Michael Berardini
2D Animation
Class of 2009
Hometown: Denver, CO

What has been your favorite class so far and why?

Either Experimental Animation or Thesis. It was amazingly fun to experiment with different types of animation. Especially sand animation and drawing directly onto filmstrip. They created an unrefined look that really appealed to me. On the flip side, in Thesis class I worked on a very traditional animated film. It was great to have a class that brought all my skills together; to make a single film all on my own, from script to storyboard to animation to completion.

Which Liberal Studies or Foundations classes did you find the most surprising or useful?

Life Drawing was definitely the most beneficial class for me. Besides the fact that I love drawing the figure, it was also amazingly helpful for when I started animating characters. You really need to understand the balance, posture and the weight of a character to move it convincingly. There's a major difference between a character moving down stairs and a character walking down stairs.

What did your favorite professor do to earn your respect or admiration?

Early on in the process of animating my thesis film, My Dad the Giant, I was having trouble with a scene. Sam Fleming walked in, looked at my scene, and easily saw what was wrong…I was animating a giant! He needed to move 5 times slower than normal! That quick advice helped me throughout the making of my film. Sam just has that ability to notice the smallest details in any given scene and always has advice on how to make it better. He's surpassed being just a professor and become a mentor for me. He goes out of his way to help me or just talk with me.

How would you describe the students who attend RMCAD? How are they different or similar to students you knew in high school?

I was nervous to go to college. I was a pretty shy guy, but as soon as I got to RMCAD I knew it was where I wanted to be. Being surrounded by like-minded people, who've seen that obscure movie no one else has ever heard of but you, is a great feeling. It's easy to connect with everyone and find something in common.

What do you like about living in Denver/Colorado?

Everything. There's always something to do or something to see. It's even better because this is where my friends are.

How has your life changed since enrolling at RMCAD?

I finally found people exactly like me. I had really close friends in high school, but there was always a distance between us. We just had different tastes and opinions in things. But now I've found a group of friends that are greater than I ever could've imagined. These are people I'll know my entire life. We'll be friends forever and a few days.

What kinds of things do you do when you're not attending classes?

Me and my friends see a movie almost every week. It's almost a routine for us. Movies are what we love. It's no wonder we're going to school to learn how to make them.

Was there a moment when RMCAD changed from "a school" to "my school"?

When I won my first award at the student show, I knew this is what I wanted to do with my life. Up until that point, I knew I was happy animating, but it solidified the fact that other people approved too and I was on the right track. It seems arrogant, but it really was great. People I had never met kept coming up to me and congratulating me saying, "Hey, nice film man!" It's a great feeling when other people see your hard work and enjoy it. It's also a testament to the community at RMCAD. It's small enough for everyone to at least recognize you and feel comfortable enough to approach you and strike up a conversation.

What would you want a prospective student to know about RMCAD?

One thing specifically for animation students—make every project as good as you possibly can. I've seen so many students treat an assignment like a waste of time and put little to no effort into it. That's fine if you just want to graduate, but if you want a job, you can use those assignments in your demo reel or portfolio. Everything you work on in school is one step closer to realizing your dream job.