Creators Society Animation Podcast

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. Miller

Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)

Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha


Edited by: Zoe 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

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. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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

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, here
Visit Carlos's instagram here
And Carlos's website here
Watch Vivo on NETFLIX

If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch.

Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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

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 Forest
Star Forest website

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. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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

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 Here
Nimble Collective - Now Amazon Nimble Studio - Click Here


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. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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

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. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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

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. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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

In this episode of 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 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. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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

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. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha

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 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 & 3/15/2021

Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam (@mikewakelam)
Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller
Music by: Rich Dickerson (www.richdickerson.com)
Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha


The 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.