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.
Creators Society Animation Podcast
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 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.
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Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha
Edited by: Jonathan Wakelam
The 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