The Spark Cast
The Spark podcast is a bi-weekly show exploring the creativity, technology, and business of CG.
The show is produced by the Spark Computer Graphics Society. Fore more about Spark, visit sparkcg.org
- Update frequency
- every 16 days
- Episodes
- 75
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
S04E06: Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt — Art, Change & Community
Growing up in Apartheid South Africa, Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt recognized that there was something “off” about the world around her, but it wasn’t until her family moved to Zimbabwe at the age of…
Thu 07 Apr 2022
S04E05: Mike Lasker — Visualizing Imagination
Mike Lasker always knew that he wanted to make things no one had ever seen before. Curious about early VFX and inspired by Jurassic Park, The Abyss and Terminator, Mike found himself at Syracuse Univ…
Thu 17 Mar 2022
S04E04: Nagin Cox — Exploring For The Next Generation
At 14, Nagin Cox knew that she wanted to be a space explorer but being an astronaut was not her main goal. Keenly aware that the true early explorers were robots, Nagin focused her energy on becoming…
Thu 03 Mar 2022
S04E03: Isabel Bailin — Searching for the Next Big Thing
Isabel Bailin always knew she wanted to be a creator, but it wasn’t until she arrived at Barnard College, and had the opportunity to intern at various networks and studios that she discovered her pas…
Thu 17 Feb 2022
S04E02: Ere Santos — Autodidactic Animation Savant
Like many animators, Ere Santos discovered his love for animation at a young age but rather than wait until he was “grown-up” to pursue his dream, he started on it immediately. With a copy of Blender…
Thu 03 Feb 2022
S04E01: David Burgess — Love What You Do
If you were to ask David Burgess about being involved in two of the three films that are considered “game changers” in modern animation history, he’ll chalk it up to luck but in reality, it’s a combi…
Thu 20 Jan 2022
S03E10: Amir Nasrabadi — Drawn to Creative Fire
Amir Nasrabadi’s love for animation grew out of watching cartoons as a child: Peanuts, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and pretty much anything else he could find on TV, but he never imagined that he’d one day f…
Wed 27 Oct 2021
S03E09: Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav — Educating for the Future
Growing up in Mongolia, Munkhtsetseg “Muunuu” Nandigjav, wanted to be a fashion designer or a lawyer. Though she didn’t ultimately pursue either career, they both influenced her career choice as an e…
Wed 13 Oct 2021
S03E08: Donald Mowat — Making Up Make-Up
Donald Mowat’s love for film started early, but it was seeing Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon at the age of 12 that sparked his love for make-up specifically. Today, Donald is one of the industry’s mo…
Thu 30 Sep 2021
S03E07: Prem Gill — Making Your Own Path
As a child growing up in Burnaby, British Columbia, Prem Gill knew she wanted to work in TV, but she never imagined she would be helping to shape the mass media industry in British Columbia and acros…
Thu 16 Sep 2021
S03E06: Larry Bafia — Innovation, Education & the Future
Before stepping into the role of educator, Larry Bafia was an animator with a love for stop-motion. His passion for the form eventually landed him at Will Vinton Studios working on such iconic commer…
Thu 02 Sep 2021
S03E05: Sharon Taylor — An Animal from the Start
Sharon Taylor is proof that passion, determination, and curiosity can take you anywhere. Sharon’s career at Animal Logic started more than 15 years ago when she answered a newspaper ad for the positi…
Wed 18 Aug 2021
S03E04: Michael Fukushima — Champion for the Under-represented
Michael Fukushima spent the majority of his career fighting for improved diversity and inclusion behind the scenes of the National Film Board of Canada. This wasn’t an accidental role: Michael saw th…
Thu 05 Aug 2021
S03E03: Jinko Gotoh — Animation Problem Solver
Jinko Gotoh’s love for animation began as a child in Japan. But as someone who didn’t draw, she could never have guessed that she would go on to produce some of the largest animated blockbusters of a…
Thu 22 Jul 2021
S03E02: Marv Newland — Accidental Legend
Marv Newland didn’t plan to be an animator but after a career that spans over half a century, more than twenty films, and some of the industry’s most notable prizes, it’s safe to say that he’s done a…
Wed 07 Jul 2021
S03E01: Michelle Grady — Determined Journey
Michelle Grady’s career in the CG industry started small: an unpaid job working in the equipment room of a post-production facility. Determined and in need of a paying job, she soon found herself as …
Thu 24 Jun 2021
S02E10: Tibo Charroppin — Spare-Time VFX Wiz
In his dayjob, Tibo Charroppin is a director and video editor for the ACLU, but in his spare time, he’s a visual effects wiz who, with the help and support of his partner Olivia Boone, edits their be…
Thu 10 Jun 2021
S02E08: Ann Marie Fleming — Compelled to Share
Ann Marie Fleming is a prolific filmmaker, visual artist, and storyteller who has spent the bulk of her career exploring themes of history, family, and memory — both her own and others’. Be it her po…
Thu 13 May 2021
S02E07: Denver Jackson — The One-Man Animation Studio
Denver Jackson has always wanted to be a storyteller. In 2012, he began his journey by creating a 9-minute short film titled Cloudrise. Nine years later, Cloudrise is an independent studio, and Denve…
Thu 29 Apr 2021
S02E06: Tomm Moore — Authentic Storytelling Rooted in Folklore & Nature
One might assume that as a three-time Oscar nominee and one of the co-founders of the celebrated Cartoon Saloon, Tomm Moore might be an aloof figure. Instead, he’s warm and fathery wth a re…
Wed 21 Apr 2021
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