That's so great thanks for sharing Federico, yeah it's honestly what I see so much right now, people are firing out reels and not realizing that if they want to hit their goals they gotta do more. And most of the emails I get clearly they aren't thinking about what the other person's reaction will be, the more we put ourselves in the shoes of others the more we can see how and why they make the decisions they do. At the same time with landing work it's critical at the start to stand out by building relationships, sadly most of us just focus on more explosions on our reel

Exactly! Thanks so much for sharing Stan, always great hearing from you

Thanks so much Travis it was really great to meet you! And I appreciate the kind inspiring words thank you so much - definitely stay in touch!

Thanks so much for sharing Mark, if you are willing to talk about it - what was the situation with missing out on your dream job? I am really curious, if you don't feel comfortable talking about it no problem. But I thought I'd ask. But I agree, it's so critical to be working things from all angles, and creating as many opportunities as possible, rather than going through the same door as everybody else, so much harder to stand out

So true! thanks for sharing your insights and that's so great to hear about your success! What was the art community? Just curious But you're so right, especially earlier in your career it's all about building relationships!

@@AllanMcKay The art community is just recently started (about 1 year old?) but they are getting bigger. Its called ANW (Art/Net/Wrk), you should look it up, they are a good group, they invite local and foreign guests to hold a workshop or just talk about a topic/introduce their work. Last time I've managed to go they invited one of Riot's concept artists :) Its the first like this in my country, its like a mini-art-convention. They hang out after the event, there is where the majority of networking taking place. I try to go there each month but, I could'nt lately :( (my life is a mess haha xD), so for the time being I try it online... way less success :') a lot better to do it personally.

Thanks for the kind words Voolcan!

@@AllanMcKay You're the best man.

Thank you Augustin!

Thank you vr division!

Thanks Neet, I'm humbled that anyone would think I had a flawless easy transition - but I want it to be clear to you and to everyone, I struggled and I got rejected PLENTY at the start. So much so that I cut 'one more reel' and then I was ready to give up if it didn't get any traction. The two key things I did do right, was I didn't give up. I was persistent and I stuck with it. The second thing though, is I didn't just keep firing out the same reel over and over expecting a different result. I looked at every opportunity and angle I had to stand out and do something different. I think a lot of us are firing out our reel to employers, and think getting frustrated that we aren't getting results, but we're not doing anything other than showing up. That's why I made this video, to point out, that if you step outside of your own shoes for a moment and look at the big picture, we'll quickly realize everyone else is doing the same thing as us. And if it's not working, it's time to reevaluate and come up with a different strategy, and to stand out. That's why I always say how critical it is for us to build a brand, as it's our way to set ourselves aside from everybody else. We all struggle, and we all have hard times, but most of the time nobody sees that, they only see the success, and that's what then we tend to copy, rather than realizing it's a long road to get to where we are, and the obstacle, the hard times, the rejection are all part of the process Thanks for the kind words Neet!

Cheers buddy! Thanks so much 👊

You're welcome brother! thank you

Thanks so much my friend!

No worries Paul, hope you're doing well brother!

Stay at it Jerry! But also don't be afraid to experiment (as I'm sure you already are). Sometime's you'll be surprised that one of those old reels from your very first attempts gets a call back years later. But while you're waiting, try different ways to get the attention of employers, and the willingness to invest in your while you're early in your career. The "experience required" infinite-loop is a hard one to break, but sometimes it's the gatekeepers who are told they require people with experience, and when you actually talk to the decision makers, they're the ones who can see past lack of experience and see talent instead. So it's worth trying to get facetime with them rather than HR or other people who are looking where to file your reel. Keep at it!

Thanks Kumar!

Thanks so much Rob! Always great to hear from you

Thanks Daniel, and I will be releasing a lot very shortly. Once I get back home (Traveling right now for work) I'll be announcing some new training that will be coming out end of the month. Stay tuned!

Thanks so much Majik! That means a lot

Thanks Reed!

You're welcome, thanks so much!

Yeah I think that's where relationship comes in too - the more you work with the same people the more you understand their thinking process. So there's times I've wanted to let's say grade a sequence of fire to be more orange, but I know the director prefers fire more yellow, or simple things like that. That effect your creative decisions, because you know what the other person likes or how they think.But I just feel so many people are just having these one sided conversations in their mind, 100% about them and not thinking about the other parties, and because of that, they get into situations from not getting the jobs they want, to not getting the results in their business or career. Clients, I find the more I ask questions at the start the more we align to their vision. Sometimes you gotta walk them through every situation that they never thought of, so they then both start to understand what they want, as well as put their trust in you to make the decisions on what they 'should want' But I think both of us could probably write a book on dealing with clients, so many tricks and moves to deal with the bs that comes up haha

Thanks Jahir! You rock brother!

