School of Motion Podcast

About School of Motion Podcast

The #1 podcast for designers who animate, animators who design, and anyone who is 3D-curious. We interview Designers, Animators, 3D Artists, Producers, Studio Owners and other folks related to motion design and creativity. We get deep into the geeky world of Adobe After Effects, Cinema 4D, Photoshop and Illustrator. We talk about the business and art of Motion Design. Dig in.

Publisher

School of Motion: Design & Animation Training for MoGraph Artists

Category

arts · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Mar 2017

Latest episode

14 Jan 2026

Latest episodes

27 of 198 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   14 Jan 2026TRANSCRIPT

   The Founders of Rive Spill the Tea on Interactive Animation! | SOM Podcast

   Joey sat down with Guido and Luigi Rosso—the brother founders behind Rive—to dig into what makes this platform different, where it's headed, and why teams at Spotify, Duolingo, and LinkedIn are building entire interactive experiences with it! Get more deets in the blog post: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/rive-podcast

2. 

   29 Dec 2025

   The HONEST Truth About Motion Design in 2025 | Year in Review

   It's that time of year again—the School of Motion End of Year Podcast is here, and this one is our longest yet... by a lot. Buckle up for an in-depth look at everything that shaped motion design in 2025, and a look ahead to 2026! 🗒️ SHOW NOTES https://schoolofmotion.com/eoy2025 This year, we're joined by 17 industry veterans and special guests to break down what "motion design" even means anymore, how AI is actually being used in production, and the real state of the motion design economy. We cover major software updates from Adobe, Maxon, Unreal Engine, and more, discuss the recovery of the VFX industry, and explore how motion designers are expanding into UX, real-time graphics, and interactive experiences. This podcast represents our commitment to helping motion designers understand the bigger picture and make informed decisions about their careers. Thanks for being part of the School of Motion community this year! THANK YOU to this year's contributors: John LePore - Co-Founder, Blackbox Infinite Ivan Witteborg - UX Motion Designer,  @Google Justin Cone - Executive Director of Communication, Buck & Residence @SternFX  - Motion Designer & Educator Kyle Hamrick - Motion Designer, Editor & Educator Bekki Leahy - Motion Designer & Illustrator Greg Stewart - Lead Animator, @bibleproject @JJMotionStudio  - Director & High Torchbearer, We Ride at Dawn @sweetboy.motion  - 3D Artist & Educator Urban Bradesko - Founder,  @DoubleJumpAcademy  & Crispy Chicken VFX Dan Maurer - Co-founder,  @cartandhorse Kris Bargen - Co-founder,  @cartandhorse Erin Sarofsky - Owner & Creative Director, Sarofsky PJ Richardson - ECD, Director & Co-founder, Laundry @thejoelpilger  - Founder, Forum Hayley Akins - Founder,  @MotionHatch Caleb Ward - Founder,  @curiousrefuge 👉 CHAPTERS 👈 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:15 Motion Design Present & Future 00:17:54 School of Motion Roundup 00:31:10 Our Favorite Work from 2025 00:52:26 Artists & Studios We Loved in 2025 01:20:24 The State of Adobe 01:32:42 Photoshop & Illustrator 01:43:10 After Effects 01:53:13 Premiere 02:06:12 Substance Painter 02:14:43 Figma on Our Minds 02:26:53 Descript FTW 02:28:43 Affinity: Adobe Killer? 02:38:22 Here Comes the Cavalry 02:54:00 The Rive Lovefest 03:27:51 Lottifiles Update 03:32:22 Greyscalegorilla Merger & More 03:36:05 Maxon's Moves 03:51:56 The Autograph Curveball 03:58:41 Will Blender Blend? 04:22:09 Houdini Happenings 04:29:17 Unreal is Unreal 04:55:14 Lottielab 04:57:27 Simulon 05:00:34 Spline & Hana 05:04:18 Womp Womp 05:09:09 Nomad Sculpt 05:13:22 Zbrush 05:16:00 Ad Industry Consolidation 05:25:49 Marketing Budgets Spread Thin 05:32:19 The Great Bifurcation 05:51:14 Pour One Out for The Mill 05:52:28 National Design Studio 05:53:00 Ben Fryc Makes a Keyboard 05:58:47 Contra is Cool 06:00:31 A New Vimeo? 06:05:42 The Motion Economy 06:16:18 Macroeconomic Trends 06:21:28 Return to Office 06:26:11 The Two Races 06:32:33 The Lost Art of Communication 06:54:21 The Race to the Top 07:21:17 The AI Conversation 07:23:22 Adobe's AI Play 07:37:11 Weavy & ComfyUI 07:49:52 MoveAI 07:53:51 Cascadeur 07:59:46 AI Image Generator Roundup 08:10:53 Firefly & Boards 08:17:41 AI Video Models 08:32:05 The AI Financial Bubble 08:39:16 The AI Vibe Shift 09:04:55 AI's Utility 09:26:01 THAT Coke Ad 09:31:42 How Artists Actually Use AI 09:41:38 The AI Ethics Question 09:49:29 2026 Predictions 🎓 SCHOOL OF MOTION COURSES MENTIONED School of Motion All-Access: https://schoolofmotion.com/all-access School of Motion Team Training: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/training-for-teams Courses & workshops coming soon: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/coming-soon

3. 

   20 Nov 2025

   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

Inside a recent episode

The Founders of Rive Spill the Tea on Interactive Animation! | SOM Podcast

Published 14 Jan 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] And we've seen it from teams like Doolingo has said what they've taken some massively complex files and reworked them with data binding. And not only is it more performant, but the mental model for the people that were working on those files thinking about, I need to build something that goes from this to this. So I'll mock this animation. I'll make that other animation and know now you've got data that will literally let it flow from that state to the next is just a huge reduction of mental load making it much easier for you to then actually be successful at building what you're trying to build. […]

Who has been a guest on School of Motion Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Nikola Todorovic
• Naeem Talukdar
• Sarah Beth Morgan
• Mack Garrison
• Barton Damer

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

28,881,736

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

317 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

104 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 91 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

87

Social presence

97

YouTube

93

Engagement

97

Contact School of Motion Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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