Animated Film By Alumni Finds Success

Many Quinnipiac graduates go on to great careers, working all over the country in their respective fields. One success story is Dave Zani, a media production major who graduated in 2006. Now, less than five years since receiving his diploma, Zani is an award-winning filmmaker, nabbing multiple awards for his animated short film, "Trah Shorts Episode 3: The Saga Continues."

After graduating, Zani went to work for Showtime Network, where he took the knowledge he acquired at Quinnipiac and put it to the test.  After three years as a broadcast coordinator for the network, he left to join Rockstar Games, Inc.  Zani now works in their Motion Capture and Animation Department, working on games with "gun shoot-outs, gangster drug deals and brain-eating zombies."

Besides working on video games, Zani has been directing and animating short films since high school. His first short after leaving Quinnipiac was for a film festival sponsored by the radio show, "Opie and Anthony." His two-minute short received an honorable mention and was discussed on their syndicated XM radio show.

But Zani's big break came with his film, "Trah Shorts Episode 3: The Saga Continues."  The action adventure film takes place in a World War II like time period and has an unusual and visually imaginative look.

"I was born in the early ‘80s and grew up in the ‘90s," Zani said. "So old school stop motion animation, puppets, animatronics and practical effects hold a special place in my heart."

His goal was to combine the style of classic ‘80s and ‘90s animations such as "Beavis and Butt-head," "Nightmare Before Christmas" and even "The Muppets," into something new and fresh.

"I wanted to create something that attempts to reach back and invoke a similar emotion those things did for me…to create something that felt retro and old school, something that may have been on TV in 1987 but with a modern twist," Zani said.

Zani wrote, edited and crafted the characters and backgrounds primarily himself. He even supplied the voices of many characters. He was able to make many of the puppets while also utilizing old dollhouse furniture that his grandfather built.

Once the film was done and Zani had his first few screenings, he sent the finished product off to film festivals.

"The experience at those festivals has been a rewarding one both personally and professionally," Zani said, "The last festival I was at was in October 2010. The Orlando Film Festival - my film was nominated for ‘Best Animated Film'."

In the past year, Zani's film has been nominated for "Best Animation" at the Orlando Film Festival, won three different categories (including "Best Animation") at the L.A. Reel Film Festival and took home the "Best Animated Feature" prize at the Williamsburg International Film Festival.

"I felt like the work that was put into the film accomplished something, like someone out there ‘got' what I was trying to do and it felt awesome," he said.

For Zani, the future is nothing but bright. Whether he stays creating video games or keeps producing more short films, he will surely find success, much of which he feels he owes to Quinnipiac. After being gone for a few years, Zani returned to his alma mater in 2010 and said that he was "blown away by the further advancements made in shaping a great learning experience for the students."