Even as a five-year-old, senior Eric Gorski could draw — just ask his kindergarten teachers.
He couldn’t write cursive, solve algebra problems or read a novel.
But he could definitely create art.
“I won a poster contest in kindergarten for a ‘Vandalism is Wrong’ poster,” he said with a laugh. “I drew people throwing dynamite at a building and breaking windows.”
As a kindergartner, Gorski never guessed that his artistic talents would someday make him $5,000 richer.
A 25-second animated film he created in two days last summer made Gorski the grand prize winner of Selco Credit Union’s new-member-drive commercial contest “Why I love Selco.” The commercials feature Gorski and his film “The Animator,” and will continue running on local television spots through October.
People can also spot the multimedia major in the pages of The Register-Guard and The Springfield News in Selco print advertisements, and view his film at www.selco.org.
Using Adobe Premiere, Adobe After Effects, a scanner and a camcorder, Gorski said he spent nearly 48 hours creating 300 hand-drawn frames and editing his animation. His film presents the story of a cartoon character who dreams of becoming an animator. Because of Selco, he gets the loan he needs to buy a brand new computer and camera.
“It’s just a stick figure, but there’s just something to it,” Selco Marketing Director Bonnie Larson said. “It speaks to all audiences, and it’s appealing because it has a serious message but with a whimsical perspective.”
Selco received more than 60 submissions, Larson said. She added that a panel of judges chose five final videos and put them online for Selco members to vote for, and “The Animator” won hands down.
Gorski heard about the contest in the spring, and admits waiting too long to begin the project, running into some last-minute technical problems. But with no time to fix them, he submitted the piece as it was only minutes before the final deadline.
“I wasn’t very happy with it at first and was considering not turning it in,” he said. “After I did I just kind of forgot about it. But then Bonnie called me and said ‘You’re a finalist.’ I was really surprised.”
He hasn’t seen the ads on TV yet, but Gorski said friends have mentioned catching the commercials several times in the last month.
“They’re like ‘wow, Eric’s on TV,’” he said, laughing. ” I guess I’m a local celebrity now, along with Ronny from Ronny’s Stereo.”
Although “The Animator” reveals Gorski’s knack for drawing, he leans more toward movie-making and directing, skills he began practicing at a young age with his father’s video camera.
“It went from wanting to be an animator to comic book artist to making movies,” he said. “Me and my brother and neighbors used to make movies ever since I was five. We’d do ’80s stuff like “Karate Kid,” “Star Wars,” “Ghostbusters” and “Indiana Jones.” It was always something we did just for fun.”
But whether it’s scripting out a film or an animation, Gorski spends hours shooting, directing and editing, which he normally does all alone. He said watching his work take its final form makes it worth the time. “The best part is seeing all the little pieces come together,” he said. Through multimedia courses and self-teaching, Gorski has also learned how to create 3-D clay animation and Web design, but said if he “could live off of making movies, that would be awesome.”
Visiting multimedia Professor Joey Bargsten has taught several of Gorski’s multimedia classes. He said Gorski’s projects have always stuck out and received positive responses from audiences.
“I think one of Eric’s most prominent talents is his ability to create characters very clearly and concisely,” he said. “He also has a really great gift in designing shots and unfolding a story through cinema and video. … He’s a good example of what you can do with a minimal amount of software and investment.”