The teachers, Fred Armstrong (owner of Animatus Studio), Jack Slutsky (now retired from Rochester Institute of Technology) and Tanya Weinberger (widely respected independent animator) gave me a good basis on which to build my animation ambitions. Each had their own areas of expertise and approaches to teaching, and I believe that the combination of their diverse personalities allowed me to fully explore the possibilities of animation.
I immediately realized the prospect of animating some of the songs I had written. Of course at the time this wasn't looked on as likely, because most independent projects were shot on film and much of the computer technology now available was just in its infancy.
Needless to say my initial excitement about creating animation was not connected to the thought of learning a lot of computer programs, but I could see that the computer was in the end going to be the avenue for creating independent shorts.
After animation school I started working with Animatus Studio and there taught myself some of the early 8 bit animation programs. Since those early days I have completed seven animated shorts which have been seen on television and at many film festivals.
Creating these shorts has been a critical supplement to my personal growth and although the production time often seems marathonic, without this process my life would seem somehow lacking.
Even now after over twenty years of working in the animation world I still feel excited about bringing more of my songs and independent stories alive on video. I don't see this ending in the immediate future, but each day I am grateful for the chance to keep being productive.
