Episode 2: The Inverted Pyramid

03/13/16 • 35 min

Mike and Matthew talk about the importance of working out your creative decisions early, during the scriptwriting and storyboarding stage, and how these decisions filter through the stages of pre-visualization, editing and animation. They also discuss the ways to incorporate freelance artists into a low-budget pipeline, and how best to handle feedback and criticism of your work.

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Episode 1: Why Animation Is Hard

Mike and Matthew introduce the show and tackle some of the reasons why animation can be so challenging: story problems, budgetary constraints, unrealistic ambitions, limited animation techniques, and the need to get better at firing people.

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Episode 3: Team-building

Mike and Matthew go deep into the world of freelancers: where to find them, how to negotiate with them, and how to make sure everyone ends up happy. They also cover copyright ownership, payment terms, kill fees, and how not to be a bad client.

Once your team is assembled, you’re going to want to manage communication with a large group of people, and that’s where group-chat clients like Slack come in. Matthew shares some of his thoughts on Basecamp, and Mike explains why video conferences sound gimmicky but are actually vital for team morale.