I just spent the last three days at Flashbelt, one of the midwest’s largest conferences for animators, designers, and developers who work in Flash. In the last couple of years I’ve animated a few client projects in Flash and since the conference was here in Minneapolis it was a no-brainer to attend.
There were some great presentations, including a couple of studios from New York who are doing some really exciting and innovative stuff. Locally, the very talented folks at Big Time Attic gave a presentation including an animated cartoon created just for the conference (complete with a live banjo and clarinet soundtrack). Another local studio, Ham in the Fridge, walked away with four awards (all well-deserved). The creative community in Minneapolis is doing some super fun and exciting work.
I also got a chance to brush up on my networking skills, which are quite rusty. Since I’ve been freelancing alone at home for several years now, and have only lived in Minneapolis for the last two, it was fun to hang around with so many other talented creative folks. On Thursday night we schmoozed at a local pub called Nye’s and even dabbled in some kareoke. It was a blast getting to know some of the other local talent (as well as creative folks from out of state). It gets me energized to go back to my studio and keep creating, improving, and growing.