Summer — 2008

Salim Peerally

Academy of Entertainment & Technology/Animation

“What I want to do is to go to work for the big studios in Southern California. But I know that the paperwork—as an international student—is going to be tough.”

You watch, mesmerized, as the diminutive three-toed space-monkey critter dances across the computer screen to the sound track of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album. He never misses a beat, and you find yourself thinking, ‘Damn! That little dude can really bust a move!’ And the critter, its digital embodiment, and its design, are all the product of the imagination of Salim Peerally. And SMC’s Academy of Entertainment & Technology.

“I’m from France, a city near Paris called St. Denis. It was a very good move for me to come here to SMC,” says Salim, “I’ve been here about five years now, and I’m very happy about it, because animation in France is not very important,” he says in excellent English. “I did the Michael Jackson creature as part of a summer project, because I needed stuff to add to my demo reel. And it’s all taking time… that’s for sure.” Animation—even back in the days of Walt Disney, when millions of drawings had to be made to emulate simple motions—has always been a time-consuming process. And today’s digital technology—as Salim is learning—hasn’t lessened the stresses and strains much on its creators.

“It all takes incredible amounts of time—no matter how you approach it,” says Salim, with a charming Gaelic accent. “But I have had good instructors here—like Stu, who runs the Computer Lab—who’s just the best. Whenever I get into a problem,” Salim continues, “he’s always there to help me out. 3D, modeling, all of the programs we animators have to work with, he knows them all. So when I get to a creative brick wall,” Salim says with a laugh, “Stu is my ‘go to’ guy.”

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