Nice Moves Spotlight

Hello and welcome to our last episode for the 2021 Season of the Spotlight Podcast from Nice Moves. We did it. We made it through another year of pandemic times. It's been a hard road, but we did it and we're here. Yeeeyyyy.

Now - it's time to take a trip down the Minneapolis Animation Industry's memory lane with Scott Gaff as we chat about how he got into this industry, all the talented folks he's crossed paths with and everyone's favorite show in town, the Minnesota Electronic Theater, aka the MET or M-E-T.

In this episode we chat with the creative duo, Gretchen & Eric, as they share their path to Minnesota and all the wonderful life events leading up to the formation of their Studio eg (eeg-gee.com). They talk about their recent massive collaboration, with 25 artists working across 6 countries on an animated music video called “Words” co-directed with Mike Owens. And, like all our guests, they offer sage advice for fellow creative professionals and key-friends.

In this episode we sit down and chat with the insanely talented Prashan Subasinghe who's amazing 3d creations you may have spotted on our own, Nice Moves Instagram Stories, as a Feature Friday - once, twice or a bazillion times. Prashan is a 3D artist specializing in digital sculpting and modeling with a master's degree in mechanical engineering. Sit back and enjoy his thoughts on getting loose and thinking like a sketcher in 3D, the importance of focusing on the fundamentals, and a useful way of looking at skill building as exercise in this captivating episode.

In this episode we sit down and chat with two wildly talented and creative minds working at one of the most respected studios in motion graphics, Ordinary Folk located in Vancouver Canada. Grace Pedersen and Greg Stewart share their how their paths have interwoven with Nice Moves’ community, and then how they crossed together, and then they also offer advice to future creative folks.

In this episode we chat with Peter Steineck and Michael Van Swearingen the minds behind the Hellavision television Network. I'm not going to describe this episode. But I will warn you. Just when you think things couldn't get weirder... they do. So make sure to listen all the way through in this extra special epsiode. Happy Friday the 13th!

In addition to studying Muay Thai and building her own Animal Crossing oasis, Betty Chin-Wu has been building a long and successful career in the world of motion graphics here in Minneapolis for over a decade. So grab a La Croix and a DQ cone, pull up a chair and listen as we talk with Betty about career longevity, fighting imposter syndrome and navigating large projects through the pandemic - all while kicking ass on cool projects like her work for Target Headquarters both for International Women's Day Animation & Asian Pacific Islander Month.

In this episode we sit down with Greg Shultz, Owner and creative wonder at Gasket Studios. Follow Greg from his early beginnings in school, to his first job, to running a studio, all the way to working with Disney for a year. If you listen closely you can hear an animation fairy get their wings… well… that and the rain determined to make its debut right here on our own spotlight podcast.

Our Spotlight Team is growing and we would love to introduce you to everyone 🥳 Join us as we chat with each other about our journeys in the Motion world and our motivations for contributing to the Nice Moves’ Spotlight Podcast.

In this episode we follow the the impressive journey of Hayley Anderson from her very early beginnings in claymation all the way to CCO of Soona, a fast casual content studio with locations in Minneapolis, Colorado and Austin. Hayley’s story offers insight into building a career out of passion and sheer grit, surrounding yourself with colleagues who appreciate your talents, and great advice to her younger-self about believing in yourself. ***Fair warning - this episode contains some light swearing. Like, kinda like, Minnesota Nice levels of swearing - so not that bad. As always, you can send in your own Community Announcement at anchor.fm/nicemoves

In this episode we explore the power of collaboration with Lumo Studio. Allow yourself to enjoy the lighthearted and friendly voices of Kelsey Maher, Ching Thao, Sarah Steiner, and Rae Bostic as they guide us through the origins of their unique studio. Savor every ASMR sound of drawing in the background as we dive into the benefits of collaboration and absorb all the great insights these four artists have to offer. Send us an audio message at Anchor.fm/nicemoves