One of the artists I had the most pleasure meeting was an animator from Fox News, Eric Wagner. While looking for a seat on the Metro North one Friday night, I chose to sit down next to a younger looking gentleman. Interested in the hand-held game he was playing, I inquired what type of device he was playing on. He politely told me he was playing a Nintendo Switch.
We began engaging in a casual conversation and it turned out we both attended the School of Visual Arts, studied 3D animation, and knew some of the same professors. The major difference was that he was ten years older than me and he had won an Emmy at his previous job working for Good Morning America. I was in awe of his accomplishments.
Anyway, he and I exchanged information. Then we met up for him to show me “Spiders Walk,” his thesis project. His film was very unique and showed the world from the perspective of two spiders. It was even featured on Good Morning America. I don’t want to give away the plot; I will drop the link down below. While I am extremely arachnophobic I have never seen a film like his and I will never see spiders in the same way again.
I felt like I made a major connection with Wagner and he gives me pointers on my senior design project I am working on. I feel very fortunate we have met and am glad I made his acquaintance. Meeting him made me realize you never know who you’re sitting next to.
Here is the link to Eric’s thesis: