Produced By - Sleepless Nights & Shiny Awards: The VFX Juggler's Guide to Life | #48: Alfred Lindahl

Episode Date: April 1, 2024

Part 1: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/produced-by/episodes/VFX-to-WTF-Unexpected-Journey-from-Visual-Effects-to-Finding-Meaning--47-Alfred-Lindahl-e2ei929 VFX to WTF: Unexpected Journey from Visual Effects to Finding Meaning | #47: Alfred Lindahl Alfred Lindahl has spent over 15 years bringing creative solutions to life in the world of 3D, VFX and animation. From his early passion for crafting ideas, he's honed his skills in scripting, storyboarding and editing. Whether working solo, collaborating with teams or leading freelance groups, Alfred enjoys every stage of the production process. His diverse background includes co-founding a production company, contributing to large-scale Hollywood VFX projects and gaining valuable client-side experience as an agency producer. The second half of our conversation dives deeper into Alfred's freelance world, shedding light on its challenges and his candid reflections on mental health. Discover how he masters the juggling act of work, family and everything in between. Elevate your online presence with the help of Trailblazed, your (and our) favourite digital marketing agency. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://trailblazed.digital/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoy the show, please, consider supporting it on Patreon or by buying a virtual coffee (or chocolate). ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/ProducedByPodcast⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.buymeacoffee.com/producedby⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Boost your creative career by joining our new Skillshare course and feel free to let us know how you liked it. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://skl.sh/3Rh7ZtY⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date, get the latest news and much more. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7092551882589528065⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Connect with Alfred: ⁠⁠https://alfredlindahl.com/⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfredlindahl/ ⁠ VFX Talks ⁠https://www.vfxtalks.com/ ⁠ Connect with the host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow the podcast: Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Web: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://produced-by-podcast.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://instagram.com/produced_by_podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT5LHnM6YCaeVzIr0WatOsw⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/41BiG5YvGIgITz1N14hF2E ⁠⁠⁠⁠ Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/produced-by/id1684669642⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ If you enjoy listening to the podcast, please, leave a review on your podcast app, subscribe and share it with your friends. You can also send us a message and share any feedback, advice and tips for guests. About Produced By: Produced By unveils captivating stories of courageous people who set out to pursue careers in highly competitive fields, despite often challenging circumstances. Enter the spotlight with our guests and get inspired, whether your interests are in the creative industries, personal growth or you simply want to have fun. Listen to individuals who represent a wide range of professional backgrounds, geographic locations and career stages. So come along to follow their adventures and learn from life's experiences as we kick off on this epic journey. Thanks for listening and see you soon! Connect with Tomas:X: https://x.com/TomasLoucky⁠⁠⁠Stan: https://stan.store/TommenLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasloucky/⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisistommen/⁠⁠Unproduced:Newsletter: https://unproduced.substack.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@unproducednotesSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033Ddo8ibDlLYoaP7FFLIWMore:Links: https://linktr.ee/produced_by⁠⁠⁠Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://producednewsletter.substack.com/⁠The Podcast Club: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/25420030/Tools & gear that support the show:Metricool: https://f.mtr.cool/HRJBZKRiverside: https://riverside.sjv.io/vDnDodFavikon: https://www.favikon.com?fpr=tommenRa Optics: https://ra-optics.myshopify.com/discount/TOMMEN?rfsn=8803777.591d19JamX: https://jamx.ai/podcasters-offer?ref_id=e02d48af-ef66-4e76-b804-c2e8d282a8bfSome links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you find them useful, using these links helps keep the podcast running. Thank you!  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello and welcome to Produced Buy. Just quickly before we begin, if we enjoy the show, please consider supporting it by joining our Patreon. You can choose from a list of memberships and we'll receive some exciting rewards. Thank you and back to the episode. Can you tell us more than about your freelancing journey that you've been continuing since you left from there? Yeah, so I can catch up on, like, when I left ILP, I, I felt like a bit lost because this was the really cool company that I really enjoyed working at for the first like six months.

