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SANDY — Children, as young as 5 years old, are learning how to make Disney-Pixar style 3-D animated movies at Paper Plane Productions, an after-school program based in Sandy.
“I don’t think any age is ‘too young’ as long as they have the motor skills to use a mouse,” said Dan Hill, current instructor at Paper Plane Productions and former commercial artist.
Hill was eager to start a 3-D animation class for kids in 2013, after leaving his job at Waterford Institute.
In 2013, they started with a class once a week. Since then, Paper Plane Learning has grown, now offering four classes per week. The average student age is between 9 and 18, but all ages are welcome to sign up.
In addition to lessons on 3-D animation, Paper Plane Productions also offers courses in video production, audio, photography, and learning software programs like Adobe Premiere.
“You can do anything when you’re on this computer in this world,” said 9-year-old student Jordan Galicia. “It’s like you’re going in your own dimension, you can do whatever you want.”
In the class, students get the full experience of what it’s like to work for companies like Disney. Hill said some of his former students have even landed jobs there. The classes are affordable, only $20 per course.
“It’s a pretty competitive career, and so if you can get a jump on it earlier in life then it’s a plus,” Hill said.
For more information, visit Paper Plane Productions' official website.