You're welcome thanks so much! I hope you find it valuable

@@AllanMcKay You are not only a highly skilled specialist, but also a good person. All the best to you!

Thanks Ignacio!

Thanks so much man that's really great to hear thank you!

♥️♥️🙏

@@AllanMcKay 🙃🙌❤️ please tell us how to contact you?

@@VFX_BUDDY sure my email is amckay@allanmckay.com

You're welcome, thanks Soulhail!

haha cheers Brandon! Yeah aggressively cut this down to be as short and consumable as possible

@@AllanMcKay It worked! And super actionable stuff in here too.

That's so great! Thank you for the opportunity to serve you

Thanks so much I'm glad you liked it!

haha thanks man - I welcome it. typically it's from others on KZfaq who are making videos or tutorials, like a few of the tyflow/phoenix kid and see everyone as competitors, rather than colleagues. So I just see the same 1 to 2 dislikes I get on a lot of these videos as those same 2-3 tutorial people saying hi on each video. But in general I always picture there being 150+ people in a room happy, and then the one disgruntled person who thinks "well, if he's right that means I'm responsible for my actions, I can't blame others.. I don't like that.. " But I appreciate the comment, it's definitely more of a reflection on them than anything else. So I don't see it as negative, and I'm always happy for input too if someone isn't digging or valuing the material I make for them. Thanks Akintomiwa!

Maybe it's by accident? I never give anyone negative ever, on sites or forums, or whatever... but I had situations that (when I scroll on phone or tablet), accidentally give someone negative, and on some sites, couldn't take it back. Can you take it back on youtube?

@@bobankrsmanovic9398 Yeah, you can

@@AllanMcKay LOVE YOU SIR

@@akintomiwapelumi3071 thanks so much!

That's great man! I would say less is more, try to focus on a few key pieces and really push them as far as possible. Don't do breakdowns for everything, typically one breakdown is enough for your reel to show 'your' process. There's nothing wrong with a short reel, so avoid any filler. Best of luck, and can't wait to see it!

Hi TheFlak36 I review thousands of peoples reels each year, and I'm pointing out what everybody is not doing and why they're not successful. I'm being honest in this video, because it's easy to make excuses such as "well that might work for you but it won't work for me" which is just an easy way to get you off the hook and give you permission not to try. What I mention in this video is not what I did to be successful, what it is is pointing out to everybody who is struggling that they are making an attempted one way transaction conversation with employers - they're reaching out to them saying "hi, give me a job" without ever thinking about anyone but themselves. Not thinking about the fact that a hundred other people are doing exactly what they're doing, and they're offering nothing but a reel and wondering why they're not getting the attention or the job they deserve. They're also not putting themselves in the shoes of the employer either, and wondering if they're getting a hundred applicants, how you're going to actually ever stand out or even get noticed. It's tough but I'm being brutally honest about why a lot of people, most people, aren't getting the success they want. I'm not saying "hey do this and you'll get x result" I'm saying "stop thinking so small and so much about yourself, that's the reason you're not getting any traction". I'd have stuck to making explosion tutorials and all the typical stuff that doesn't really matter if I just wanted to put something up, but this is decades of me watching everyone making the same mistakes and wondering why they're not getting any wins. It's easy to say "that'll work for you, it won't work for me though, so I won't try" but for those who actually take a step back and apply empathy, and think "hey, maybe I should think about what the needs are of the other party, the decision maker, and what everyone else is doing, and how maybe I can do something different so I'm not competing in the same circle on the ground level as so many other people" they're the ones who are going to get the wins. I hope that helps, but if you still think that thinking bigger isn't a good concept and none of this applies to you then, hey at least I tried. Thanks TheFlak36

@@AllanMcKay I'm not saying it's a bad concept. I'm saying that it might go as wrong as anything else one has tried.