And I learned so much. But then I started to struggle and like by the end of the year, I was really depressed and I didn't realize it until my girlfriend. Like one day I couldn't actually get out of bed. It just felt so meaningless to go work on some stupid Hollywood show. And I should go save the world instead. And my girlfriend, she sent me some links to like, this is what depression is. And I felt like, oh, what is this? I'm not depressed.

I have a really nice, like a new apartment in Stockholm and a really awesome job. And but then I started to read like the description of depression. And like, yeah, but the first paragraph, it sounds actually. I can relate to that. And then the second paragraph, and like, I read the whole article, like, damn, this is, this is what I'm feeling. So, so then I, yeah, I started, I went to the doctor and they diagnosed me. And then I realized, I don't know how much I realized back then.

It was, it was so relieving to get the diagnosis because then I could actually know what to work with. and and now like later i've been i've been trying to be really open about this and talk about it even though it might be a bit like what you call it stigma around it so everyone who's been through it tried i hope tried to talk about it because then it's easier for other people to see it but then yeah i left iLP anyways and um and i started to do i started to like as a substitute teacher at high school, media high school,

because that's something I've always had in the back of my mind because I like teaching. I've lectured throughout my career. I've been, like, I've gone back to my old VFX school, 3D school, lecturing and went to different

schools talking. So I've been thinking, maybe I should become a teacher, but do I want to study for five years to decide if I want to be a teacher? No, maybe I can just try to be a substitute teacher somewhere where they need someone. So I checked there were two media high schools.

So I was thinking, yeah, I know like the media thing. So maybe I can get in there and try it out and see how it is. And then I can do a difference in the world instead of doing stupid Hollywood movies. I can actually work with kids. So I went there to one high school. they replied back when I sent an email to them. They replied back, yeah, we have an open position. Can you come like tomorrow?

And I went for a meeting. And then yeah, can you have a class on Monday? I was like, oh shit. That was quick. Yeah. Yeah, they were like someone was just, had just gotten sick and had to be away for for a few months. So actually got to work half time as a substitute teacher there.

and realizing how hard it was, I realized how much, like it was so rewarding to work with teens, but it was also so difficult. And it took so much energy. I felt I can, even if I work 100%, even I just get paid for half time,

even if I work 100%, that's not going to be enough because there's, I could do me. more for this person to help help him or her and I can do more for that that person or I can like adjust my my like teaching style to suit that individual better so it was really it was a really nice experience and I realized yeah I really like to to work with people in this way but in a high school where some people are really not motivated and you have to try to lift everyone

that that wasn't right for me but during that time i also went to therapy and i like talked through a lot of stuff with therapists and then i left and i had a got a got a like temporary employment at the at an ad agency as a like producer of some sort uh creative producer for a few months so I got to see that and try that. And during this time, I got to like focus a lot on myself and my, I get to know myself because I've been so focused on my work. So during, like, I was away from ILP for maybe one and a half year or something. And then I went there for a party. And I met there. They had a new boss for the HR team. team. And she was talking to me like, yeah, why did he leave and what happened? And people

seem to like you around here. And I told her my story and told her about my depression and how I'm working with myself now. And like, yeah, I do a lot of journaling to figure out what I'm, how my motivation works. And so a bit later, they contacted me and said, yeah, we have this new position that we think would suit you. And that's like an artist manager role. And that sounded like, yeah, I could use all my experience working in the industry. And I can use my experience from going through depression and working with myself. So I accepted that.

And that was really scary because they didn't have anyone in that role before. So I was like trying to figure out what to do. And that was a lot about performance management, doing performance reviews and like yeah try to like lift people have help people develop in the way they wanted and have check-ins and like coaching sessions with people so I was doing that for three years while I also got my first kid and as a side note which makes it difficult to to have a full-time job so so then I left after three years after being on parentally for a while I got to think about everything.

And during those three years, I also started to itch to get back to being creative again. I felt like, oh, I really miss working. And at night, I started to learn Houdini, like another software that was the new, the cool, new thing. So then finally, I decided it's really hard to have a full-time job with a kid. I want to be more creative again. Maybe I can start freelancing again. And at that point, in my role there, I was also recruiting. So I built like a huge network of artists, just like connections on LinkedIn and people I've talked to.

