Last week we mentioned that Digital Character Animation grad Zack Mathew’s The Switch had been featured on YouTube Canada… the result is that, as of this writing, almost 400,000 people have watched it so far! It seemed appropriate to let you know a little more about the man behind The Switch. We asked Zack about his background, and his process.

Where are you from, Zack?

I am from India.

What was your background before coming to VFS?

I got interested in animation during my time in college studying Architecture, and I followed this interest after finishing college. I did a traditional 2d course, and learnt 3d on my own in India. I worked for some time and decided I needed a deeper understanding of Maya. I also wanted to make a short of my own as I am very interested in the whole process of storytelling using this wonderful medium of animation.

What made you choose the VFS DCA program?

Well, I needed a course that was short enough and concentrated on animation, yet touched on other topics of this vast medium. The DCA program at VFS seemed to offer what I needed.

My experience has been altogether very rewarding in the Digital Character Animation program. I was able to meet some very interesting and talented people, and I now have a stronger understanding of how Maya works, after less than 6 months.

What was the inspiration behind The Switch?

My key goal was to concentrate on animation. I decided to take a simple situation and try and make it as interesting as possible. Well, I thought, what’s more simple to setup than a single character and some cubes. And it just developed from there.

Were you able to achieve what you’d hoped with the film?

I still have a long way to go, but to some extent I feel I was successful in creating a believable character, which is the big challenge of character animation.

Great job, Zack… we hope you enjoy your thousands of adoring new fans.

UPDATE:As of March 17, 2008 The Switch has been viewed over a million times!