That's a really valid point. There's been a massive shift in the past 10 years where, career is most peoples lives. Starting with Blackberries being encouraged or bought by bigger companies for their employees, which meant people were not leaving their work at home anymore, and answering emails at all hours of the night. Bit by bit we've moved into a live to work phase. As well as just more competition, and bigger goals, comparing ourselves to others success online, since our 'social circle' is no longer 20-30 people but much bigger numbers. It's the norm now to have our careers ride our lives. But for most of us, we get validation and pleasure from doing this. So it's unhealthy but in a lot of ways it encourages a lot of us to achieve bigger greater things, whereas there were far less successful people out there in the past, both because knowledge was harder to circulate and most people weren't aware of the opportunities that are out there. So it really comes down to your personality, do you want to be successful and create as much opportunity for yourself, if so then you're probably going to have to work much harder than everybody else. Or, you can choose to get by, and focus on other aspects of your life as your main focus - but most likely not get the big successes that others might get. There's room for both, and neither is good or bad, it's more a personal choice. But great point Cedar

@@AllanMcKay yes, even in East European cities, you hear - " time is moving at laser speed..." Time has always been 24 hours per day and that's lots enough, IF one is in control of how time is managed. But of course, the crunch comes from low wages and high bills. So, some less-forgiving companies have a culture that creates an unhealthy mindset in workers. Unfortunately, the great companies that treats a worker first as a person is high competition to get in. In the end, Allan, like you have been at it since you're 13 but you got smart, got lucky and saved enough to retire young and manage work as part of life. Correct?

Thanks Martin, I don't see any white pixel though?

Hi Danyal! I'm going to try to reply later today as I'd like to take my time and write an in-depth response to this (I'm in vegas at a conference right now) but I'll just say LinkedIn has a long list of pixar employees, and it actually might be worth seeing who there is from your home country, as that's a great excuse to connect with individual employees there to get more of an inside scoop or get them to hand deliver your reel to hiring managers, rather than through the same process hundreds of others apply through every single day :)

@@AllanMcKay Thank you, Sir, I will surely look into it!

I guess it's up to you but I don't think you necessarily are a small piece, I know guys who go into working on a commercial or a few shots on a film that then get nominated for VES awards etc. Or emmy's. You can touch a project without being part of a big machine. Money wise I know people who make $15,000 per week sometimes. So Gravity for an example - everybody got paid. Sure you don't get your name on the movie poster, but that's because they promote what sells, if you had a name big enough that it would drive up ticket sales by tens of millions, I'm sure they'd put your name on it. But they put Sandra Bullock because it gets traction. It's not because someone isn't credited, as obviously all the artists were credited in the movie, and the visual effects won many awards. Why would a 3D artist take home ten million dollars? That's like saying the person who drove me to set each day deserves a few million because he was part of the process. The people who make the movie and put the money on the line are the ones making the big money. Visual effects is a vendor service, they put in a bid for the cost and if it's accepted, they do their work. Unions and fixed pricing will never work, because all it takes is one studio to then offer non-fixed prices and it all falls apart. Besides why would ILM do fixed prices next to some small studio, when they are not delivering the same services? It would drive people not to want to offer premium services, or be able to afford to, and drag the quality down by averaging out the prices universally. That would be the death of visual effects. I do think this is a good topic but I also think that you have to have realistic expectations and understanding of the industry - it's really dangerous to say we need unified prices, unions, and comparing a VFX Post Production service, to the leading actors, producers, director who all actually made the movie happen. Producers make a movie to make money, I've been in many meetings where it's clear, they function like banks, and they want a return on investment. But that's how the world works, and how business works. So they finance movies that they think are going to sell, typically a script gets green line based on the star traction, so paying AAA list actors to be in a movie helps sell tickets. Visual Effects is part of post-production it's far outside of the production part, the VFX supervisor is part of production and works for the producer, and gets compensated quite well. But the VFX studios bid on projects, the same way a plumber would give you a quote for a blocked toilet. That's not to say that VFX isn't a critical part, but it is a service, that other studios are competing for that work as well, and end of the day it's a business and the producer and VFX sup are trying to understand where the costs go (that and VFX being in post, usually a lot of the money gets spent up by that stage). Ultimately it is their movie, and they are hiring a service to perform a service. But if VFX studios want to make lots of money, they need to make their own films, just like the producers are making their own films (Hence why Pixar is one of the highest grossing companies in the world). It basically comes down to - there is money in making films, but everyone who is performing a service, whether it's catering, VFX, the gaffer or anybody else, gets paid what they get paid. Just like if a consulting company gets a big contract, it doesn't mean their employees all get a million dollars from it. I do think there is a lot of money in VFX, not nearly as much as in other areas of film making - I don't see vfx people having a 'lack of self respect' I know a handful of artists who are making half a million dollars a year as an artist, and a small few making the million dollar range. Yes most people are going to float around the 6 figure mark, but that's exactly why I made the podcast 5 years ago, and I make videos like this. Because it's up to those individuals to get on top of their game. But as much as I agree with the topic would be a great idea, I have to say I disagree with everything you mentioned - just because I think there's a big misunderstanding about visual effects where people have listened to guys like Scott Ross who have tried to make money by scaring everyone saying the industry is so terrible, when it's actually thriving more now than ever. There is some monopolies with Vancouver, and other tax incentives but those are starting to change, as Canada is starting to try to place Canadians in jobs, rather than foreigners (foreigners, mostly being American). I see plenty of small studios doing big film shots, with only 5 people on them. Hell I worked on a movie where 10 of us did 350+ shots for a Robert Zemeckis film, and would be on the phone to Bob every day, and I got paid extremely well for that project. Which just that case alone addresses a lot of what you mentioned. Made lots of money, had direct access to client, was definitely not a small piece of the pie,, got film credits. Definitely didn't get a cut of the millions of dollars, but I've addressed how that would be crazy to even think. So I don't want this to come off as being negative, but I did want to address this because I think some people listen to the few people who run around telling us the sky is falling, and think that everyone in VFX is working under these really terrible conditions - and of course there is going to be a handful of places that are terrible, just like any industry. But VFX right now is thriving, there's more work now than ever before, and there are plenty of studios you can get paid extremely well Thank you for the comment, I do think this is a brilliant topic to talk about, and I think it also shows that it would be good to educate people around this topic also. And of course talk about the negative things too, I personally have found that the extreme bad work conditions actually are coming FROM the small studios, not the big studios. The small studios have studio owners who don't know what they're doing and they've bitten off more than they can handle and also hire juniors who they treat like crap. So I feel that's typically where the chaos is, again like any industry Thanks for your input Boban! Sorry for the long reply!

