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Interview With The Founder of 3D Buzz Jason Busby
Jason Busby is teacher and Director of Animation at the Renaissance Center and produced many free Training Video Magazines (VTM) including for Softimage|XSI.
January, 22nd, 2003, by Dane "SoulHunter" Barber
 |  | 3D Buzz Founder Jason Busby
| | |  | The 3D Buzz Crew at work.
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Tell us something about your background, who is Jason Busby really?
I am an educator. That sums me up, really. Some people teach because it is their profession, and others because it is their passion. I am definitely one of the latter. There is nothing I enjoy more than watching a student push themselves and strive to gain the knowledge and skills they desire, and to be there to guide them along the way.
As for my background, I was a computer programmer for 15 years, and even owned a software consultancy firm in which I generated productivity software for legal firms. Currently I am the Director of Animation at The Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee; as well as the owner and CEO of 3D Buzz.
Would you describe yourself more as an artist or a technician?
That would really depend on the situation. I usually try to solve most problems in an analytical, or if you prefer, a technical way. I always keep in mind, however, the artistic nature of my work. I try to teach my students the value of both sides of that scale, and so as a rule I maintain them both myself.
Tell us more about your way of teaching. According to rumours it's very funny, but also guite tough.
I do try to have fun with my students; but yes, the courses do get tough. Basically, I one of the key elements I try to instill in all my students goes beyond 3D animation, and that is how to learn. I show them how to approach a situation in a logical and analytical manner, which allows them to gain much more knowledge from each lesson. My methods are designed so that with every new topic we cover, a student can expand upon it themselves and use it to learn several new things; as opposed to simply completing courseware and tutorials where the answers are basically handed to you.
I also try to give my students a taste of what it is like in the industry. When you actually go out there to get a job, there is no instructor to hold your hand, or a book that tells you step-by-step ways to solve a problem. So as I’m teaching my students how to think creatively on their feet in any situation, I also give them extreme assignments. For example, in each class I try to have a “Lockdown Assignment,” where a very difficult and very specific set of tasks is given by an imaginary “client.” The students then have from the end of class on Friday until 9:00 am on Monday to complete it. If anyone leaves the building during this time without completing the project, they fail. It sounds a little rough, but it gives them a small taste of what deadline stress can be like in the industry.
In what area do you see most students lacking, skill wise?
One of the actual skills I see lacking the most in students is the ability to approach a problem in a logical manner. Logical thinking is a critical skill in this field, and many students I’ve had an the past are simply not used to it.
Honestly, though, the biggest area of lacking I see in most students is patience. Many students who are just getting into this field want to make “Hollywood-quality” animation the day after they start. Of course, they soon realize that it’s going to be a long, and perhaps painful uphill climb, and that seems to cause a lot of anxiety with some students. This especially becomes the case when they make the critical mistake of comparing themselves to other students who are beyond their particular skill set and have perhaps been working in 3D for some time.
If I want to have a live "Jason-Busby-lesson" where do I have to go?
I currently teach animation courses at The Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tennessee; where, as I said, I am also the Director of Animation. If you want to become one of my students, or if you’re just looking for more information about available classes and times, you should visit www.3duniversity.com.
When did you first get the idea for 3D Buzz?
The idea came to me two years ago, when as Director of Animation, I would have to turn potential students away if they could not afford a class. This, of course, made me feel terrible. I wanted to devise a way to get top-quality training out there for absolutely anyone who wanted it, and get it paid for through corporate sponsorships. Also, I saw the need to find a way to get training to students who may be too young or just simply unable to travel to Tennessee for a twelve week class and still maintain their grade school, high school, college, or even employment obligations.
I'm sure at first few VTM's were easy but how do you handle the overwhelming request after the site gained popularity
Really, I just tackle each challenge as it comes. It gets really stressful sometimes, but I’ve got a very skilled and helpful team. Between me, Angela, Logan, Zak, and even my two girls, we get an amazing amount of work done, even though it sometimes seems like we’re holding an umbrella up to a three-thousand foot tidal wave.
Between teaching and the VTM's when do you find time for yourself and the Mrs, and how do you just get away from it all to take a breather.
Breather? What is this “breather” you speak of? Actually, Angela is a tremendous help on the site. I really couldn’t keep this up without her. Even my girls give helping hands wherever they can, which turns 3D Buzz into a great family experience for me. Usually, if I’m not working on 3D Buzz, I’m either teaching or preparing a lesson. Occasionally, though, (and I mean very occasionally) I’ll go out to the mall with the girls to go see a movie or sit down with my family and watch television.
