Animation Mentor is putting the student highlight back into the hands of the students themselves.  We let students create whatever they want – revealing themselves by sharing video, text, and anything else they feel is appropriate.  If you are currently an Animation Mentor student and you’d like to participate in this, send an email to newsletter (at) animationmentor.com and we’ll do our best to fit you in!

Patrick Gschwind - Class 6 - Short Film Production

Animation Mentor:
What inspired you to learn animation?

Patrick Gschwind:
I think what inspires me the most in learning animation is that I can create life – something that feels real and alive on paper or on a computer screen. You can create all different kinds of creatures and bring them to life. That’s the thing I always wanted to learn and the thing I’m still learning now. If you can create something that makes people happy or sad, something that they will never forget, or something that they want to see become real, then you have really achieved something.

Patrick Gschwind:
To work in a studio, where everyone is passionate about what they are doing. I like environments where everyone knows each other – like a big family – that could also be an animation department in a big studio. I don’t want to work in a factory where I’d just feel like a cog in a wheel, where I’d come in at 8AM and go at 5PM and then at the end of the day I wouldn’t know what I did exactly. I just remember that most people are in the office more than they are at home, so it’s better to find a place that I really like.
Of course I want, and have to, earn money, but for me this is not the most important thing. It’s more important that I’m happy where I am and I’m happy with what I’m doing.

Patrick Gschwind:
I joined Animation Mentor in January 2007 and to be honest, I didn’t expect too much. I just wanted to learn animation because in Switzerland we don’t have the possibility to learn it – there are no schools that teach this art. To have the opportunity to learn online on my own, with teachers who have a lot of feature movie experience and who like to share this passion about animation, is a chance of a lifetime.

I remember the day where I saw the video news for the first time. I was completely excited! It created a feeling of connectedness with the community of Animation Mentor. You have people from all around the world, and everyone can see the other’s work and critique it, so you get so much feedback from different cultures and different people. Also with the support team and student care, you really feel that there are people behind this website, behind this school, and it’s not like something where you just get a login, get your assignments, and that’s it. It feels like a little family, spread all around the world. They really care about their students.

The first mentor you get is an important relationship as it is your first impression. My mentor (Dimos Vrysellas) really cared about the students and introduced me in a nice and funny way to the world of animation which was awesome.

Patrick Gschwind:
PLANNING! Spend a lot of time planning your shot. Plan what you want to do and what you want to achieve. Believe me, if you plan your shot it will look better. And try to keep it simple. I also made the mistake of overacting my first dialogue shot – it was a subtle dialogue and the hands of the character were moving around all the time - with no reason.

Patrick Gschwind:
Hard to say, I think there are a lot of great animated scenes, but at the moment my favorite one is Pixar’s Presto. I love how they animated the rabbit; it feels so real. After my girlfriend saw this one for the first time, she wanted go out and buy a rabbit :)
I also like The Sword in the Stone from Disney. In the scene where everyone tries to take the sword out of the stone there are some excellent body mechanics.

Patrick Gschwind:
To my fellow students: Thank you for the great time I’m having here, you guys all rock! And I hope to work with some of you in the future!

To the prospective students: Be aware that this school is a lot of work! But it is also a lot of fun. Try to plan your time and put in as much as you can. I speak from my own experience. Right now I wish I had put more energy into my work. The more you put into Animation Mentor, the more you will learn and get from it. Plan your week well and try to find a good balance between work, Animation Mentor, and your private life. Go to the Animation Mentor events to meet your fellow students in real life and be a part of the community. Animation Mentor is a short time in your life, so enjoy it and forget about your private life for awhile. ;)

If you would like to contact me with further questions about Animation Mentor, you can send me an email at patrick@blub.ch.