@@AllanMcKay Thanks for detailed answer mate. Appreciate it. Sorry, didn't meant to sound negative, or anything (personally, I really enjoy working as freelancer, and helping here and there, some small studios when they need a specific effects), and would like that most people have a privilege to work like that (without pressure). You are in industry, and surely you know much better what's going on (my opinion is somewhat based from the stuff I've heard from some people that are also in the industry). Of course, I don'tr think average vfx Joe should take 2 millions per movie ... haha.. :) Neither I think we should be communists, and everybody have equal (witch would be utopia). I was talking more globally (not so vfx connected), as I see inequality is becoming more drastic each years... It would be good if we globally could have a little bit more balance... Competition - sure, because competition raise quality... just let's not get crazy with offering unreasonable prices (I am pretty sure, you'll agreed with this). Anyway, as you say, good topic for discussion, and I'd like to hear various opinions on topic. Hopefully, you'll find time to make video about that. Cheers. ;)

Btw... that experience with Zemeckis... that sounds great. It would be really cool to hear more of that period of your life. How you guys pulled of so much shots, what were the main problems. I guess you had great atmosphere in the team, only then is possible to make the impossible. :) Sometimes, it's very fun working like that, even with a lot's of pressure. :)

@@bobankrsmanovic9398 Not at all, I liked your comment but I did strongly disagree about it - but as you suggested, covering this as a topic I think would be a really good idea. It's not to say you're necessary right or wrong, but this goes back to my Podcast, I had one rule when I started it which was I have zero interest in covering the one thing that certain people have managed to make a name (and a lot of money) focusing on, which is scaring everyone in the industry, saying how terrible it all is and that we're all doomed. So that everyone naturally flocks to them in panic asking what they have to do. There was a moment where VFX industry (mostly specific to Los Angeles, which was a first time LA had experienced this) went through a rough time, and that was 2011/2012. It was mostly VFX shifting to becoming a globalized worldwide market, and LA suddenly wasn't the top of the foodchain, for the first time ever. Even though I was living in LA, I was excited that finally the rest of the world got a chance to be a part of the industry a lot more. It put many other countries on the map, new studios, new opportunities for people who didn't have them before. But that's the only time that things were shaky, I personally put my studio in hiatus because of this, since it was a little scary for a moment. But this is also why I launched my Podcast, because rather than scaring people and never actually giving a solution, I wanted to equip everyone with the skills necessary to be able to step up and fend for themselves. And that's been the sole focus of the Podcast (and now KZfaq). Learning to get work, negotiate money, treat their career like a business and not rely on one studio to define them, where if the studio shut down or laid them off it would mean they had no other options. But that was a while ago now, and VFX is thriving. There's always going to be shitty places to work, but that's every industry. But it's mostly the smaller studios that have shitty conditions, because they're under resourced, and usually ran by people who don't know what they're doing. The other points you made are really interesting, the idea of unionizing (or fixed pricing) is something that will never happen, there's a lot of reasons around it. But all in all, VFX got a really bad reputation, because of 2011/2012. And the media caught onto it, and it became a big subject, which most people associate now with VFX. That there's no money, and it's terrible and we're treated like crap. Whereas there's actually great money (although if you're going into VFX with the idea specifically of getting rich, I would pick another career - but that's not to say you can't get quite wealthy or make low to mid 6 figures) and that the working conditions are terrible (there are a lot of late hours, some places more than others, so you can really pick the type of places you want to work to avoid this) but it's not to say being a lawyer or a lot of other industries these days have a lot of late hours, so it's not a new concept, just it's become a big talking point for VFX. So the subject is a really interesting one, I do think it would be great to talk about this really in-depth, especially so people understand behind the scenes a lot of the key issues. So I appreciate you bringing this up! So I appreciate the comments and putting this idea forward (and your other ideas) definitely think there's a lot of really good points here that are worth discussing, so I will almost definitely lean into this more, thanks again Boban!

