RubberOnion Animation Podcast

SEGMENT EPISODE! It has been 2 full months since our last one of these so if you don't remember, these are explicit episodes... thar be swears! And there's kind of a lot to swear about. The Fine Brothers really pissed off the internet last week when they tried to trademark "React" for title use, and Marvel yanked fanimation series "X-Men: Danger Room Protocols." On the fun side, Robert Valley finished animation on his animated short film "Pear Cider and Cigarettes" and is using Kickstarted to finish post-production, but what we've seen so far looks awesome. We talk about all the trailers we missed in our time away from animation news discussion, our first animation battle has concluded and was awesome, and we return for RAPID FIRE! Enjoy the show

Preorder my book coming out in July 2016: "Tradigital Flash: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Flash"

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Topics & Timestamps: (13:45) Trailer Talk... (14:03) PeeWee on Netflix (20:48) Secret Life of Pets trailer #2 (29:07) DreamWorks' Trolls (32:47) Kubo and the Two Strings (40:56) Animation News of the Week... (41:06) Robert Valley's Pear Cider and Cigarettes (45:45) X-Men: Danger Room Protocols (57:08) Fine Brothers piss off the internet (1:18:27) Audience Question (1:25:11) #RubberOnionBattle Jan 2016 (1:34:09) Rapid Fire!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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Here it is... the final part in the RubberOnion Freelance School and we're talking about the likely goal in your third year: growing your business. Everyone starts this journey for different reasons, but independence is usually high up on that list. So what happens when you get to that point that you've gotten into the freelance game, you've established your brand, you started making some more money, and now you're up against a production wall - you just don't have enough ours in the day to progress any farther by yourself... you grow your business! This episode covers when to hire-out, which types of jobs to hire for and how to adjust your quote price for a team, the option of connecting with other Freelancers, contracts and the benefits of a virtual studio. Become a Patron on my Patreon page to get the more detailed ebook in February on starting a freelance business.

And don't forget to check out the companion blog post with this podcast to read a more structured write-up on what to expect in your third year of being a Freelancer!

Listen for Hollywood Jack 'n the Beanstalk, speedbumps and potholes, and "thumb or finger?"

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Topics & Timestamps: (7:33) Why growing your business is different than making more money (11:52) The tree analogy (14:41) Hire other people (19:01) How to know when to hire (32:19) Types of hires: small tasks (39:38) Types of hires: medium & large tasks (43:47) Being a "virtual studio" (46:43) Forming a cooperative relationship with other Freelancers (48:34) The mental block which prevents you from hiring others (52:38) About alternative revenue streams (54:40) About taxes (56:09) About contracts (1:01:02) How to adjust your price to accomodate more people/hires (1:09:35) Thank you Patrons!

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Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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This week for art 3 of the RubberOnion Freelance School we're talking about the likely goal in your third year: making more money. There are a lot of things that you can do to shake up the status quo and get some more green in the bank but the number one item is to charge more. That, however, is much harder to do than to say so let us break it all down for you and give you tips, stories, analogies and metaphors to help you set your monetary goals and meet them!

Sign up for the newsletter or become a Patron on my Patreon page to get the more detailed ebook in February on starting a freelance business.

And don't forget to check out the companion blog post with this podcast to read a more structured write-up on what to expect in your third year of being a Freelancer!

Listen for clay head, "eben" flow, plateau-sneeze, live 'n let die, the painting elephant that will die now, and "grammar... it's hard."

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Topics & Timestamps: (6:53) The big difference between freelancing and a salary-job (11:11) The "diet" analogy (14:59) The Artists' Pay Insecurity (22:13) Modern art example (28:10) Plateau (33:18) How to define "career progress" (38:52) Setting the goals you need (41:55) The Red Bull example (47:42) Charging per-hour vs per-project (55:42) Tips on how to raise your rate (1:10:51) Opposite approach: making a lateral move (1:18:05) The real reason one animation makes more than another of the same quality Check out more of your hosts:

Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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After last week's surprise interview with Don Bluth, we're back with part 2 of the RubberOnion Freelance School and this time we're talking about what would be the goal in your second year: creating your brand. We talk about using your own personality and voice to shape the tone of your brand, how to market yourself, the importance and limitations of a niche market and a bunch more. Sign up for the newsletter or become a Patron on my Patreon page to get the more detailed ebook in February on starting a freelance business.

And don't forget to check out the companion blog post with this podcast to read a more structured write-up on what to expect in your first year of being a Freelancer!

