Doug Hudson

Best aspects: Doug was very knowledgeable about animation and clearly very passionate about the history of it and its creation. He had been in the industry and had lots of knowledge about working for a well-known studio, so he gave us a good idea of what the work-flow was like

Could improve: The class structure is extremely loose, and he only provides about 3 assignments, including the midterm and final. So there's very little room for extra credit, although he provides a small opportunity for the final. You also spend the majority of the class watching films, which is nice in theory, but makes the class a little hard to sit through at times as it's not very engaging. Communication with Doug was also a big one. He and I had a dispute over attendance (that I didn't realize I was having an issue with because he never communicated that with me) and he had a general lack of respect for me, although he demanded respect for himself. The situation was made even more frustrating due to his position of being head of the animation department, so there was no one above him that I could go to with my concerns without escalating the issue. In my opinion, he's been in the industry for too long and has lost touch with the younger generations. He could stand to be more empathetic, willing to compromise and understanding of his students. A lot of my peers had good interactions with him, but my experience with him honestly left a bad taste in my mouth.

Advice: If you take this class, make sure you're on top of attendance and be prepared to bring energy drinks with you. Doug, as I said, is very knowledgeable of animation and when he provides actual lectures, they're very interesting. But his class has little to no structure, which can be a little tough for students who enjoy having that.