Patrick Osborne grew up with a passion for Nintendo, Jurassic Park, and Wavefront—and he got to see behind the scenes of movie merchandising via his dad’s job as head of design at Kenner Toys. After attending the prestigious Ringling College of Art + Design, he joined Sony Imageworks, then Disney, and polished his skills as an animator.

While at Disney, Patrick directed the short film “Feast,” which won an Academy Award, and then moved into directing full-time on the sitcom Imaginary Mary. Patrick talks about the tools he’s used throughout his career, what it’s like to become a Hollywood director, and his favorite part of the filmmaking process. He also gives a sneak peek into his upcoming experiments with real-time, VR, and in-progress shorts for Love, Death & Robots, and Apple.

Hard-hitting documentaries and cutting-edge VFX rarely go together, but for David France’s Welcome to Chechnya, it was necessary to marry the two. The film captures the flight of LGBTQ citizens from the Russian republic of Chechnya, where being gay can lead to beatings and murders. To preserve his subjects’ anonymity while allowing the audience to connect with them emotionally, David turned to VFX expert Ryan Laney to digitally swap faces with willing “donors” from around the world.

Ryan explains how he developed new techniques to replace faces without the limitations of traditional methods such as blurring and pixelation. He also discusses his 20-plus-years in movie VFX, including The Matrix, The Aviator, The Day After Tomorrow, and many more. It’s proof that VFX’s role in filmmaking now extends far beyond Hollywood blockbusters— and it’s had a surprising effect on Ryan’s outlook, too.

Originally hailing from Russia, Dmitry Vinnik's love for CG computer game cutscenes inspired him to learn 3D Studio and study at Vancouver Film School. He’s gone on to work on VFX projects big and small, including Battlestar Galactica, Tron: Legacy, Final Destination 5, and Game of Thrones.

Throughout his career, Dmitry has embraced technology and encouraged studios to use V-Ray—with spectacular results. This podcast serves as a deep dive into the past, present, and future of rendering technology, covering everything from 286s in the mid-90s to the versatile, superpowered hardware that powers today's CGI.

What do NFTs mean for professional artists? That’s the question Chris explores this week with returning podcast guest David Levy, whose concept art has helped define the look of big sci-fi movies, including Tron: Legacy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and the upcoming Avatar sequels.

In this thought-provoking discussion, David talks about the potential NFTs have to revolutionize digital art and how this new way of attaching value to content changes the industry for well-known artists and absolute beginners. Chris and David talk about how NFT galleries are more like Las Vegas than The Louvre, discuss some of the ethical and environmental concerns surrounding NFTs and explain what cryptocurrencies mean on a larger scale.

Since its launch in 2000, CG content marketplace Turbosquid has amassed almost 1 million 3D models and become a go-to source for VFX, games and much more. In this week's podcast, Turbosquid's VP of Business Development, Beau Perschall, and Chief Creative Officer, Dade Orgeron, join Chris to talk about this unforgettably named company.

You'll learn how the company uses clever tech—including V-Ray AppSDK—to catalog and display its vast array of content and ensure it works across multiple platforms. Beau and Dade also discuss Turbosquid's Pixelsquid and Kraken spin-offs, and the company's acquisition by stock photography giant Shutterstock. If you've ever wanted to create Turbosquid content yourself, Beau and Dade will tell you what's most wanted at the moment

Chris’ exploration of NFTs continues with returning guest and virtual architecture expert Alex Coulombe and podcast newbie Samuel Arsenault-Brassard. Samuel has set up the Museum of Other Realities to display virtual works of art but lacked a convenient way to monetize and distribute them. Enter NFTs, virtual worlds such as Somnium Space and marketplaces including SuperRare and Foundation.

In this in-depth discussion, Samuel and Alex cover the good, bad and ugly of NFTs. They break down what makes them so ideal for selling virtual art, how you could steal an NFT, what happens when an owner posts offensive content in virtual space and the potential for forging 3D artwork. They also cover potential solutions to the high energy demands of cryptocurrencies.

This week, Blur’s Franck Balson and Gabe Askew join Chris to discuss the intricacies of cel-shading, which gives 3D visuals a unique cartoony look. You’ll find out how Blur combined advanced hacks and simple techniques to create stylized animation for Love, Death & Robots episode “Suits,” which features mech-touting farmers, and the frenetic trailer for Riot Games’ Valorant.

Franck also discusses his multi-cultural background and how he landed a job at Blur, while Gabe covers his previous job directing commercials in New York. They talk about what it’s like to get hired and work for Tim Miller and Blur Studio, and shed light on some of the approaches to animation that can bring characters to life.

Our exploration of how NFTs apply to CG artists continues with esteemed NYU Stern professor, David Yermack, an expert in cryptocurrency.

But don’t worry, you don’t need a finance background to understand this. David breaks down key concepts behind NFTs in the most accessible way possible, so you can figure out how they factor in your world. We get into issues of ownership, the value of digital copies and how NFTs are enabling CG artists to finally become part of the gallery system.

This week’s podcast tells the fascinating story of Doug Wilkinson, who worked with Chris on Tron: Legacy and is now head of CG at global creative company Buck. Inspired by Jurassic Park, Doug helped create cutscenes for video games before moving from Boston to LA to join effects companies including Digital Domain, Sway and Buck.

Doug recounts his numerous adventures in visual effects, including creating a David Fincher-directed Heineken ad starring Brad Pitt, working with Joe Kosinski on car commercials, and his latest work, including Apple’s “Share Your Gifts” spot. Doug also shares his thoughts on the CG industry's future, talks about how Buck balances creative freedom with technical innovation and reveals surprising connections to Chris’ friends and co-workers.

Over the past 15 years, Matan Abel has worked on lots of cutting-edge VFX projects, including the game Call of Duty, numerous car commercials and movies such as 2012, A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Last Airbender, Red Tails and Fast & Furious 5. Now, Matan’s getting into real-time via John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum’s virtual pre-production and The Mandalorian’s virtual sets.

In this podcast, Matan tells former boss Chris how his laid-back approach and honesty have helped his career trajectory. He talks about how he loves lighting tail lights despite knowing nothing about cars; overcoming cultural, linguistic and time barriers when he worked in China; and the practical and financial reasons behind the rise of real-time in movies.