I've interviewed people and hire people like brought in freelancers. so then when I finally decided to leave I had a much bigger network and I had I also had the motivation to get back to it and be really hands-on I wanted to learn again and yeah so that's how I started freelancing the third time that's interesting maybe that I didn't expect such a background and just coming back to that position since you stay there for quite well for three years, as you said. Did it then meet kind of your expectations or aspirations at the time that you were working with people helping them, but at the same time utilizing your skills as an artist?

Yes. Yeah, for sure. And that was also really rewarding to see, like some people we brought in as juniors or interns, and then they got hired. And to see them develop and like getting into a mid position. then maybe becoming a senior or a lead, starting to lead a team of a few artists. That was super rewarding. But most of all, I think it was because I work with so many great people that my boss in the HR team,

she was so, so inspiring and she really pushed me to go to new, like, try new, new things, have difficult conversations. like having to fire someone that was was the first first for me but i felt i had to share but really difficult but with the support i had it felt doable and then when you actually managed to do something like that and you made it in a humane way and it felt like yeah we connected still I made this person understand why it didn't work and then it wasn't such a terrible experience after all and I grew a lot as a person and I worked a lot with a great supervisor like VFX supervisor and coaching a lot of people so I had these coaching sessions but most of them

were together with some senior like a supervisor or a senior artist who could coach these a junior or coach someone going into a leadership position and during those years I learned so much and I felt like wow if I knew this like 10 years ago when I was a junior mid artist then my career would have been like so different and I would have felt so different so I learned so much during that time and in a completely new like area it wasn't technical how to do stuff in in like 3d animation visual effects it was people people stuff and that that's also something that I felt when I left like I was so busy in in my role and I didn't have time to like I felt I wanted to do like a lead handbook how do you become a new lead if you

start as an artist when you first get to have a few people under you that you like manage how do you do that for example but i never had time because it was always like okay we need to recruit a lot of people okay you can help out with that um or yeah we need to put out this fire in this team can you help like solve a conflict so when i left and started freelancing again it was also with the intention of i need to do something with with these soft skills that i've learned and this new interest I had for this personal development. So when I left and started freelancing again, it was also, yeah, that's when I decided to start a podcast about exactly these subjects.

So I got to do a bit of both because I didn't want to, it felt so like I didn't, I don't want to give up this amazing position where I get to work with awesome people and I learn so much. but I still want to be creative I can't just go back to being an artist again because then I will miss all those meetings with really like senior supervisors and so what should I do let's go work on

so now I do a lot of like simple simple projects like a lot of pack shots spinning beer cans and bottles and yeah some smaller VFX work but I also get to talk to supervisors working on Hollywood movies in my podcast. So that's awesome. And you said before that with all the knowledge you were thinking about writing it down or, you know, writing some kind of book or something. So did you actually do something like that even after you left?

That's something I've started to do. So I'm working. I'm still trying to figure out how to, to like collect it in a good way. Should I do a website? Should I release an actual book? What should the format be? Should I just do lectures?

I do a bit of that in my podcast, just me talking about different subjects. But I think, yeah, I'm going to go on parental leave again in a few months. So I have maybe five months where I'm going to be away from work. Maybe stuff will start to crystallize when I'm away. And it sounds like a great idea and all the ideas that you said now, whether I don't know, e-book, physical book, lectures or something, I think if you think it true, come up with a smart way, how to market it, how to share it.

I think it sounds like amazing idea. So I hope that since you shared it publicly now, it will hold you accountable and we will see something in a few months. Yeah. Yeah, hopefully. Yeah. And also I would just come back to the topic we discussed before about depression and mental health issues. Are there maybe some tips or advice how to maybe prevent it or make sure that it doesn't happen? and then once someone is going through it, you know, how to deal with it

and from someone like you who has experience, what would you advise people? Yeah, this is a great question because, yeah, I'm really passionate about this. And it's not a lot of times where you get to talk about it. And I think it's also not easy to sneak it in when I talk to students. Sorry. I'm just going to say that I think it's also. something that maybe not everyone feels comfortable talking about and sharing their experience. So if you do so, I appreciate it.

