Do Something Big!
Meet Katherine
High school student Katherine is an award-winning director of computer animated short films. She has attended iD Tech Camps summer camp in Los Angeles for 4 years and taken courses in Video Game Creation, 3D Game Design, 3D Game Modeling with Autodesk® Maya® and Programming in C++ or Java. She was so inspired by her design classes that she continued learning animation when she returned to school. She created two short films, “Subway” and “St. Petersburg,” that captured 1st and 2nd place as well as “Best of Show” at New Mexico’s Digital Desert Youth Film Festival. Katherine plans to continue developing her computer animation skills, and has already started working on a film for next year’s Film Festival.
iD: What do you do for fun when you aren’t at our summer computer camp with Autodesk® Maya?
K: After my experience in 3D Game Modeling with Autodesk Maya, I became extremely interested in animation. I now spend a lot of my time creating animated shorts with Autodesk Maya, and I actually enrolled in an animation class at school. My school teacher was so impressed with two of my films, “Subway” and “St. Petersburg,” that she encouraged me to enter them into the Digital Desert Youth Film Festival. I walked away from the festival with a few awards!
iD: What are your favorite things about our summer camp?
K: It’s great to experience a week’s worth of learning with other students who also share an interest in technology. Not to mention the exposure to the same software the professionals use on a day to day basis.
iD: Does coming to iD help you improve in other aspects of your life besides technology?
K: It helps me realize that there are lots of people out there in the world who hold the same interests that I do.
iD: Is iD a good place to make friends?
K: Definitely…everyone is so friendly! And like I said, we all have the same or similar interests, and that always makes it easier to relate to each other. It’s just a fun atmosphere that encourages creativity and offers the opportunity to meet so many talented individuals.
iD: What are your future goals? Will you be attending college?
K: I definitely want to continue pursuing animation, but I can also see myself getting involved in programming software and video games as well. Having attended iD Tech Camps, it’s opened my eyes to what a great school UCLA is; I’d like to go there when the time comes. And in terms of a career, I’m striving to work for Pixar or maybe even The Cartoon Network.
iD: How has iD impacted these goals?
K: iD Tech Camps has more than impacted my goals…it essentially created my goals because I would have never been so interested in animation or programming if I hadn’t attended iD Tech Camps.
iD: What’s your favorite technology gadget?
K: I work a lot with the Wacom® Bamboo™ Tablet – I really can’t live without it. It is the main device I use to create and design all of my animations.
iD: What’s your favorite video game?
K: I enjoy playing Cubivore.
iD: What’s the #1 way you communicate with your friends?
K: I find texting extremely convenient.
iD: Why do you keep coming back to iD?
K: I keep coming back because I know there is always something else to learn. I also enjoy seeing all of my friends and counselors from previous years, while making new friends as well.
iD: Any advice for future iD Tech Camps students?
K: Try to remain open-minded about everything, and most importantly, have fun with whatever you do – you never know what you might become interested in. Also, reach out to your counselors and listen to what they have to say. They are knowledgeable and provide great advice, but you have to be willing to ask and listen.
iD: Anything else you’d like to add?
K: I’m currently working on a new film for next year’s Film Festival.
Check out some of the cool courses Katherine mentioned. Register early and do something big with iD this summer!
