School of Motion Podcast

How to Turn Your Creative Anxiety Into Your Biggest Advantage

What if the things that make you anxious are actually pointing you toward your greatest strengths? School of Motion Creative Director EJ Hassenfratz shares his talk from the Motion Plus Design conference in New York City, exploring how the anxieties we face as creatives—imposter syndrome, the proliferation of AI, creative blocks, and staying relevant in a fast-changing industry—can actually become our biggest competitive advantages. EJ reveals practical ways to transform nervous energy into creative fuel and reframe professional anxiety as a guide toward growth and opportunity. Recorded live at Motion Plus Design 2024 in NYC. Big shourt out to the Motion Plus Design team for allowing us to share this footage! Want to get more insights into the Motion Design industry? Check out our blog at schoolofmotion.com/blog

How to Build a Tutorial Empire Like Ben Marriott

We got Ben Marriott on the podcast, and honestly, it's about time...Ben's one of the best tutorial creators out there for After Effects and motion design, and his journey from freelance illustrator to full-time YouTuber happened faster than anyone expected (including him). Check out the corresponding blog post with key takeaways here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/b... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkpFVEVDWlJaMnlqNU5UVXNTbTRKd1ZOWFB2Z3xBQ3Jtc0trUEU5NzZYWFdYY2ExcUJXVnlWSWU2TzRxOGFKbXM4eEV1c0hzbldOVm8yUHNPVkRUZkp0M3hadnhzbHBBZWdpeVpnaFhKYW9zcGNBNVFOalJ2Q3lMR3htWnl6QWZKazZkYjhMRG1DdGlMZXF5MjZqMA&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.schoolofmotion.com%2Fblog%2Fben-marriott&v=Nyq1b4mSDlk]

Why Motion Designers Are Having a Moment — with Adobe's Michael Tanzillo

From pouring drinks to lighting shots at Blue Sky to leading Adobe's Substance 3D team, Michael Tanzillo's professional path is anything but typical and his story is packed with lessons motion designers need to hear. Check out the corresponding blog post here: www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/adobe-michael-tanzillo In this episode of the School of Motion Podcast, EJ Hassenfratz sits down with Michael to talk about the state of 3D, why motion designers are impressing major animation studios, and how foundational skills (like lighting and storytelling) will outlast any software trend. 🗒️ SHOW NOTES Michael Tanzillo https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltanzillo/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeltanzillo/] The 3D Artist Newesletter https://3dartist.substack.com/ Jasmine Katadakarn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-katatikarn/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasmine-katatikarn/] Alwyn Hunt https://www.therookies.co/about/team/alwyn-hunt Andrew Kramer https://www.videocopilot.net/contact/company/ Sebastian Deguy https://x.com/sebdeguy?lang=en [https://x.com/sebdeguy?lang=en] Nick Campbell https://nickvegas.com/ Connor Henkle https://vimeo.com/996490291?fl=pl&fe=ti&pgroup=plv [https://vimeo.com/996490291?fl=pl&fe=ti&pgroup=plv] Connor Henkle on SOM podcast https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/connor-henkle-sports-design [https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/connor-henkle-sports-design] Patrick Foley https://www.instagram.com/patrick_4d/ [https://www.instagram.com/patrick_4d/] Colosseum https://colosseum.co/ [https://colosseum.co/] Winbush https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmzWP6o2cw73moEF7LO_KvA [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmzWP6o2cw73moEF7LO_KvA] PJ Richardson https://www.pj-richardson.com/ [https://www.pj-richardson.com/] Victoria Nece https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-nece [https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoria-nece] Sora https://openai.com/sora/ Midjourney https://www.midjourney.com Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ Substance 3D stager https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d/apps/stager.html [https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d/apps/stager.html] Omniverse https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/omniverse/ [https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/omniverse/] Structure reference tool https://www.adobe.com/learn/firefly/web/generative-ai-structure-reference-image?learnIn=1&locale=en [https://www.adobe.com/learn/firefly/web/generative-ai-structure-reference-image?learnIn=1&locale=en] USD (Universal Scene Description) https://3dartist.substack.com/p/demystifying-usd [https://3dartist.substack.com/p/demystifying-usd] Blue Sky App https://bsky.app/ [https://bsky.app/] NAB Conference https://www.nabshow.com/ [https://www.nabshow.com/] Safe Space LA https://www.safe-space-la.com/ [https://www.safe-space-la.com/] Camp Mograph https://www.campmograph.com/ [https://www.campmograph.com/] Blue Sky Studios https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sky_Studios [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Sky_Studios] Pixar https://www.pixar.com/ [https://www.pixar.com/] 20th Century Studios https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/ [https://www.20thcenturystudios.com/] Disney https://www.disney.com/ [https://www.disney.com/] The Mill https://www.themill.com/ [https://www.themill.com/] Frame Store https://www.framestore.com/ [https://www.framestore.com/] Buck http://buck.tv/ [http://buck.tv/] Finding Nemo https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266543/ Ice Age Three https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1080016/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1080016/] Rio https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1436562/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 Peanuts Movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2452042/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 Nimona https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19500164/?ref_=fn_all_ttl_1 Spider-Verse https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_7_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_spider-man [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_7_tt_8_nm_0_in_0_q_spider-man] Game of Thrones https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944947/ Severance https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11280740/ Flow https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4772188/ Wild Robot https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29623480/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29623480/] The Whale https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13833688/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13833688/] SCAD https://www.scad.edu/ Cinema 4D https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d?srsltid=AfmBOoqj346c50q5PODG-_HTeZ017JdipbkaQRt_XDIX0NBHsGV7Mu-z [https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d?srsltid=AfmBOoqj346c50q5PODG-_HTeZ017JdipbkaQRt_XDIX0NBHsGV7Mu-z] Maya https://www.autodesk.com/products/maya/overview V-ray https://www.chaos.com/vray?srsltid=AfmBOoogC_jTWraDUnBTjNhG0pkAZ9csF4CO_mtNstdVflJtvuZ4zWju Redshift https://www.maxon.net/en/redshift?srsltid=AfmBOoo_siCAT_UUp0clTp4nqupkBj5b8zl9tVbL_q_9s4rSApkihGbo ZBrush https://www.maxon.net/en/zbrush?srsltid=AfmBOoo3KatuGEWJE2rr4ztpt3_DJlV7Wbz0dxzl1sY2pzACcpzxdeMI Blender https://www.blender.org/ Lightroom https://lightroom.adobe.com/ Substance Painter https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d.html [https://www.adobe.com/products/substance3d.html] Substance Viewer https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-viewer.html [https://helpx.adobe.com/substance-3d-viewer.html] Project Neo https://helpx.adobe.com/project-neo/help/overview.html [https://helpx.adobe.com/project-neo/help/overview.html] Mixamo https://www.mixamo.com/ [https://www.mixamo.com/] Firefly https://www.adobe.com/products/firefly.html [https://www.adobe.com/products/firefly.html] Unreal Engine https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US [https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US] Mega Scans https://quixel.com/megascans

