What made you choose MECA&D for animation?
What really stood out to me about MECA&D was the amount of one-on-one attention it provided. I think that’s its greatest strength, and it’s shaped my experience in a way I don’t think I’d be able to get from another school. MECA&D is a quarter of the size of my high school, and the attention from professors felt like a valuable piece of my learning. And the faculty in animation have all been amazing.
How have you been transformed by your educational experience, professors, and/or community?
I have been able to go to my professors whenever I need to for any sort of help, whether that be networking, getting a critique, or just general eyes on my work, which is always good in our field—getting as many eyes as possible on our work.
I've got a really good supportive group of friends right now, and most of them are in my major as well. They all give great feedback whenever I ask for it—really constructive.
How have scholarships impacted your education?
It's allowed me not to stress too much about the financial part of it. I'm able to spend money on other things, like paying for private mentorships or even paying for software that I wouldn’t normally be able to. When you don't have to worry about financial things as much, it allows you to do better work, so I very much appreciate it. Having a scholarship is allowing me to find those opportunities and really build a nice portfolio that will allow me to get my foot in the door of the animation industry.
Gus Dana '26 working in his studio. Photo by Natalie Conn, Salt '07.
Speaking of building your portfolio, your short film, Tony the Terrible, had a wonderful festival run. Can you share your process for making it?
During our sophomore production class, we had a semester to make a film. Normally, you’d work with other people, but I wanted to test myself to see how much I could do by myself. So I decided to make a short film based on my childhood dog. I had a pug who we called Tony Baloney. He was a very old, grumpy pug. A lot of the characters I make are pulled directly from my experiences and the people I’ve met.
It was a really fun experience. I’d never gotten to push anything fully through the animation pipeline! I’ve always done one or two things in a project, but being able to have something that was primarily created by me was a really cool experience. Seeing random strangers enjoying and appreciating it is awesome.
But also, my least favorite part about it was doing it by myself! It’s fun to be able to collaborate, so my least favorite part is being alone in that sense. But it was also my favorite part because I got to push myself and really see that I can make a two and a half minute film in a semester, which has helped figure out the film that I’m working on right now.
Are you hoping to pursue more collaboration as you advance in your career? What do you see for your future?
I mean, it’s impossible to be in the animation industry and not work with people. And in reality, that’s what I want to do. I want to work with people. My big dream, like twenty years down the line, is to be an art director for something and have other people’s skills just make the project even better.
So that’s what I’ve enjoyed about other films I’ve worked on. With other people, there has been so much reworking and bettering of the characters, the setting, and the story. In the film I’m working on now, I’m tackling something more emotional with the story. Even with the progress storyboard, we’ve already gotten tears. For me, it’s felt really good to be able to drive that kind of emotion in people.