Creators Society Animation Podcast

Creators Society
  • 5.0 (8)
  • TV & FILM
Creators Society Animation Podcast

Join host Michael Wakelam of the Creators Society as he interviews animation industry icons and innovators from companies such as Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney, Netflix, Sony, and many more! Tune in to hear from top executives, animators, writers, and producers, about their inspiring career journeys, and the projects they are working on next! Our host, Michael Wakelam, is an animator, writer, director, and the founder of Anthem Studios. Michael develops original children's media content and live-action screenplays from his studio in London. The Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry founded by Eric Miller in 2015. 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 stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.

  1. 56. Kidscreen Conversations 25 - Ed Galton, Cake and Alison Taylor, Aardman

    26 MAR

    56. Kidscreen Conversations 25 - Ed Galton, Cake and Alison Taylor, Aardman

    On a recent trip to Kidscreen I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss distribution with Alison Taylor from Aardman and Ed Galton from Cake. With our industry undergoing so much change, I wanted to hear what it was like on the distribution side of the business, and how these two companies, with very different beginnings and operations were navigating the change.  I also added some thoughts on the conference in general and the vibe I got while on the trip.  Enjoy! And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller Music by: Rich Dickerson Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha Edited by: Jonathan Wakelam The Creators Society is a professional community uniting all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to foster meaningful connections, encourage collaboration, and deepen the understanding of every role involved in bringing animated stories to life. Through networking, mentorships, education, and industry events, we celebrate the creativity and passion that drive animation forward, supporting the talented creators who make it all possible. Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net Send us a text

    41 min
  2. 55. Anatomy of an Original Series - Stan & Gran with Jon Mason and Natalie Llewellyn

    18/10/2024

    55. Anatomy of an Original Series - Stan & Gran with Jon Mason and Natalie Llewellyn

    This episode is a must-listen for anyone developing an original series and wondering how they'll get it off the ground. A combination of passion, perseverance, and a great partnership of the right people made the special sauce to get Stan & Gran into production. Based on an idea Jon Mason had a whopping 12 years ago, perseverance looms large here. His partnership with Natalie Llewellyn was pivotal as you'll hear in this conversation. This is the third in a sporadic series looking at the anatomy of a project and rounds out the trio looking at an original series. I hope you find it as informative as I did. Super interesting. Enjoy! Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller Music by: Rich Dickerson Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha The Creators Society is a professional community uniting all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to foster meaningful connections, encourage collaboration, and deepen the understanding of every role involved in bringing animated stories to life. Through networking, mentorships, education, and industry events, we celebrate the creativity and passion that drive animation forward, supporting the talented creators who make it all possible. Learn more about the Creators Society, and how to become a member at creatorssociety.net Send us a text

    1h 1m
  3. 54. DreamWorks The Wild Robot with Writer & Director Chris Sanders

    05/10/2024

    54. DreamWorks The Wild Robot with Writer & Director Chris Sanders

    The Wild Robot is here - a film I and a lot of the industry have been looking forward to getting their eyes on since we first saw the teaser.  Most of the major animated feature hits of late have been sequels and spin-offs, so when I got a glimpse of The Wild Robot from DreamWorks, I was very excited. First of all, I love robots of course. But there is something about the fish-out-of-water scenario of putting a robot into the wilderness that is immediately striking. Even the name of the film depicts so much and immediately you want answers to some questions that pop into your head.  And no, it's technically not an original because it's based on existing IP, a book - but it feels fresh and new - and Dreamworks seems to do that a lot with book source material. Not only does it feel fresh visually - and stunning - but I was really curious about the process of adapting the source material. So in this chat with Director Chris Sanders, we talk about that in detail, as well as many other things.  Just to let you know, there are some spoilers in this one - nothing devastating, but also because of the breakdown in the story and writing process, this one is best listened to after you've seen the movie. If you're a writer, I'd also recommend reading the book so you can better see the adaptation process. Chris was super generous with his time, and we got to cover a lot of things, so I hope you enjoy it. The Creators Society is a professional community uniting all disciplines of the animation industry. Our mission is to foster meaningful connections, encourage collaboration, and deepen the understanding of every role involved in bringing animated stories to life. Through networking, mentorships, education, and industry events, we celebrate the creativity and passion that drive animation forward, supporting the talented creators who make it all possible. Send us a text

    47 min
  4. 53. Survive Beyond '25 - Business with Rick Mischel

    08/08/2024

    53. Survive Beyond '25 - Business with Rick Mischel

    Survive til 25 is a term thrown about a lot lately, but it got me thinking that it's August, and perhaps we need to think more about longer-term survival. So this is the first in a series of Survive Beyond '25 episodes looking at various parts of that equation, from business to innovation to mental health and creativity. In this episode, Rick Mischel returns to chat about the general state of the industry and where we're headed. Rick recently bought a studio, so he has some optimism there! It's a fascinating conversation and I encourage you to engage in the ongoing conversation with us - we'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Also, head back to episode 30 for a longer chat about Rick's career. Enjoy! Please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller Music by: Rich Dickerson 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 Send us a text

    29 min
  5. 52. The Amazing Maurice - A CG Feature on what budget?! With Producer Andrew Baker