Yeah, I think what I, if I look back and see how I, like the first maybe eight years of my career of, yeah, in the beginnings, I was just doing what I felt was fun. I was just, oh, this is awesome. I'm going to try this new software or I want to try this. I wasn't thinking and planning like, yeah, but I want to get there. How should I? How should I get there? What do I need to learn and then force myself to like work on this skill? And then everything was fine.

I was really happy. I laughed a lot and had a great time. But then over the years I started to like focus on. Yeah, when we had the company, how should we be more successful at the company and more about status like i got to work at iLP work at like one of the coolest companies in in the industry and work on the cool projects but is that really what makes me happy when i've like thought about it later and i come up like realized maybe that doesn't suit me maybe my motivation is to

work with the tight team or like a small small group of friends and be able to just have fun and joke around and like work on like it doesn't have like the work doesn't really matter as long as we do something that is fun like what I do now spinning beer cans I can really find passion in trying to make the like the small water drops the condensation on the bottle look nice so like I try to improve that every every time I do a new pack shot. So it doesn't have to be like this sexy, sexy project. And I think realizing this, that what actually motivates me, what do I enjoy doing?

That is something really important and something I talk a lot about with my students, the VFX students, that, okay, try to analyze yourself in what projects do you, do enjoy it most do you like it in like a big big project or small project or like being motivated by by status can be a really powerful driver to actually get you somewhere get you off your ass but if you think about is this really what motivates me then you might figure out yeah it is And that's awesome. Then you know, then you should chase that. But if you think about it and, but no, that's not actually me.

I'm trying to chase someone else's dream. Then I think that's where I got wrong. And I realized this like looking back, like I have this, this example I realized when I was going in therapy. I had this revelation. It was like, what the fuck? I got it all wrong. because I was thinking if I get good at something, then it's going to be fun. So I need to work really hard so I can become good at it.

I like playing guitar. And at one point, like in high school, I played a lot. I became really good. It was super fun. But then I realized, but it was fun from the start, even when I was just getting into it. And I enjoyed it. And that's why I became good. But now I was like working really hard so I could become good at something so it would become fun.

So I like turned it all around the motivation. I should follow my motivation instead of like follow like think if I just become this successful or if I just become this good at this then it's going to be fun. No, follow what is fun and you're going to become good at that. And then that can be your like livelihood. So when I was starting out, yeah, I didn't know that you can work in movies and commercials in this way. But I just did it. I was naive. I was like, oh, yeah, sure.

I can try to learn that software. And then it just happens. And it felt like I was really lucky. But when I look back, it wasn't. It was just I was taking all the opportunities that I saw. Oh, this looks fun. Let's try that. Oh, I overheard that conversation.

with where my my classmate got interviewed. Oh, maybe I should apply to them. Yeah, let's do it. And then when I got older and I started to think about, yeah, but maybe I need to get more, like maybe I should work on cooler projects. Maybe we started working at ILP was a good, good thing. Like remember when I told you about this friend who said,

maybe you should work at ILP so you can work with really talented people and learn a lot, that was what she said because she probably saw that that would motivate me but when I worked there I thought it's the cool projects that motivate me yeah yeah so if I if I just would have reframed it while I was there maybe I would still be there as an artist if I could just focus on yeah I'm learning this awesome new tools so I'm becoming really good at this and it's so much fun and maybe I should try this because I like that. But instead I was focusing on the wrong,

wrong things. So this is something that I really think, yeah, that's something I, I wish the next generation can be a bit more aware of, like their self, self-knowledge to know themselves better. And do some, some introspection. I actually get my students to think about these things. What actually motivates me?

and when they're going out applying for internships and stuff like that so they know where they should should apply so i think that's a big thing and i think that's because i've always been a nerd i've been really focused on like doing stuff never never thinking about my inside what's going on inside on me but when i started to do that and a whole new world opened up And I learned so much. But then it was a bit too late. I've gone really far down this bad spiral going into a depression.

