Creators Society Animation Podcast
Join host Michael Wakelam of the Creators Society as he interviews animation industry icons and innovators from companies such as Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney, Netflix, Sony, and many more! Tune in to hear from top executives, animators, writers, and producers, about their inspiring career journeys, and the projects they are working on next! Our host, Michael Wakelam, is an animator, writer, director, and the founder of Anthem Studios. Michael develops original children's media content and live-action screenplays from his studio in London. The Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry founded by Eric Miller in 2015. 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 stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.
Episodes
55 episodes
55. Anatomy of an Original Series - Stan & Gran with Jon Mason and Natalie Llewellyn
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 &...
•
Season 4
•
1:00:46
54. DreamWorks The Wild Robot with Writer & Director Chris Sanders
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...
•
Season 4
•
47:29
53. Survive Beyond '25 - Business with Rick Mischel
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 ...
•
Season 4
•
28:59
52. The Amazing Maurice - A CG Feature on what budget?! With Producer Andrew Baker
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.
•
Season 4
•
50:54
51. DreamWorks Megamind Past & Present with Alan Schoolcraft, Brent Simons and Eric Fogel
'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 t...
•
Season 4
•
39:17
50. Kidscreen Conversations 2024 - Rob Doherty | Sueann Rochester | Lucy Murphy
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...
•
Season 4
•
58:00
49. Sean Charmatz & Peter McCown on DreamWorks Orion and the Dark
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...
•
Season 4
•
45:27
48. Spider Conversing with Mike Lasker, VFX Supervisor on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
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 them...
•
Season 3
•
58:41
47. Sandy Wax - Talks about her career at Discovery, Disney and Sprout
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...
•
Season 3
•
54:33
46. The Inventor - With Jim Capobianco, Pierre-Luc Granjon and Kat Alioshin
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 ...
•
Season 3
•
1:19:16
45. Bobby Chiu - Artist, Emmy Winner, Schoolism and Lightbox Expo Founder on his career and moving past 'No'
If you're looking for some career inspiration, look no further than this episode with guest Bobby Chiu. 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 ou...
•
Season 3
•
56:38
44. Kirk DeMicco and Faryn Pearl: Director and Co-Director of DreamWorks Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
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 stor...
•
Season 3
•
55:56
43. Gary H. Lee - Layout, Pre-viz, and "The Magician's Elephant" Cinematographer
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 franchis...
•
Season 3
•
1:13:56
42. Jean thoren - Owner & President of Animation Magazine
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 y...
•
Season 3
•
46:35
41. Joseph Feinsilver - Art Director Puss In Boots - The Last Wish
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 ...
•
Season 3
•
38:11
40. Kidscreen Conversations 2023: Tom Bancroft, Dylan Edwards & Rich Dickerson
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 work...
•
Season 3
•
1:03:01
39. Jonas Rivera - From Toy Story Intern to EVP Production at Pixar, with 4 Oscars along the way
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...
•
Season 3
•
1:15:59
38. Julie Kane-Ritsch - Talent Manager and Head of Animation at The Gotham Group
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.&...
•
Season 3
•
44:57
37. Kristine Belson - President of Sony Pictures Animation
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 p...
•
Season 3
•
56:22
36. Joel Crawford & Januel Mercado - Directors of DreamWorks Puss In Boots: The Last Wish
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 Joe...
•
Season 2
•
53:53
35. Pierre Perifel - Director of DreamWorks The Bad Guys
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...
•
Season 2
•
1:01:36
34. L.P. Vermette and Virginie Lavallée - The Happy Producers
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 ...
•
Season 2
•
58:26
33. Daniel Ross - Voice of Donald Duck and Many Other Characters
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 star...
•
Season 2
•
44:15
32. Josh Beveridge - Head of Animation on Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and The Sea Beast
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 ...
•
Season 2
•
47:00
31. Remembering Ralph Eggleston - Oscar winner & Pixar Production Designer
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-runn...
•
Season 2
•
1:28:27