    01/08/2024

    52. The Amazing Maurice - A CG Feature on what budget?! With Producer Andrew Baker

    How low can you go with a CG feature budget to create a very entertaining, high-quality-looking animated film? Listen in to this one to find out as I dive into the deal-making and production of The Amazing Maurice with Producer Andrew Baker. Based on a Terry Pratchett book, The Amazing Maurice looks like it came out of a much bigger studio environment. It has a great voice cast, quality effects, and animation and is a great case study. Andrew was very generous not only with his time, but the detail he delved into, and he has some great insight into the industry from his work as a lawyer before his role as a producer. Hope you enjoy it! And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller Music by: Rich Dickerson Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha Edited by: Jonathan 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 Send us a text

    51 min
  6. 51. DreamWorks Megamind Past & Present with Alan Schoolcraft, Brent Simons and Eric Fogel

    26/07/2024

    51. DreamWorks Megamind Past & Present with Alan Schoolcraft, Brent Simons and Eric Fogel

    'The old shool house', 'speeider' and 'the sun is warming up' were just some of the memorable lines quoted by my kids for years from the original Megamind movie originally released back in 2010 - a very different animation and media landscape than exists today. The movie was fresh and fairly successful, but gained a cult following in the years after its release. Fast forward to this year and original writers Alan Schoolcraft and Brent Simons, after selling the original screenplay as a spec, had the chance to revisit the iconic character with a direct to streaming feature and limited series with Peacock. I got to chat with them along with Exec producer and showrunner Eric Fogel about the past and the present of all things Megamind, along with their backstories leading into these projects. Hope you enjoy it! And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller Music by: Rich Dickerson Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha Edited by: Jonathan 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 Send us a text

    39 min
  7. 50. Kidscreen Conversations 2024 - Rob Doherty | Sueann Rochester | Lucy Murphy

    15/03/2024

    50. Kidscreen Conversations 2024 - Rob Doherty | Sueann Rochester | Lucy Murphy

    Welcome to our second annual Kidscreen Conversations episode. I headed to San Diego, not Miami this year for the first west coast Kidscreen. As always, it was a great event, although the sun decided to skip it this year! Our guests this year are Rob Doherty, a consultant with great insight into the industry and founder of Festivus, an animation org that parallels the Creators Society in some ways in the UK, Sueann Rochester, Managing Director of Wild Child Animation in Scotland, and Lucy Murphy, director of kids content at Sky in the UK. There are some great thoughts and insight here so I know you'll get something from these conversations.  Please excuse the on-location audio, a little rougher than usual, along with my voice. Enjoy! And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller Music by: Rich Dickerson Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha Edited by: Jonathan 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 Send us a text

    58 min
  8. 49. Sean Charmatz & Peter McCown on DreamWorks Orion and the Dark

    15/02/2024

    49. Sean Charmatz & Peter McCown on DreamWorks Orion and the Dark

    Welcome to the 4th season of the Creators Society Animation Podcast. We're thrilled to have made it this far! As you know, our business is changing all the time, rapidly. But that means that there is more to talk about than ever, so we're going to be talking to different people and discussing different topics of change and importance. Today we chat with Sean Charmatz and Peter McCown from DreamWorks about their new film Orion and the Dark, which is out on Netflix. This one is super interesting to me from a few perspectives. When I saw the trailer, I was intrigued - it was written by Charlie Kaufman, so you had me interested in seeing what he'd do with an animated film right there, but I was also intrigued by the creative execution, how that vision was executed on a streaming film budget, and its directed by Sean Charmatz, a long time story artist who spent a chunk of his career on Spongebob. If you haven't had the chance to watch it yet, I encourage you to do so. One thing I've noticed after chatting with several people about Orion is that it sparks discussions. It's interesting to me because it deviates from a regular linear narrative, which it easily could have followed. However, this departure from the norm fosters dialogue and, I believe, adds depth to its storytelling. Hope you enjoy it! And if you do, please like, rate, and comment on your favorite podcasting platform and share the episode on social media. If you have any comments or suggestions please get in touch. If you'd like to hear about new episodes in your inbox, please subscribe here. Host & Producer: Michael Wakelam Executive Producer: Eric M. Miller Music by: Rich Dickerson Audio Engineering: Mike Rocha Edited by: Jonathan 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 Send us a text

    45 min
See All (56)

5
out of 5
8 Ratings

About

Join host Michael Wakelam of the Creators Society as he interviews animation industry icons and innovators from companies such as Pixar, DreamWorks, Disney, Netflix, Sony, and many more! Tune in to hear from top executives, animators, writers, and producers, about their inspiring career journeys, and the projects they are working on next! Our host, Michael Wakelam, is an animator, writer, director, and the founder of Anthem Studios. Michael develops original children's media content and live-action screenplays from his studio in London. The Creators Society is a professional society for all disciplines of the animation industry founded by Eric Miller in 2015. 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 stories. We celebrate and promote the love of animation and all the talented Creators who breathe life and imagination into their work.

Information

You Might Also Like

To listen to explicit episodes, sign in.

Stay up to date with this show

Sign in or sign up to follow shows, save episodes and get the latest updates.
Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada