Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to become an animator?

Guido Muzzarelli:

Ray Harryhausen's Sinbad movies and Clash of the Titans inspired me to become an animator when I was young.  Films like Jurassic Park and Toy Story drove me towards computer animation.

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Animation Mentor:
Who would you consider your mentor to be in animation?

Guido Muzzarelli:

My first mentor, I would consider to be Dan MacLaughlin at UCLA film school.  I took a cell animation class from him and found it very inspirational.

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Animation Mentor:
Who is your favorite character that you've animated and why?

Guido Muzzarelli:

My favorite character I animated is Templeton the Rat, because he is a sassy character voiced by Steve Buschemi.  There's a character in a current show I'm working on that also has sass.

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Animation Mentor:
What was your first animation job?

Guido Muzzarelli:

My first paying animation job was animating sentinels for Matrix Revolutions.  I started out doing layout for the sequences Tippett Studio was hired to do, in which a swarm of sentinels attack Neo's ship.  The layout got a good reaction in dailies, because I infused a lot of animation detail in the layout (which of course was not the correct way to do layout).  I just got really excited about adding animation detail to the layout and stayed long hours off the clock to do it.  I would be in the studio around midnight, really excited about doing the shot, and would encounter various bleary eyed TD or compositor folks who just wanted to finish for the night.  Though layout should be a simple clear diagram for the look of the shot, the way I added more animation detail really helped define the feel of the shot, how exciting it could be.  After that I was brought onto the animation team officially and worked with a group of brilliant animators headed by Simon Allen and Tom Schellesny.  And, strangely enough, I'm one of the few folks who really liked Matrix 3 (not Matrix 2).

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Animation Mentor:
If you could do one thing differently on your journey to becoming an animator, what would it be?

Guido Muzzarelli:

The one thing I'd do differently in my path towards animation is to get involved in computer animation in the early days.  In the early 90's I met a guy through a family friend who was hired to do cg fx for one of the Batman movies, using Alias Poweranimator.  Back then I was more involved in editing for music videos with an eye on a directing path, so I didn't pay it much mind.

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Animation Mentor:
How has the Animation Mentor experience been for you so far?

Guido Muzzarelli:

Being a campus mentor is great.  Although I don't currently have enough time to devote to being a full mentor there, I am constantly impressed by the high standards of both the students and the mentors.  There's a real sense of a craft being explored, and a reverence for the tradition of animation.  And of course, there's the ever-so-important practical development of a skill set for the real working world of animation.  I think these students are extremely lucky to have such a school devoted to animation.  I wish it was around when I was a bright-eyed eager young lad.

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Animation Mentor:
What is your favorite feature / tool on Animation Mentor?

Guido Muzzarelli:

My favorite feature would either be the video training tools or the cruise campus feature.  Very easy to navigate the site and absorb and disperse information.