So now I feel I have a really long way to climb back. But I'm working on it. And having kids really helps. Of course, they make you really frustrated sometimes. But you also laugh a lot, which I didn't do before. getting kids because yeah I had been on that spiral I feel like I feel like listening to what you were saying that I could definitely see some examples from my own life and my own career as well so I found it relatable and I definitely hope that it will help people to realize these things

because it's very important and I think that many people probably go through this stuff but maybe don't have a courage to talk about it or don't have anyone to discuss it with. Yeah. So it's great. There is someone who's speaking about it. And are. Do you do some still some kind of coaching or helping people when they need? Not not on a like a structured structured way.

I have my my students that I teach and I'm there. and before they go out on their internships, I've been sitting down one-on-one with them and talking about these things or like what motivates you, where do you think you would fit in? And then in some cases people bring up these like, yeah, I'm struggling with this. And so then I feel like, oh, this is really important.

let's just talk about this for an hour even though the next student is waiting but yeah this is like life life or death could be in some cases if you're dramatic so I try to do it when I have when I see the opportunity and it's also something I've been thinking about

like in my podcast I interviewed someone who's been in VFX for a long time that later became a coach Deborah Coleman and she inspired me to maybe I should actually take a coaching class

learn how to do that and maybe I can do that as a like the fourth thing I have going not enough in your life yeah but I also feel like just talking to people in the podcast interviewing

people then you get a bit of bit of this as well because a lot of what when I talk to someone like it's VFX supervisor a lot of what we talk about is like the mental things how do you motivate the team and how do you like how do you deal with your inner demons and stuff like that yeah and it's good to hear that even people successful like this or people who are way higher on a ladder than you are experience these things and, you know, think about this and have issues like you do. So it's very helpful and helps you to relate. So it's great.

And as we discussed the podcast a few times, feel free to promote it. Tell us more about the podcast. Yeah, so the podcast is called VFX Talks. And it's about leadership and development in the VFX industry. so it's very narrow so I have just a few potential listeners but I feel like this is I couldn't find anything any other source talking about these subjects so when I was an artist manager I tried to find like how do you do this how do you deal with these kinds of situations how do you become a lead for example but I couldn't find any proper resources for it so that's why I felt like

okay, this is my niche. This is where I'm, I know the VFX part. I try to learn the leadership and mentoring part. And what I try to do, like there are a lot of VFX podcasts talking about, okay, how did you do this effect in this movie or talking about people's career? But I try to be very focused. Like, okay, what's your background? Get that out of the way.

and then okay when you first became a supervisor what was your struggles how did you overcome them what is your like what advice would you give to someone getting into the industry now or i've talked to interview i've interviewed recruiters how do you what's the best way to to apply to a company how should you structure your CV or do you need the CV or is it just sending in your best work yeah so i've tried to be really really actionable and like yeah not focused too much on not being inspiring as this this show is more about like talking about the journey and and being inspiring but I try to be much more like getting down to yeah yeah from a different angle yeah yeah and obviously it's not easy but

are there perhaps some key lessons or key takeaways that you can share from your podcast, something that is important and maybe even to lure people to listen to your show? I think the biggest takeaway for me is that I was so, so afraid of starting it. And I felt like an imposter. Who am I to do this? And what do I know? And also putting it out there, I felt really afraid to put out my own opinions and like what will people think about me? But when I finally decided, okay, I'm just going to do it. And I think I took this advice from Tim Ferriss. He said that just do it, do six episodes.

And then, then you like force yourself to do six episodes. Then you're going to see how it is. And then you're probably going to continue because then you realize it's actually fun. And what I realized is that the response is so great. like I don't I don't have that many listeners like I don't know a thousand per episode if I'm lucky but I get a lot of people just sending emails on LinkedIn saying oh I listen to your your podcast and like thank you for I really needed that or you're my workout body now I listen to your your show when I'm at the gym and and people like

in the cool companies like oh yeah i'm i'm a supervisor at this company or i'm a lead at this company and i've shared your episode with my team and then it's like wow maybe maybe i have something to offer even though i feel as an imposter still so i think that the key takeaway there is to like if there is something that you feel you want to get out I felt I need to do something with this. Then there's probably a need for it. There's probably someone who wants to listen to it. And also this like trying to not think about,