Listen for floating and hammocks, Gary Oldman Craigslist, Rob's Baked Buttered Beans, and Rabbi Schwarzenegger

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Topics & Timestamps: (7:52) Recap of the previous Freelance School (#1) (13:34) The word: Brand (19:11) Using a Niche Market (21:51) Arnold Schwarzenegger (27:07) Analyzing last year's data (31:37) Using a personal style (34:18) The "jack-of-all-trades" marketing problem (37:45) Using the same name as a moniker and business name (41:05) What's unique about you (44:21) Branding... the verb (48:36) Having a business "voice" (51:01) Logos, Style, and Tagline (58:10) Marketing, and what to do with a scattered presence (1:09:46) What can you do that people want? (1:14:38) Shifting your brand when it stops working for you (1:17:46) Testing the success of your brand approach (1:22:50) Using your voice (1:28:17) Putting it all together

Media Referenced During this Episode:

Stephen's "My Friend the..." series

Stephen's VLOG series

RubberOnion Review series with Stephen & Rob

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Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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This week I bring you a very special interview with DON BLUTH (Dragon's Lair, Secret of NIMH, American Tale, Land Before Time). His Indie GoGo campaign to make a sizzle reel for a "Dragon's Lair" movie pitch closes this Friday, January 15, so if you want some of the perks like autographs, tutorials, animation cells, a masterclass, and more you should check out the page!

We talk about his time at Disney and decision to leave, his thoughts on sequels, CGI, the current landscape of animation and the internet, the importance of not dumbing things down for kids, and a bunch more stuff. We also took some of your questions so thanks to those of you who submitted! Check out the Indie GoGo campaign by clicking the image below and enjoy the show!

Listen for animatronics, dog sneeze, cgi and hormones, Gary's playboys, and death... this was a fun episode!

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Also be sure to check out Don's Website and definitely like him on facebook!

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Topics & Timestamps: (3:24) Death and Don Bluth movies (7:00) What lead to the decision to leave Disney and start his own studio (10:55) Thoughts on CGI (12:34) On the importance of good scripts and not dumbing things down for kids (14:34) The role of the internet on the resurgance of traditional animation (19:35) Thoughts on sequels (21:09) Secret of NIMH production (26:50) Dragon's Lair the game (29:29) Dragon's Lair the movie - IndieGoGo Campaign (33:30) AUDIENCE QUESTIONS: (33:45) Lamont: "Who will they would pitch the Dragon's Lair movie to?" (34:41) James T Nethery: "I've always heard from people who have worked for you that you would usually cast your animators by sequence instead of by character like the Disney studio did. So instead of an animator working on one character throughout the film, they'd get a bit of every character. Was there a specific reason for this style of casting?" (35:37) "Gary & his Playboys" story (36:18) Kaishu: "How was your experience working on plays?" Check out more of your hosts:

Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

Preorder Stephen's Animation Tutorial Book:

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To kick-off the new year, I'm having a month long "Freelancing School" where each week you get a blog post and a podcast episode based on one of your first four years in building a freelance animation business. This week it's all about what to expect when you finally decide to make that jump. We talk about how to pitch for jobs and where to find them, whether or not to take low paying gigs, how to quote for animation and some of the big changes that happen (like taxes and insurance). If you've been thinking about making a go at being a freelancer, January's selection of shows and posts is a good place to start!

Sign up for the newsletter or become a Patron on my Patreon page to get the more detailed ebook in February on starting a freelance business.

And don't forget to check out the companion blog post with this podcast to read a more structured write-up on what to expect in your first year of being a Freelancer!

Listen for Jessie Katzenflippenburgers, the captain's thermos bag, scatman, and the $1 one-hour movie

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Topics & Timestamps: (7:09) What's on the Show (10:52) Your (and our) 1st Client... getting started (18:13) When Stephen decided that animation was his career (20:23) Freelancing like Standup Comedy (22:53) Ways to Learn (and get into) Animation (28:08) Understanding Name-Brand through the world of Modern Art (34:15) The benefit of being young (40:46) Client Types: The Poker Chip Metaphor (46:43) What changes happen to your life when you go into Freelance (55:08) Networking and finding what works with your own personality (1:01:07) How to Pitch for a job (1:13:34) How to Quote a budget for animation (1:32:41) Final Words and more on networking

Check out more of your hosts:

Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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HAPPY NEW YEARS! Every year I count down the top 10 podcast moments but there were so many this year that I opted to let the download stats to the talking. So here are the top 10 most popular episodes of the RubberOnion Animation Podcast of 2015 and I pulled a clip out of each one... enjoy and see you next year!

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Countdown & Timestamps: (3:06) #10 (4:37) #9 (6:37) #8 (10:04) #7 (12:23) #6 (14:48) #5 (17:42) #4 (19:55) #3 (21:40) #2 (23:06) #1 Check out more of your hosts:

Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVE! For the last TWO YEARS we've done a special episode for Christmas and this year is no different. Because this happens to be episode 112, we couldn't just let the "12 Days of Christmas" reference sit, right?! So we run through 12 gifts that we think are good for the animator (whether established, starting, or wannabe) in your life. They're all linked below with timestamps of when we talk about them in the show. And also, you can listen to this episode while playing the Yule Log video I did (below)!

Listen for the Krunkus & Bobcat

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RubberOnion Yule Log... play this while you listen to the podcast!