Hi Ganesh, sorry I intentionally made this video to be fast - I realize it might be hard for non-english speakers to follow. I'll make sure to put up captions for videos like this in the future

Hi Cristian I'm really sorry to hear that. But if anything I want to help everyone I can by sharing industry advice and career advice that a lot of other people don't share, but I understand if you are just interested in tutorials or if the subject matter I share doesn't resonate or makes you uncomfortable there's not too much I can do. I hope I can serve you in the future but if not then all the best my friend 👊

@@AllanMcKay i don’t know if you are aware of this. I just saw the news about Michael Andrew Nash passing away, an incredible artist with dreams that were shattered and basically due in great percentage to the way the industry is treating 3d artists worldwide and the greedy studios making insane profit, offering terrible work conditions, extreme pressure and overwork, low payment and disrespect, I honestly do think that there is some material that could be helpful to create awareness about how digital artists are struggling worldwide. Honestly I don’t want to be in that industry when even tho I would love to work doing films and I love 3d art in all forms, and I do respect you as an artist who i follow his work since the early 2000’s and i think you could give a proper insight about the reality that since 2012 has been spreading but silenced by the studio mafias, I am a 3d Artist myself, and honestly am pretty much done with all the motivational speeches that some fellow artists are giving to build the extremely nonsensical “personal branding”, fueled by the “Instagram influencer” philosophy which to be honest.... is anything but mild theory mixed with extreme desire to be famous and reduced iq. just asking myself... is it worth it? Sorry but i think that now is more important than ever to build awareness, the industry is screwed up and nobody cares about it until talented passionate artists die. #justmy2cents

@@criko3d I had to chime in. I'm a 3D artist myself, I have/do work in big box studios. Overworking/poor work conditions and suicides happen everywhere. Construction workers, restaurant staff/chefs, doctors, lawyers, nurses, fast food workers, police, firefighters, you name it. It affects everyone, not necessarily worse from one industry to the next. Everything is profit and deadline driven. I used to work in the oilfield and construction industry. The working conditions are way worse, I've been in physical altercations before, lots of anger and testosterone flying around, and a lot more people are killed from accidents and unsafe conditions, you put your life at risk every time you walk onto a construction site. Just another perspective to think about.

@@shaunmclellan1877 thanks for the feedback and after 2 years from my comment here I still believe that working for greedy studios is a no go for me, and more after seeing the decay in quality from visual fx since a couple years and the decay in content quality from Hollywood. In my opinion there are better places where I can use my skills, but that’s my opinion, and we don’t have to agree. I disagree that this career can be compared to the careers you mention just by one fact. This career is irrelevant in importance, it won’t save lives, it won’t improve people’s lives and for sure it won’t change the world quality of life, sorry but trying to keep it real. There’s too much ego around it. but am happy for you if you feel that it is a sustainable way of living for you and your family, and not less important , that you will be recognized for your hard work in a respectful and constructive environment without. Take care and good luck.👍

@@AllanMcKay I have watched this video again after 2 years and with a different state of mind, (not trying to excuse myself, and not saying I changed my point of view about the Industry business practices) but I have to sincerely apologize myself with you, I saw 2 years ago your video with a different mindset after some personal frustrations, again not excusing myself, there’s no excuse for what I said. And am not ashamed to apologize for that, but I feel ashamed for what I told you and how I told it, you didn’t deserve that, your video has a very good point that sadly I didn’t get right. 1000 times sorry and subscribing again. I am aware how hard your work is, and how hard is to make videos like this, and still you are doing them. I hope you can accept my apologies. Best success for you always. And fuck!, sorry again.