trying to not look at how many listeners I get, but actually see the quality of the listeners. If the people are really invested and they actually take the time to write to me, then that's actually more important than if I would have many more listeners and no one would comment or like you thank me that like then you don't know who they are now it's much more personal and I think that is really that's really motivating. I agree and a little side note that your podcast was I told you before by those one of the inspirations for me when I was starting as well because since I was worked

in VFX company. Your podcast is VFX related. And I don't know how I found it, but I listened to it. And it was one of the inspiration. So thank you as well. Yeah, that's, that's awesome. I'm super happy to hear that. Yeah, I would also like to ask you or discuss some projects that you worked on, because we didn't really discussed what you worked on. So can you maybe pick some that for some reason, maybe you enjoyed, we're unique, we're challenging, or just interesting to share. Yeah, so one recent project is a crazy one. I did a drone show. I animated drones for Louis Vuitton.

They had a fashion show in Hong Kong before Christmas. And I got asked by this random guy, like, okay, can you jump on this project? It's just one week and we'll try to figure it out. And I felt, oh, this is a, this is scary, first of all. But it's also pretty cool. It's a nice, like, it's a technical challenge and it's an animation challenge. Okay, I shouldn't be so boring and just say no. So I said yes and started doing it.

And in like a project like that, there are usually a lot of people. involved so in this case there were many layers like there was this yeah my my client who got hired by one agency or studio who got hired by an agency who worked for Louis Vuitton and during the project like the guy I worked with he was he's really young and really talented super nice guy but he couldn't really say no to the client Because of course, this is a pretty important client. So when they come with changes, he couldn't push back and say, no, we don't have time for that. And I didn't want to be so boring and push back.

And I felt, yeah, but we can probably make it. But then that continued on and like, okay, we're closing on. We have to deliver something. But then we were still like still getting changes. and in the end I like we work day day and night and I started getting panic attacks and it was horrible and actually I couldn't finish it I made everything but I couldn't like sue it all together so he managed to my my client managed to find another one who couldn't another guy who could actually stitch it together in the end but it was really cool to see like the live stream from Hong Kong when a thousand drones were flying in my like the the ways I've animated them and seeing Farrell Williams walk on the runway and like looking up at the drones that I animated here in Stockholm that was a bit surreal so was it in the end beautiful perfect as

as if it was smooth production it wasn't a smooth production but the results if you see Yeah, we had one week and we had to figure out how to animate drones. How do you do that? And they shouldn't fly too close to each other. So we had like, yeah, we have to animate this like crashing wave. But the drones have to be like 1.6 meters apart and they can't move faster than this. Like in the horizontal axis or faster than this in Y axis. So there were a lot of technical challenges.

And I think we managed to solve. everything in those in the limits of the project it was a really I guess a really successful project but I wish I wish to do something like that again but with more time and more less pressure yeah exactly but that that was a really interesting one because that was so much like a completely new thing like I know how to animate points in Houdini that was what we did basically just animating points and tell them what color and how to light up and dim down. But then having all these physical limitations, they can't crush into each other. That was an interesting new challenge that you never have to think about when you just work digitally with VFX.

So that was an interesting one. And I learned that, okay, I need to be able to put my foot down when I think, okay, I'm not going to be able to deliver anything if we don't say no to this feedback now. Then we will miss the deadline. There are specific maybe type of projects or specific, I don't know, area that you enjoy doing the most? Yeah, what I enjoy the most now is like small visual effects projects. So that is when you maybe have something filmed. I had one project where I did for a commercial they had filmed inside a house and the ceiling was supposed to crack.

So there's this guy who looks up in the ceiling. And so I had to do like a camera track and then do a crack in the ceiling and to match all the lighting and everything. And then simulate like pieces of like what are you called drywall plaster. falling down and dust and stuff like that and then comp it all together if you're in the VFX lingo. So that that is what I really enjoy now doing all of those steps. Like if you're in a big company, there's usually one guy doing the camera tracking, just matching the camera movement exactly. And then one other guy who does the like modeling of the crack and one guy is doing the simulation. But I really like these small projects where I get to

do all of those steps. So it's not like a fancy Hollywood crack, but it's a it works in the commercial. They're like three three different shots. So that is something I really really enjoy. It must be great for your portfolio because then you can say I did everything. Because often when people want to put it into their portfolio, it's not as easy because plenty of people work on it. And it's a bit different. of you.