What motivated you to learn all those packages on such a high level?
The biggest reason was demand from my students on 3D Buzz. I want them all to get the best training I can give them, so I work as hard as I can to stay current on all of the advancements in the industry.
Are you still involved in production or do you fully concentrate on VTM's and teaching?
While we are under contract from Epic Games to develop training content for mod makers and licensees of the Unreal gaming technology, the main focus of 3D Buzz is to generate training material and not production work. I do, however, still oversee some production work that comes through The Renaissance Center.
What do you think is the impact of 3d buzz in the cg industry?
I think 3D Buzz is truly helping the general public get their hands on this type of training, which is allowing more people not only to get into the industry, so to speak, but also giving them a free opportunity to see if the field is right for them without having to go into debt just to try it out.
At the same time, however, I think 3D Buzz is also raising the bar for everyone who sells this kind of training for a profit. Why would a student pay thousands of dollars for classes when they can get potentially better training for free? This, in turn, really helps out the industry by pushing everyone to improve their training skills.
What do you think about the current state of the industry and the software?
I think things are really starting to get interesting as far as the CG industry is concerned. More people are getting into the field, making it more competitive than ever. 3D animation is literally everywhere you look now, making it harder to impress the people who matter, i.e. potential employers. The bar has officially been raised, and it’s higher than it has ever been before. Moreover, it really has nowhere to go but up. Deadlines continue to get shorter as faster and more efficient, (not to mention better-looking) work is expected out of each individual in the industry, which has heavily increased the amount of dedication necessary to stay in it.
As for software, it has been very exciting to see the dramatic changes that have taken place in the past year or so. Extreme technological advances have actually been combined with prices dropping instead of climbing. The things that modern software can now achieve are absolutely astounding, and the best part is that it’s now easier for people to get their hands on it than ever before. Many companies have released learning editions of their software so that one can try it out, or even train with it free of cost. This is really starting to generate some heated competition as companies look for new ways to get a leg up on everyone else. I’m very interested to see what kind of changes will be made a year from now.
What is your impression of Softimage XSI as a teacher?
I’m very impressed with how the application has advanced since version 1.0, which wasn’t really all that long ago. One of the most impressive things about the speed of this advancement is the dramatic change in the architecture of the program. The program has become much more modular, making it far easier to add new capabilities to the application without experiencing the great amounts of downtime typical with rewriting segments of a program. This will surely give Softimage a competitive advantage for XSI in the future.
Will there be more XSI VTMs in the future?
There are more VTMs planned, but I have two obstacles that I must overcome first. One is that we are currently in mid-production of several high-priority VTMs for our sponsors. The other is that I am now a version behind, as I’m still sporting XSI 2.0. Of course, we could still produce new VTMs with this version; but 3D Buzz, as a rule tries to stay on the cutting edge of technology, so to speak, as far as our training videos are concerned. I believe that staying current on the packages I teach greatly increases the credibility and value of the free training I provide, as well as enhancing the student’s vision of that company and the quality of the software it produces. Often, I have members who watch the VTMs as a method of deciding which package is right for them, and I feel they deserve to be brought up to speed on all the new features. In the end, the best response to your question is yes, there will be more XSI VTMs; the real question is when.
What do we see next from Jason Busby? What are you plans for the future?
Of course, I’m still working very hard on the new VTMs, as well as acquiring new sponsors to help us out. With the success of the Houdini online course attracting students from many major production houses, we have seen sponsorship interest form many new sources. Also, with the upcoming sponsorship from Alias|wavefront, we will be producing a new line of VTMs over game content development using Maya 4.5. Of course, we will still keep producing VTMs for the rest of our valuable sponsors as well.
Also, the new Unreal Technology website is about to be unveiled. This site will be fully-backed by Epic Games and will offer free training classes over content creation within Unreal Tournament 2003. Among the many new classes, one that may attract any aspiring artist will be our online course over Concept Art and Design for Gaming. This will, in a sense, be an advanced drawing course teaching students how to not only design and produce concept art, but to also generate image planes for constructing game models. As with everything else on 3D Buzz, this online class will be free to all who are interested.
Before I go, I’d like to take an opportunity to thank XSI Base very much for their time. Also, if there is anyone out there who is interested in taking a step toward entering the exciting field of 3D animation, or just want to see if it’s right for you. please be sure to check out www.3dbuzz.com for all the information on our available free training. Once again, I want to say thank you to XSI Base, and best wishes to everyone out there who is working to achieve their dreams.
BuZZ
The XSI Base team wisehs to thank Jason Busby for this exclusive interview.
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