Nikola Wonder Dynamics

In the sea of surface-level chatter about AI and filmmaking, Nikola Todorovic is saying the quiet part out loud—and it's the stuff creative pros actually need to hear. Check out the corresponding blog post with our key takeaways here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/wonder-dynamics As Co-Founder and CEO of Wonder Dynamics, Nikola helped build Flow Studio, an AI-powered platform that lets small teams create VFX-rich productions without VFX-rich budgets. The work was so forward-thinking that Autodesk acquired Wonder Dynamics in 2024, folding it into their growing cloud-based creative suite. But this conversation goes way deeper than "AI saves time." It's about what happens to artistry when the tools start doing more than just accelerating workflows—and how indie filmmakers, animators, and motion designers can harness that shift without getting swept away by hype.

Why Moonvalley's Approach to AI Video Makes Sense

Most AI video companies are gambling with copyright law. Moonvalley made a different bet. Check out the corresponding blog post with highlights here: http://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/mo... [https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkZUOTFTYlZzeDZBX2tNSUphdExZUXFXX0NQUXxBQ3Jtc0tuY3g2bnBBa1htcVNHQWxZcWlGeTZvTHRPeTRYMndFd1VlRHpETGpyU1RIbFJCUUhlOVdiTi1DWDB0SF9TamdONGtvVloxZjB3MUM4R1FZNjQtSVZMT0lFWkdyWXhxTWNJUVJvUi1yZHVTRWtLZ0ZMYw&q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.schoolofmotion.com%2Fblog%2Fmoonvalley&v=eD01pHGDrEo] Real talk: Most AI video companies are doing it wrong.They scrape everything they can get their hands on – YouTube, Vimeo, whatever – and feed it into their models. The results? Tools like Sora and Gemini are genuinely impressive. The quality is getting scary good. But here's the rub: Video producers are using these tools to create content that's trained on copyrighted work, while the original artists who made it all possible get zero credit or compensation. It's basically profiting off someone else's creativity without asking permission. But what if there was a better way? What if AI could actually make creators more powerful instead of making them obsolete?That's exactly what Naeem Talukdar, founder of Moonvalley, is betting on. And after listening to him break down his approach on the latest School of Motion podcast, we're convinced he might be onto something big.