Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/33055
■ ■ ■ ■ Education Students from The DAVE School, looking forward to a future career in the industry, hone their skills by creating an animated short Eff ects (DAVE) School in Florida set out to write, model, render, and produce a “fan short” for the Star Wars Fan Movie Challenge at the an- nual Star Wars fan gathering, known as Celebration. Created with NewTek’s LightWave 3D software, the animated short, called “Th e Solo Adventures,” follows the experiences of Han Solo and his faithful co-pilot, Chewbacca, from the Star Wars saga. Th e fi lm, which is approximately 5 minutes long, went on to win the Best Ani- mation title and quickly became a fan favorite in this galaxy not so far, far away. Lending navigational guidance to the students was Jeff Sheetz, school director and co-owner. Sharing the co-director title on the proj- Last year, a group of students at the Th e Digital Animation & Visual What was the initial audience reaction to “Th e Solo Adventures”? Audiences really liked the look and feel of this animated ‘fan’ short. Regarding the art direction for some of the ships, like the Millennium Falcon, we took some liberties, but overall, we tried to stay true to the feeling and action of the fi rst three Star Wars fi lms (Episodes IV, V, VI). When did you fi rst get into 3D, and what inspired you? I experienced 3D computer animation way back in the early ’90s, when the fi rst version of [NewTek] LightWave 3D was released. At that time, access to any professional 3D package or system was very hard to obtain and very expensive. When I moved to Lawrence, Kansas, the TV station I was working at had connections with NewTek. Th e commercial producer used its VideoToaster, and I got a chance to work with LightWave and started getting experience in 3D. My friend Bruce Brannon was working with LightWave, and we pooled our money to get a VideoToaster 4000, with ambitions of go- ing to Hollywood. At that time, visual eff ects shops, like Foundation Imagining, were pop- ping up, and the work they were doing on Star Trek just continued to inspire us. I really got my full experience with LightWave when I landed a job doing tech support at NewTek and got to learn about LightWave all day. “The Solo Adventures,” an animated short fi lm that students from The DAVE School created, was a fan favorite at the annual gathering, where the fi lm received top honors. ect were instructors Jason Bichon and Dan Smith (whom Sheetz dubs the school’s “stereoscopic expert”), though the entire team had a part in the writing. Students worked collaboratively on the fi lm’s animation and eff ects during a three-month period at the end of their one year of study. Here, Sheetz discusses the project and workfl ow, as well as how he got into the business of making fi lms and training others. 24 May 2011 What fi lm inspired you? King Kong in the 1970s, I think it was 1976. I was watching the re-make of King Kong (with Jessica Lange) and saw the special eff ects mixed with huge props and the life-size Kong hand that picked up Jessica Lange. I realized that one day very soon, these clumsy and non-believ- able ‘real-world’ special eff ects would all go digital. Th at’s what got me interested in fi lmmaking. Visual eff ects and monster makers, like Rick Baker and John Dykstra, were pioneering new and innovative ways to depict things out in space. Th en, of course, Star Wars came along, and that one fi lm launched the dreams and careers of thousands. St ar W ar s