Standing Out in Motion Design: Joel Pilger's Strategies for Success

In the latest episode of the School of Motion Podcast, host Joey Korenman sits down with industry veteran Joel Pilger—a name synonymous with success in the motion design world. With a career spanning over two decades, Joel has:

Founded and led Impossible Pictures, a top creative studio that grossed over $40 million and garnered major awards.
Advised leading independent studios worldwide, including Cream, Giant Ant, Laundry, Mighty Nice, Polyester, Sarofsky, and STATE.
Launched FORUM, a community where studio founders master the art of business together.

Tune in as Joel shares invaluable insights on not just surviving, but thriving, in the evolving motion design landscape. See the corresponding blog post here: https://www.schoolofmotion.com/blog/j...

👉 CHAPTERS 👈
00:00 Introduction to 2024: A Year in Review
01:15 Economic Theories and Top 10 Factors
04:28 The Cyclical Nature of Market Trends
08:55 The Evolution of Motion Design
11:33 Standing Out: The Importance of Studio Identity
25:49 Looking Ahead: Optimism for 2025
33:57 The Role of Tools in Modern Motion Design
38:11 Advice for Freelancers: Selling Your Services
41:51 The Challenge of Selling Innovation
43:35 The Value of Passion Projects
46:00 The Importance of a Business Coach
50:11 Marketing and Sales Strategies
57:12 From Order Taker to Expert
01:00:42 How Many Clients Do You Really Need?
01:04:27 Derailing the Pitch
01:09:34 Speaking Brand: Going Direct
01:14:11 Finding Your Unique Positioning

🗒️ SHOW NOTES

Joel Pilger https://www.joelpilger.com/forum
Joel Pilger’s Podcast, Fabulist https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Erica gorichow https://gorochow.com/
Hayley Akins http://www.hayleyakins.com/
Amanda Russell   / amanda-russell-cream-studio  
Barton Damer   / barton-damer-92a32918  
Jorge R. Canedo E. / Jr.canest https://www.linkedin.com/in/jrcanest/...
Ronny Young   / ronnyyoung  
John LePore http://johnnymotion.com/
EJ Hassenfratz https://www.instagram.com/eyedesyn/?h...
Ryan Seacrest https://www.instagram.com/ryanseacres...
Beyonce https://www.beyonce.com/
The Rock https://www.instagram.com/therock/?hl=en
Justin Barnes   / justinbarnesversus  
Marty Romances https://test.martiromances.com
Andy Baker https://www.andyjbaker.com/
Dan Sullivan https://www.strategiccoach.com/
Cream https://wearecream.com/
Already Been Chewed https://www.alreadybeenchewed.tv/
Pep Rally https://peprallyinc.com/
BIEN https://thisisbien.com/
Ordinary Folk https://www.ordinaryfolk.co/
OddBeast https://oddbeast.tv/
Territory Studios https://territorystudio.com/
Versus https://www.weareversus.tv/
Impossible Pictures https://www.impossiblepictures.com/
BlackBox Infinite https://blackboxinfinite.com/About
The Mill https://themill.com/
Psyop https://www.psyop.com/
Apple Vision Pro F1 proof of concept   / c2c_cvwj3kv  
Bible Project https://www.ordinaryfolk.co/project/b...
Fuse https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_F...
Final Cut Pro https://www.apple.com/final-cut-pro/
Premiere https://www.adobe.com/products/premie...
Avid https://www.avid.com/
Flame https://www.autodesk.com/products/fla...
Smoke https://www.autodesk.com/products/smo...
Cinema 4D https://www.maxon.net/en/cinema-4d
Rive https://rive.app/
Unreal Engine https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US
Cavalry https://cavalry.scenegroup.co/
RevThink https://www.revthink.com/
Pink Floyd - The Wall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wall
RFP/RFQ/RFI https://cobalt.net/rfi-rfq-rfp-whats-...
Kevin Kelly https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_K...)
Donald Miller https://storybrand.com/