Where can people see your portfolio or even your work? You can promote yourself? Yeah, I think the most, what I want to get out there is the podcast, and that is called VFX Talks, and you can find it, like wherever you get your podcast, you can go to VFX Talks.com. If you want to see my very not updated portfolio, you can go to AlibxTor. you can go to Alfredlindal.com or just Google my name. But that's not, that's what I do to make money and explore the creative side a bit,

but not. It's the podcast that I'm most like trying to get out there. But still, yeah, I have two kids now. I don't have a lot of time for the podcast. So it's very, like sporadic. but hopefully if people start to pressure me after this I'll have to put in the time for it yeah I will make sure to add links to the shownot

and since you are juggling so many things do you want to also say something about your time management it must be quite hard so you know prioritizing stuff making sure that you don't go crazy and, you know, how do you deal with it? If you want to boost your online presents, check out our digital marketing agency called Trailblazed. You can also enroll in a Skillshare course

called the 10 Tips on How to Succeed in Your Creative Career, which was inspired by the podcast. Lastly, make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter called Creative Spotlight to stay up to date with the show and more. Links are in the show notes. Thanks. Yeah, that's a really hard one because now I feel like there's no air in my system. I go up, bring up the two kids, give them breakfast, take one of them to preschool because my girlfriend is up breastfeeding at night.

So it's hard for her to, like she needs a few hours or one hour to at least sleep a bit. And then I'm just off to work and then I can work for maybe six hours. And then I have to go home and cook or and then put one of them to bed. I go out with a stroller, make one of them fall asleep. And then then you're so tired to like, I can't really work on that much afterwards. So that's something I really struggle with now. And I think that is also something that I've learned over the years that I need to make time for what makes me feel, good. So I need to work out pretty regularly. That really helps me like wash away the stress.

So and that's also like alone time. I go to the gym by myself. I just sewn into my things and do whatever deadlifts or squats or I go out and run. And and I also need that like sitting at the cafe journaling. So sometimes in the mornings, even though I feel I'm too stressed to, like, I don't have time for this. But if I go to a cafe, sit down, have a cup of tea or whatever, and write down, okay, what do I actually have to do today? Then I can structure everything, make it like, okay, this is actually the priority. This, I'm worried for no reason because this isn't, like, this doesn't have to be done. today, I can do that tomorrow.

And when I do that, when I manage to like force myself to go to the gym after the kids have fallen asleep, for example, and I take the time to do some journaling in the morning, then I know I feel better than if I just, like, if I'm so stressed that I don't make time for that, then I'm just going to be more stressed. So for me, that that is the key. And also understanding, like when I talk to my partner, my, my girlfriend saying, like, okay, I really need to go to the gym. That is going to help her in the end. It's not that I'm not leaving her to take care of the kids just because I want to go have fun.

But it's because I want to stay sane. I'm going to be a worst dad and worst partner if I don't get that hour in the gym. So I think understanding that I need that, I, otherwise everything else is going to fall apart and I'm going to be depressed and yeah like then I won't be able to perform at work and now will be a I will scream at the kids yeah that that's a big big lesson there I understand myself I understand that and I can relate to it it's so like when you go to gym it's not just that you want to but it helps you and it kind of affects the rest of the day your mood and just

helps you to deal with everything just in a different way. Yeah, and also little things like making your bed in the morning. Now my girlfriend is usually sleeping while I get up. But if you do that and you get your small win, like, okay, I did something. Then you're on the right path. Start of the day, especially. Yeah. And also knowing when you work the best.

