CG Garage

Homelessness is a growing issue in Los Angeles. The number of people without anywhere to live increases every year, but at the same time, the city is building conspicuous billion-dollar high rises. Architectural illustrator, filmmaker and returning podcast guest Craig Shimahara believes he's found a way to help solve this complex and oft-overlooked problem.

Craig's mission begins with Architecture of Hope, an upcoming feature-length documentary which explains the root causes of homelessness, tackles common misconceptions about the homeless and reveals how architects can help create attractive and practical housing to help people off the streets.

This altruistic, optimistic podcast is sure to open your eyes — and your heart — to an unseen crisis.

Game of Thrones' opening credits sequence has become one of the most iconic in the history of TV. Every week, millions of people around the world have their appetites whetted and spines tingled by the famous theme music and an exploration of an animated 3D map of Westeros, complete with the themes and locations of the forthcoming episode.

In this (spoiler-free!) podcast, Art Director and Head of 3D Kirk Shintani offers a complete breakdown how Elastic crafted this incredible intro, from the trial-by-fire process of the first season to the darker, edgier and more detailed version for the final series — and a special edition made from Oreos. Kirk discusses the fascinating technical aspects of shooting an animated digital miniature with virtual cameras, some of its clever design choices, as well as the crucial roles V-Ray and Chaos Group's support have played in bringing the sequences to life.

This week, Chris is joined by energetic and super smart developer Kat Harris. Kat studied Computer Science Engineering at the University of Virginia, where she also went from pixel artist to vice president of the Student Game Developers club. She integrated numerous technologies into the Unity game engine in her role as Technical and Gaming Evangelist at Microsoft and became the world's first female Unity Certified Developer. Now, Kat works at pioneering visual development company Magnopus, where she now focuses on mixed reality inside the entertainment world of virtual production.

Kat discusses what it's like to work and play in male-dominated fields, from experiences with Magic: The Gathering at middle school to the offices of big tech firms. There are also numerous side-tracks into the fields of the internet of things, how sci-fi ideas are shaping the tech and gaming industries, Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One and her newfound love of Dungeons and Dragons.

Afonso Salcedo had just stepped off the plane at LAX when Chris wrestled him into the CG Garage booth to record this podcast. Afonso's arrival in Los Angeles is another giant leap in a daring transatlantic career which has taken him from the graveyard shift on the VFX of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to working with one of the world's biggest movie stars.

In this podcast, Afonso tells his inspirational story, which takes in his education and early experiences working for Framestore in London, his experiences at Pixar on Ratatouille and Cars 2, and at Dreamworks for Rise of the Guardians and Madagascar 3. He also talks about his freelance work as a photographer, creative director and producer for premium online learning platform MasterClass.

As Afonso prepares to start work on Frozen 2 at Walt Disney Animation Studios he reflects on his approach to taking risks and learning from rejection, as well as the techniques and tricks he's picked up from masters in the field.

Since the mid-90s, Greg Lynn has pioneered the use of technology in architecture. When the rest of the industry was using formZ, Greg was experimenting with non-architectural software such as Alias and Maya, using nurbs and fluid sims to create radically different, organic designs. He's seen masters of the set square become mouse-and-keyboard amateurs and happy accidents become established techniques.

Now, Greg is turning his computer-aided expertise to robotics via Gita, an autonomous robotic companion which can follow its owner on foot journeys and transport up to 45 pounds of shopping or burritos. Greg tells Chris and Lon about the process of designing this lovable bot and ensuring it can track individuals through complex urban environments.

This must-listen podcast also takes in many other facets of the architecture and design industries, including how its business model could be improved and made less resource-intensive, and the role new technology such as Hololens is playing in designs of the future.

Through his globe-trotting career, softly-spoken Cris Blyth has helped give the world Worms, flashed James Cameron and jumpstarted Kenya's visual effects industry. In this frequently hilarious podcast, he tells Chris his fascinating story.

