I got a questionnaire from one of the sponsors of the recent Animation Contest (I go by my middle name, Steve):

1. Hi Gary, would you please give a brief introduction about yourself? I'm a retired chemical engineer who has used a slide rule. My primary hobby is short computer 3D animations.
2. How did you make the decision to step into the CG industry? I didn't. Just a hobbyist.
3. Did you still remember your first CG work, what does it look like? Probably something in Bryce/Poser, maybe a NVIATWAS.
4. How did you know the Renderosity Contest? I've been a member of the Renderosity community for many years. I'm not a modeler, I primarily purchase Poser format figures and props since they load seamlessly into Carrara Pro 8.5, my main software for animation. Renderosity is the best source of such content, with great modelers who sell their products for very affordable prices.
5. What inspired you to come up with the idea of making the work "A Christmas Caper"? The contest was titled "The Ghosts of Christmas Past" which brought to mind the great Dickens' story "A Christmas Carol". The animation is sort of a parody of that.
6. Did you meet any difficulties when creating this work? If yes, how did you solve it? I participate in the 48 Hour Film contest here in Houston, which requires a 5 minute video (most are live action) in two days, starting with an assigned character (name & occupation) and prop, and a randomly drawn genre (about twenty total - comedy, western, noir, etc.) Two days is very little time for a five minute animation, there is no time for re-thinking or re-anything. In this contest, I had a month or more, so the problem was not time, but discarding ideas which were too complicated, e.g. ghosts as in the Dickens' story.
7. Did you participate in any other CG competition? See above.
8. Anything else you would like to add or say? Computer animation is a very engrossing activity, I recommend it. The good news is you have complete control over every detail. The bad news is you have complete control over every detail. Here is the animation, "A Christmas Caper": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IBX3znFk_0

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