So I work best in the morning. And now it's really hard for me to, because I have to bring the kids up, take them out of bed and make the oldest ready for preschool. But I'm looking forward to when I can get out of bed, just go to a cafe, structure my day, go to work, do the most difficult things first. like at seven in the morning. So I know that's when I work the best. That's how I'm wired. But then also to what I'm trying to think about, a friend of mine, his dad told him like,

there's always, there's time for that. Like, okay, I want to do this. I want to do that. Yeah, you can, there's time to do that later. You don't have to. I used to have a motorcycle and do crazy motorcycle adventures riding around Iceland, like gravel, deserts. And when I got kids, I sold my motorcycle, but I still have my gear down in the basement. And I know that there's going to be time to pick that up again.

So I don't have to stress about like, I'm missing all of that. And the same with everything. it's hard to think about it like like this but I don't have to do everything at the same time. I can now maybe it's more important to focus on the family. Maybe I don't have to develop my business as much. I can just do like manage it. And then there's going to be a time when my kids don't want to hang out with me anyways. So then I can focus on that again.

Yeah. And that really, really helps to think about. even though it's hard to remember. No, I understand. I think it's about priorities, what is the most important now. And as you said, don't need to rush it, but actually enjoy the moment because then once your kids grow up, it's too late, obviously, and you don't get a chance to experience it again. Yeah, so Alfred, we spoke a bit longer than I originally said, but since there was a lot to discuss. I didn't want to miss out.

But if there is something that you would like to share or I forgot to ask you or even to promote anything else, now is your time. So feel free to share what you want. Yeah, I think there's one thing that I'm struggling with a lot at the moment that I'm thinking about a lot. As I'm approaching 40 and I'm teaching. So I get to see these really talented young people with so much energy and so much time. They don't have any kids, no obligations. And I see them being better than me at some parts of 3D. And I feel like, oh, shit, I should really get back at it.

And I need to develop more. And for example, with AI now coming into the VFX industry, how should we do? Or machine learning is probably a better term. How I need to like be up to speed with all the new tools. so I don't like so I can like continue to be competitive and deliver the best stuff. And that can be really stressful. And it is for me it's like, oh fuck, I need to do all. I need to learn this.

I need to learn Unreal, for example, Unreal Engine because that's something that's really taken over. Yeah, yeah. But then then I realize. but is this really what I want to do? Is this? And should I, should I do all of that myself? Or maybe I can actually, I'm planning to next year bring in an intern and maybe hire someone.

So if I have a junior who is really motivated and keeps up with all of that just because they think it's fun, then that's probably a better way of doing it than for me to, like as I said before, like forcing myself to do all of these things. And instead if I focus on. Yeah, exactly. And if I focus on what I enjoy and I enjoy the podcast and maybe that will grow into something instead. So then maybe I want need to do be hands on doing AI art in the future. Maybe I can have a team of people working with me and I can use all of my.

like experience in my knowledge and trying to be the best boss and trying to make them develop instead. So this is something that I work like struggling with a lot now and thinking about like why am I not as good at this person. But then realizing but I'm good at all of these other things. Maybe I should keep doing these other things and not try to like be better at them in all of those other areas. So that's something. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's so when it comes to that we tend to compare ourselves to other people. So I think something that all of us sometimes struggle with, because, you know, social media, internet, you see someone younger, better, more successful and everything. And just sometimes compare yourself, which of course doesn't help you.

May give you some inspiration, but at the same time, it makes you feel like you haven't achieved anything. So it was a good, a good point as well. Yeah, I think, I think that's it. I think we've covered a lot of really interesting things and I can talk a lot when I when I'm getting started. No, it was a great chat. Learned a lot, a lot of insightful information. For me, it was great to speak with you because as I said, you are one of my inspirations when I was starting. And I will be following your journey, excited when you deliver on what you promised on this show. And definitely in the future always will be open to do part, part two of our discussion.

Yeah, sounds awesome. Thank you so much for having me. Now I feel like you've been so much more, you've delivered so many more episodes on your podcast and all this nice packaging that I don't have. Now I feel like, oh, damn it, I need to step up my dream. If anything, I just hope it will be inspiration for you and hopefully some motivation. So thank you, Alfred. We'll stay in touch and wish you good luck. Thank you very much.

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