After spending his childhood programming Commodore computers, and a surprisingly fruitful excursion to the Philippines, Cris worked on then-cutting-edge FMV sequences for games such as Alien Breed: Tower Assault and Worms at developer Team 17. He joined Digital Domain as a VFX artist, turning car engines into dogs for the famous Pennzoil ad, and then moved up to become a fully fledged director of commercials and music videos. He also contributed effects to movies including We Were Soldiers, Adaptation and Daredevil.

Cris's next move was to Africa, to create documentaries on charity work and, in an unconventional sidestep, he's remained there since. He talks about how Nairobi, Kenya is on the verge of a computing revolution, why the country's restrictions have created amazing athletes and e-athletes, and the ways in which he's bringing his Hollywood skills to a new generation of Kenyans.

This week, Chris goes behind the scenes at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Founded in 1997, this Hollywood-based establishment has grown to a thriving and crucial part of the effects industry, with over 400 students picking up the skills which will land them hot jobs on games and movies.

In this podcast, Chris is joined by Eric Miller, the school's Chief Technology Officer. His job is to ensure Gnomon is always ahead of industry trends in both hardware and software, managing a vast array of technology and 135 different software packages. Eric also talks about some of the teaching methods Gnomon employs to get students ready for the tough world of visual effects or games, and he offers some great advice on how to prepare for a course at Gnomon.

As a child, Andy Wilkoff spent his childhood pulling technology apart and reading comic books — and he's been lucky enough to follow these obsessions into his career. He picked up his first VFX gigs on the TV series Star Trek: Voyager and Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, then worked at Digital Domain on commercials and movies including X-Men; I, Robot; The Day After Tomorrow and Stealth. Now, Andy works as CG Lead and Technical Director at creative visual effects studio A52 in Santa Monica, California.

In this epic G&T-fuelled podcast, Andy talks Chris through his professional career in visual effects, and how it's been affected by the twists and turns of his personal life. Andy is full of sound industry advice, and you'll find out why he hung from the side of buildings in New York, the reason he was accosted in a Costco parking lot — and how "the smelly room" got its name. He also talks about his passion for 3D printing and the businesses it's inspired.

The film and visual effects industries are often characterized by dramatic clashes of enormous egos, but this podcast reveals a tender and more caring side of the silver screen.

The Animatrix, Liquid Television, Ren & Stimpy - there have always been blips of mature content on the animation spectrum, but never anything like Love, Death & Robots. This new anthology kicks open the doors for adult storytelling in the medium, taking Tim Miller and David Fincher's unique influences, and letting over 14 studios run wild through topics like racism, war, free will and human nature, as they collectively produced 18 jaw-dropping shorts.

This week, series' VFX supervisor Jerome "Jed" Denjean stops by the podcast to talk about his own history, as well as explain how this project came together, from Tim's initial ideas to how Blur brought in competing studios to join in on the fun. As the discussion continues, they get into bigger topics like what Love, Death & Robots means for the entertainment industry as a whole, why we could be moving away from longer-form storytelling and into bite-size chunks, and the chances of a second season.

Love, Death and Robots is streaming now.

Film and art have fascinated Loic Zimmermann from a young age: he drew all the time and built rocket ship sets in his back garden during his childhood in rural France. His fascination drew him towards studying CG at university, then onto work for innovative game studio Quantic Dream, and his clever method of getting the perfect tattoo won him a job at Luma Pictures in Los Angeles.

As well as working on visual effects for Marvel movies and many more, Loic has directed fascinating documentaries on modern art masters William Wray (Gamma Wray) and Jeremy Mann (A Solitary Mann). He tells Chris how he gets under the skin of these characters without getting in their way, geeks out about video cameras, and gives a little insight into his upcoming documentary Larry.

It's a fascinating podcast which dives deep into the way artists and filmmakers work, and reveals the numerous connections and passions Chris and Loic have in common.