The Leanpub Podcast 🎙️ feat. Alex Telford, Author of Practical Python for Production Under Pressure

Episode Details

In this episode of the Leanpub Podcast, Len Epp interviews Alex Telford, Senior Pipeline and Software Engineer and author of Practical Python for Production Under Pressure. Alex shares insights from his career in VFX and animation, where developers must build and fix tools quickly while productions are running full tilt.

They discuss the origins of his book, written to help technical directors, software engineers, and indie developers solve real-world problems with Python under intense time constraints. Alex explains how his experience at studios informed his pragmatic approach, and he emphasizes the importance of clear communication, clean interfaces, and sustainable practices in chaotic environments.

The episode is packed with valuable tips for coders working in high-pressure creative industries, and for anyone managing fast-paced technical projects in production..

This interview was recorded on May 20, 2025.

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About the Book

Developing tools and pipelines for use in Film and Games is a unique challenge, where we must finely balance speed, stability, usability, and performance.

Everything is always urgent, everything is always broken, and we developers are left scrambling to hold the system together while begging production for time to "do things properly" and clean up accumulated code debt.

In a sense, it's like being in a pit crew; getting the driver back out there is your number one priority, sometimes with more duct tape than we care to admit.

That is what this book is about: how to deliver better tools while facing the uphill battle of a production in full swing and hopefully retaining some semblance of sanity at the end.

Prerequisites

This book is aimed at TDs and technical artists with an interest in production pipelines, but as it's mostly theory you should be able to get by with the basics.

Provided you have some experience with python and PySide you should get along fine.

About the Author

Kia ora koutou, I am Alex Telford, a Senior Pipeline and Software Engineer from Paraparaumu, New Zealand.

I have been working in the VFX and Games production world for a little over 12 years; prior to that, I worked as an artist doing graphic design, websites, and short commercials.

I have experience both working side by side with artists on the frontline of productions in panic mode and developing long-term software in larger engineering teams.

Leanpub book LAUNCH 🚀 Practical Python for Production Under Pressure by Alex Telford

Clips From This Episode of the Leanpub Podcast