Not One Right Way

How do people get jobs in animation, film, gaming? Marve Aguiñaga and Melissa Manuel sit down with people across all these worlds to find out who they are, how they "got in" and who they know. Turns out the entertainment industry can be pretty small and there's not one right way to do it!

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Latest episodes

14 April 2025

Kal Athannassov (Jentry Chau vs The Underworld, Carol and the End of the World)

Marve and Melissa welcome Character Designer & Art Director Kal Athannassov (@dr_kal_drungus)! We discuss how Kal's student thesis film from Ringling The Wishgranter opened so many doors for work, becoming an AD at Baobab Studios, to working at Netflix during the pandemic, and the development work he did for Jentry! Along with lots of fun Kit and Chang creation lore, major spoiler warning if you haven't watch Jentry Chau yet!

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55:50

31 March 2025

Monisha Selvaraj (V for Virat, Call of Duty: Vanguard, Modern Warfare III)

Marve and Melissa welcome Associate Producer Monisha Selvaraj (@monishaselva)! We discuss finding going to school in India, learning not really wanting to be an animator, but rather production work is real, the importance of empathy in all roles, experiencing a layoff and learning to get back in touch with your health, and becoming an Insta Influencer to cope with it all!

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01:22:34

17 March 2025

Miguel Baltazar (Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny, Inside Job, Boss Baby: Back in Business)

Marve and Melissa welcome Storyboard Artist Miguel Baltazar(@miguelbaltazar_art)! We discuss what it means to be a storyboard artist, the importance of emotion in storytelling, how our teachers inspire us, and once again the value of luck, timing, and preparation.

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01:11:17

03 March 2025

Nicole Pacheco (Toei Animation, DTVA Development)

Marve and Melissa welcome Production Assistant Nicole Pacheco! We discuss going to Florida State University for Film School, finding out you don't need to know how to draw to work in animation, what it takes to work in animation development, and how to pitch your show to executives from someone who has heard many, many pitches!

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01:10:35

17 February 2025

Quyen-Vi Nguyen (Call of Duty: Vanguard & Modern Warfare III, Gameheads)

Marve and Melissa welcome Associate Producer Quyen-Vi Nguyen (@thelittlebirdemperor)! We discuss the trauma of being a first gen college student and the burnout that comes with it, what VFX and Lighting really means in video games, the amazing organization that is Gameheads, and to remember to fail fast, fail better.

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51:56

03 February 2025

Sing Khamnouane (Tangled, Book of Life, Scoob!, The Monkey King)

Marve and Melissa welcome Assistant Professor of Practice (Previous Character Modeling Supervisor) Sing Khamnouane! We discuss how Sing got his start as a Disney trainee working on Tangled (he made the satchel and the flower), tells the amazing/heartbreaking story of watching the last 2D film be made at Disney Animation, help Jorge Guiterrez make his first film a reality, and lots of wisdom on how to find your path. Get some extra credit and learn all about 3D modeling!

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01:02:52