Inside Animation

I chat with Anik Rosenblum, the director and founder of Dancing Line Productions, an animation studio that focuses on short form animation with an emphasis on commercials. We talk about the process of creating an animated commercial, how there's actually more room for creativity in commercials than you think, and how there's a surprising amount of VO in short form animation, at least, surprising to me. Plus, we get into Anik's journey to becoming an animator from growing up in Lithuania to being one of the first to study 3D Animation, to coming to Canada for formal education and his influences from independent shorts to Ren and Stimpy. And you know there's going to be awesome advice if you want to set out on your own. 

Check out more about Anik's company at www.dancinglineproductions.com

We talk with VO Agent Portia Scott with Coast to Coast Talent about the role an agent plays in the career of a voice actor. We cover the entire scope of an agent's job, from taking on new clients, to what auditions look like, and what happens when you book. Plus her interesting path to becoming an agent and advice for those who want to get started on their path to becoming an agent. For more information and to see what her clients are booking and who won a Golden Globe, follow her on Instagram at @ctcvo

In our 2nd episode of Season 3, we go to the Gotham of Latin America, Bogota Colombia (virtually of course), to chat with animation director and owner/founder of Lucy Animation Studios, Silvia Prietov. We chat about the state of animation in Latin American countries such as Colombia and how they're still far behind animation powerhouses like the US and even Europe, but they're certainly growing. We also talk about the backwards route she took to get to where she is, starting as a learn-as-you-teach college professor to the head of an animation studio preparing an animated feature film called Halloween. 

You can get more info and see some of her work at https://www.lucyanimationstudio.co/

Plus, ANNOUNCEMENT: We have MERCH! Go to https://www.etsy.com/shop/AdamsFunShirts and check out various Inside Animation stuff as well as some fun T-shirts. 

For our season opener, I talk with Animator, Supervising Director, and Executive Producer Mike Hollingsworth, who's worked on Bojack Horseman, Tuca and Bertie, Inside Job, and other animated series. We talk about how Aaron Paul earned his EP credit on Bojack, what exactly Executive Producers do (or don't do), as well as the job of a Supervising Director. Plus great advice for those who want to get into animation and how you can "Be the coal". 

For more information and to see his work, follow him on Instagram @stufffedanimals and check out Cat Burglar on Netflix! 

This episode I talk with long time Voice Actor, Judith Smiley, who got her start doing commercial VO in New York where she and her husband started their own recording studio which became one of the most popular studios in the city. We talk about the process, hierarchy, and randomness of recording studios in the 70s and 80s as well as how agents were different vs today. We also talk advice and why relationships and networking are important in a Voice Acting career. If you want to be scared out of your wits and see Judith on screen, check out Of the Devil, available now on Amazon.   

Some times it takes a bit longer to reel in a bigger fish, and a bigger fish we have. Tom Bancroft, who has done animation for Disney and several other companies, is the CEO of Pencilish, a new animation studio being crowdfunded through StartEngine. We talk about what the day to day is like running an animation studio, the staggering of episodes, his 3 Phase plan for the company, plus advice for how to start your own company with crowd investment. For more information on Pencilish, go to https://www.pencilish.com/ 

Are you Cornholio? Do you need TP for your bunghole? If you recognized those last two questions, you'll love our next guest, who was a producer on Beavis and Butthead, as well as Daria and other shows. We talk about how he went from "Schoolhouse Rock" to "High School Dropouts" and the various jobs of a producer on an early cartoon show on MTV. We also discuss who had the brilliant idea to incorporate music videos into the show and how the test audience reacted. Plus, as always great advice and I get to bring back the old "How We Know Each Other" segment! 

This episode is unofficially sponsored by the Los Angeles Animation Festival. 

This episode I chat with high school orchestra member Noah Bruening about his recent experience with a longstanding Disney tradition where high school bands and orchestras are invited to Disneyland to perform. In his case, his orchestra was able to see how professional orchestras record music for animated films and series. We also talk about what drew him to music and the double bass in particular as well as great advice for budding musicians and the existential crisis of what to do after high school.  

This episode, I talk with Animation Professor Walter Santucci about the process of teaching Animation in a modern world and how things changed during the COVID pandemic. We also talk about some of his successful students and how he feels their success is mostly their own (though he's fine with them making him look good). As always there's great advice and we talk about how easy it is to begin teaching a class, but how it's a little harder to become a full fledged University Professor. 

We now are entering a new phase of the Inside Animation Podcast. For one, we will no longer be putting out new episodes every single week, though to make up for previous weeks, this will be an extra long episode. Also, in this particular episode and potential future episodes, I don't interview someone directly involved in the Animation Industry. 

In this episode I talk with former child actor Henry Laster, whom you may have seen on the Nickelodeon show Salute Your Shorts. While he only did voices for one particular animated project, we focus on the "Golden Era" of Nickelodeon and the shows and experiences Henry had while part of the "Nickelodeon Family", including the origin of the "Nickelodeon Splat", the consistency of Nickelodeon Slime vs today's slime, our favorite childhood cartoons on Nickelodeon, and much more fun shenanigans. I highly recommend this episode for anyone who watched and enjoyed Nickelodeon during the 1990s. 

As you'll hear at the end of the episode, Henry is on most social media as @90sNickStar