This past Monday I was first able to log into the site. All last week my anticipation had been building at the thought of diving straight into serious animation study. On Monday morning as soon as I woke up, I ran straight to the computer, logged in and found that my first assignment was…to enter my personal info and familiarize myself with the way the site worked. Anti-climactic, to be sure.

I spent all day Monday watching the videos that were available to me. They didn’t immediately share all the secrets to becoming a bad-ass animator, but they were all very well done. In fact, the whole site runs smoothly and is very professional looking, which tends to give me confidence that I’m part of a well thought-out, well developed program.

Monday night I sat in on a question and answer session with the three school founders. It was fun, but a lot of what they had to say I had already heard. The fun came mostly from Bobby “Boom” Beck and Shawn Kelly being so hyper, though Carlos Baena was cool as well.

Earlier tonight (weds) I actually got a chance to meet my mentor: Scott Lemmer. Here is is picture, and what the AM site had to say about him:

Screen Grab of Scott Lemmer's Web Cab
BIO: Scott Lemmer was trained in 3D computer animation at VFS (the Vancouver Film School). Upon completion he was picked up by DNA Productions in Texas. He has been at DNA for the last several years and worked on the “Jimmy Neutron” TV series and is currently working on the second feature film from DNA Productions, “The Ant Bully.”

Turns out, Scott’s a cool guy, although this was to be expected. He’s young, but has 3 years of experience in the industry. My first impression of his overall demeanor is that he seems ready, willing and able to lend a helping hand. Also, this is his first quarter with AM, so this may be a learning experience for him as well. I couldn’t have asked for a better first impression. I think he’s going to be great.

Speaking of great, the other people in Scott’s class are also amazing. They seem extremely fun-loving, supportive, and open to new things: a perfect combination for people I want to work and grow with. Hopefully, I’ll be able to post links to stuff they are producing before too long.

I can’t wait to really get started.