a must-watch. Hey, listeners! If you want to see the discussed works and fun behind the scenes shots, check out this episode on our YouTube channel!
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1:20:21
Mastering Blender and Navigating a Creative Career with Elijah Sheffield
Blender artist and motion designer Elijah Sheffield shares how he transitioned into 3D, built a standout demo reel, and turned personal projects into career-defining moments. Check out the corresponding blog post (with episode highlights) here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/elijah-sheffield-blender 👉 CHAPTERS 👈 00:00 Coming Up 00:22 Elijah Sheffield's Background and Early Career 01:29 Discovering Motion Design 03:32 College and Grad School Experience 13:30 First Job and Career Challenges 18:11 Finding the Motivation to Make Demo Reel Pieces 23:31 Transition to Freelance 26:41 Social Media's Impact on Career 34:52 Having a Freelance Plan 42:00 Pain and Rainbows of Freelance Work 44:18 Challenges and Rewards of Learning Blender 49:35 Finding a Style 55:16 Blender Learning Curve 01:03:28 Integrating Blender into Your 3D Pipeline 01:20:21 The Future of Blender 01:24:12 That's a Wrap! 🗒️ SHOW NOTES Artists: Elijah Sheffield https://www.behance.net/sweetboymotion# EJ Hassenfratz https://www.youtube.com/@eyedesyn/videos Myles Bolden https://mylesjbolden.myportfolio.com/ Jonathan Winbush https://www.youtube.com/@JonathanWinbush/ Norm MacDonald https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norm_Macdonald Chris Smith https://csmithstudios.com/ Joey Korenman https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeykorenman Andrew Kramer https://www.videocopilot.net/ Studios: School of Motion https://www.schoolofmotion.com/ SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) https://www.scad.edu/ Pixar https://www.pixar.com/ DreamWorks https://www.dreamworks.com/ Work: Museum of History and Magic https://www.museumhm.org/ Killdozer https://www.instagram.com/sweetboy.motion/p/Cw0os46AIZN/ Spider-Verse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider-Man:_Across_the_Spider-Verse Ninja Turtles Arcane https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcane_(TV_series) Resources: Greyscalegorilla https://greyscalegorilla.com/ Maya https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription ZBrush https://www.maxon.net/en/zbrush Cinema 4D https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d Blender https://www.blender.org/ Unreal Engine Course https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/unreal-engine-for-3d-artists Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ Demo Reel Dash https://www.schoolofmotion.com/courses/demo-reel-dash Arnold https://www.autodesk.com/products/arnold/overview Eevee https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/render/eevee/introduction.html Grease Pencil https://docs.blender.org/manual/en/latest/grease_pencil/index.html Clay Pencil https://pepeschoolland.gumroad.com/l/ibbls Donut Tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0J27sf9N1Y&list=PLjEaoINr3zgEPv5y--4MKpciLaoQYZB1Z STL files https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STL_(file_format) Blender Market https://blendermarket.com/ Freelance Manifesto https://www.amazon.com/Freelance-Manifesto-Modern-Motion-Designer-ebook/dp/B071JRYMSG
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1:25:22
Standing Out in Motion Design: Joel Pilger's Strategies for Success
In the latest episode of the School of Motion Podcast, host Joey Korenman sits down with industry veteran Joel Pilger—a name synonymous with success in the motion design world. With a career spanning over two decades, Joel has: - Founded and led Impossible Pictures, a top creative studio that grossed over $40 million and garnered major awards. - Advised leading independent studios worldwide, including Cream, Giant Ant, Laundry, Mighty Nice, Polyester, Sarofsky, and STATE. - Launched FORUM, a community where studio founders master the art of business together. Tune in as Joel shares invaluable insights on not just surviving, but thriving, in the evolving motion design landscape. See the corresponding blog post here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/joel-pilger 🗒️ SHOW NOTES Joel Pilger https://www.joelpilger.com/forum Joel Pilger’s Podcast, Fabulist https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fabulist/id1657890871 Erica gorichow https://gorochow.com/ Hayley Akins http://www.hayleyakins.com/ Amanda Russell https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-russell-cream-studio/ Barton Damer https://www.linkedin.com/in/barton-damer-92a32918/ Jorge R. Canedo E. / Jr.canest https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrcanest/?originalSubdomain=ca Ronny Young https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronnyyoung John LePore http://johnnymotion.com/ EJ Hassenfratz https://www.instagram.com/eyedesyn/?hl=en Ryan Seacrest https://www.instagram.com/ryanseacrest/?hl=en Beyonce https://www.beyonce.com/ The Rock https://www.instagram.com/therock/?hl=en Justin Barnes https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinbarnesversus Marty Romances https://test.martiromances.com Andy Baker https://www.andyjbaker.com/ Dan Sullivan https://www.strategiccoach.com/ Cream https://wearecream.com/ Already Been Chewed https://www.alreadybeenchewed.tv/ Pep Rally https://peprallyinc.com/ BIEN https://thisisbien.com/ Ordinary Folk https://www.ordinaryfolk.co/ OddBeast https://oddbeast.tv/ Territory Studios https://territorystudio.com/ Versus https://www.weareversus.tv/ Impossible Pictures https://www.impossiblepictures.com/ BlackBox Infinite https://blackboxinfinite.com/About The Mill https://themill.com/ Psyop https://www.psyop.com/ Apple Vision Pro F1 proof of concept https://www.instagram.com/johnnym0tion/reel/C2c_cvWJ3KV/ Bible Project https://www.ordinaryfolk.co/project/bibleproject-god Fuse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Fuse_CC Final Cut Pro https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/ Premiere https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html Avid https://www.avid.com/ Flame https://www.autodesk.com/products/flame/overview?term=1-YEAR&tab=subscription Smoke https://www.autodesk.com/products/smoke/overview Cinema 4D https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d Rive https://rive.app/ Unreal Engine https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US Cavalry https://cavalry.scenegroup.co/ RevThink https://www.revthink.com/ Pink Floyd - The Wall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall RFP/RFQ/RFI https://cobalt.net/rfi-rfq-rfp-whats-the-difference/ Kevin Kelly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Kelly_(editor) Donald Miller https://storybrand.com/
The #1 podcast for designers who animate, animators who design, and anyone who is 3D-curious. We interview Designers, Animators, 3D Artists, Producers, Studio Owners and other folks related to motion design and creativity. We get deep into the geeky world of Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D, Photoshop and Illustrator. We talk about the business and art of Motion Design. Dig in.