GIFTS & Timestamps: #1 Rough Animator App - iOS/Android $4.99, OSX $9.99

(7:52)

#2 Moleskine Notebook - $13.95

(9:53)

#3 Bake & Bend Clay - $14.89

(11:32)

#4 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya Blu-Ray/DVD- $19.49

(13:22)

#5 Unidirectional Microphone - $19.99

(16:03)

#6 Rob's store! ~$20

(19:47)

#7 Stephen's Book! "Tradigital Flash: 12 Principles of Animation in Adobe Flash" - $32.81

(21:21)

#8 Stop Mo Camera - $45.00

(24:51)

#9 ShuttleXpress - $59.95

(27:12)

#10 Animation Disc - $129.95

(29:55)

#11 Intuos Pro Medium - $299.95

(33:52)

#12 Surface Pro 3 (i5, 256GB model) - $1,043.99

(38:31)

Check out our other Christmas videos:

"Saving Christmas" by Stephen

"I'll be LATE for Christmas" by Rob

Rob's Christmas Sock Face (52:34)

Check out more of your hosts:

Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

And please Rate/Review us on iTunes

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HOT COCOA SHOW! This show's topic is "What to do when Technology lets you down as an Artist" and we talk all about our (mis)adventures in using technology, how to troubleshoot problems when they arise, and how to even avoid problems before they happen! If you are technologically-challenged, this is the episode for you and you should definitely check out the main blog post. And don't miss the giveaway announcement in the podcast... it's first-come-first-served!

And don't forget to check out the companion blog post with this podcast to read a more structured list of ways to be troubleshoot and prevent technology failures!

Listen for Rob2001, #TechShaming, caramel-snort, ♫calling Stephen Brooks♫, cats = computer bugs, and "Samsonite... I was way off!"

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Topics & Timestamps: (7:44) "The Secret" vs "The Obvious" (9:31) Why you should always have System Restore on (12:48) How Stephen became the "computer guru" for others (15:08) "Technologic" by Daft Punk (17:17) Stephen's flipbook animation done while stranded in Dublin (19:29) Being an Artist at this point in time (25:05) Everyone adapts to technology at different rates (26:46) *****FIVE THINGS to prepare for tech failures (27:26) 1: Equivalent Programs (28:37) 2: Multiple Computing Devices (29:42) 3: Alternate Workflows (31:00) 4: Style Changes (33:00) 5: BACKUP EVERYTHING (34:15) Rob's 1st story: why you shouldn't punch your computer (36:30) Stephen's "Aspen" story: troubleshooting hardware issues (43:38) Actions in vain: polaroid pictures and NES cartidges (46:44) PODCAST BREAK: Flipbook animation pages GIVEAWAY announcement (48:45) Stephen troubleshoots a problem Rob's having in Flash LIVE/(prerecorded) ~~~~~FIVE THINGS to troubleshoot problems~~~~~ (56:21) STEP 1 - Getting Information on the Problem (57:17) STEP 2 - Search for Existing Solutions (and Googling tips) (1:01:25) STEP 3 - Reach Out on Social Media (1:05:14) STEP 4 - Find a Workaround (1:07:28) STEP 5 - Revisit with New Information (1:08:30) Rob's 2nd Story: why you shouldn't stab your computer (1:09:24) Should you buy High-End or Average computer? (1:26:48) The RubberOnionPodcast episode 50 story (1:34:17) Parting tips (1:36:22) What is the most important thing if you're "bad at computers?" Media Referenced During this Episode:

"My Friend the Computer #2: B.S.O.D"

"My Friend the Computer #3: Replacement"

"Technologic" by Daft Punk

"Eggnog Santa" flipbook animation loop by Stephen (and GIVEWAY!)

Flipbook loop: "Santa likes eggnog" Needed something to do while I'm stranded without my computer! #christmas #holiday #animation #animatedshort #animated #animatedloop #loopinganimation #loop #animation #Animator #handdrawn #traditional #penandink #penciltest #classic #classicanimation #handdrawnanimation #traditionalanimation #santa #santaclaus

A video posted by Stephen Brooks (@rubberonion) on Dec 6, 2015 at 3:39pm PST

Should you Buy-High or Buy-Low?

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Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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This week we interview Doug Bresler, creator of Doogtoons and his new podcast Animation Ninja! This is a new one for us because the day we recorded this episode, Doug ALSO interviewed us for his podcast and part 1 of that interview is going up on the same day as this one (you can check that episode out right here!) Listen for sharks and dolphins, "clean set," the Trapped in the Drive-Thru story, and the fact that nobody is Gargamel.

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Check out Doug's Website, Podcast, and definitely like him on facebook!

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Topics & Timestamps: (4:42) Who is Doug? (6:30) L.B. Rayne (11:35) Eli's Dirty Jokes (14:33) Securing rights to put videos on his own YouTube channel (22:03) Vessel and challenging the YouTube model (28:35) Saving time in producing animation (35:45) Animated music video for Weird Al's Trapped in the Drive-Thru (46:00) Talking Lawyer & Interns (55:25) Paying your dues... and avoiding them (1:02:40) Making his podcast, Animation Ninja (1:09:22) Doug's amazing career path (1:11:30) Sharks & Dolphins, a metaphor (1:13:51) Learning from working in Live-Action (1:22:14) Hybrid cartoon/live-action interview workflow (1:25:11) "Do you like animation?" (1:31:26) Animation podcasts and final words

Check out more of your hosts:

Stephen Brooks Rob Yulfo

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