Animated About Computers - Fresno Bee 1998

At warp speed, teen-ager Mike Randrup has launched DreamSpeed Studios into an $80,000-a-year business.

By Guy Keller

The Fresno Bee

Mike Randrup would rather produce ashes than gather dust.  He rarely takes a day off and often works 16 hours at a stretch.  He started his own business, finished high school, and asked his grandparents to co-sign an office lease, all before he got his drivers license.

Now 18 and driving a 1995 Camero, Randup is the brains and energy behind DreamSpeed Studios, a Web site development and digital special-effects company that grossed $80,000 last year.

If you watch television or surf the Internet, you've probably seen Randrup's work.  He did the computer-generated animation for Taco Bell's Monster Eye commercials last fall.  He also has developed Web sites for several area companies and organizations like the Fresno Advertising Federation and the African American Museum.

Current projects include animation for a television commercial for the new Valley Children's Hospital and a series of 45-second animations that will be played every hour on the big-screen TVs in the new World Sports Cafe near Edwards Cinemas.

"We're still not making a lot of money, but it's fun watching the company grow," Randrup said.

This spring, the Fresno Advertising Federation honored Randrup with the Nancy Thielen Award, presented annually to the most promising young person in advertising.  DreamSpeed Studios also won three Addy awards for the best special effects, best public service interactive and best regional broadcast commercial over $5,000.

Randrup, whose parents divorced when he was a toddler, discovered computers while living with his mother in New Mexico.

"My school gave me an old computer, and used it to develop a video game", he said.  "The game won first place in the regional science fair and would have won first in the state, but it developed a bug and went down during the judging."

Randrup also has battled bugs in his personal life.  He will not discuss his home life nor say anything negative about his mother and father.  But in 1993, at age 13, he called his grandparents, Arnold and Dorothy Randrup of Fresno, and asked if they would become his legal guardians.

Dorothy Randrup, the founder of The Children's Place Montessori School, and her late husband, a retired sergeant for the Fresno County Sheriff's Department, recognized their grandson was a gifted child.  They bought him his first computer and encouraged him to set high goals.

"We wound up buying him five computers - all of them used," said Dorothy Randrup.  "He set them up in our living room, which became his office.  He actually did some work here for which he was paid."

At first, Randrup dreamed of creating new video games.  But as he learned more about computers, he saw unlimited opportunities in advertising and communication.  Instead of spending time in traditional high-school classes, he decided to speed up his education, learn all he could about computers and strike out on his own.

"Mike was one of the most impressive students I've ever had, " said Charles Reddell, and instructor for the Fresno Unified School District's ReStart Program, which provides independent study options, "He was 15 years old and already had his own business going.  I decided the best thing for me to do was to get out of his way."

Reddell encouraged Randrup to get through high school as quickly as possible.  Through independent study, Randrup completed high-school course requirements at the rate of 60 credits a semester, twice as fast as the normal 30-credit rate.

"Mike was a real dynamo," Reddell said.  "He started taking classes at Fresno State while he was in high school.  I couldn't believe he was doing all this stuff.  All of his work was A work.  He didn't turn in anything that was bad."

Randrup concentrated on computer classes at California State University, Fresno.

"He was an outstanding student," said Gloria Riojas-Z, administrative assistant in the university's computer-science department.

"He got a A in our introduction to computer-programming class.  That class requires students to have a strong background in math, yet Mike aced it while he was still in high school."

Randrup had no interest in earning a college degree.  He learned all he could about computers and moved on.

"In a way, I think he kind of outgrew us," said Riojas-Z.  "He was very determined to be successful."

"It's a hunger for knowledge that drives him."

Randrup's serious nature has produced qualities not often found in teen-agers.

"Mike kept track of all the money we spent on computers," said his grandmother, "He called it "The Big Debt," and he has paid it all back.

"He is very professional, but once in a while I see the kid come out in him.  When he was living with us, and I was watching TV, he used to leap over the back of the couch and land beside me."

"Randrup's knowledge of computers has enabled him to carve a niche in Central California's advertising industry at an early age.  But  his youthful looks were a disadvantage at first.

People found it hard to believe that someone who looked like a high-school student could produce work that was equal to or better that that of established companies.

Art Reker, a founding partner of Armadillo Advertising of Clovis, was one of the first to take Randrup seriously.

"He came to my office on day, and showed me his work," said Reker. "It was superb."

Although Randrup was just 17, Reker arranged for him to do some animation work on a CD-ROM for a medical software programmer.  He also gave him leads on other potential clients.

"Mike has developed a Website for the Fresno Advertising Federation that ranks right up there with anything you'll find in New York or Chicago," said Reker.

"He's also done some gorgeous animation for Taco Bell.  He has such an advanced understanding of computer language that his work is instinctively ahead of most people."

Jim Muller, vice president and creative director for Thielen & Associates, hired Randrup to do the animation for the agency's Monster Eye commercials for Taco Bell.  In the spots, Randrup made the eyes emerge from a soupy swamp, blinking and looking monstrous.

"Mike is mature way beyond his years," said Mueller.  "He delivers what he says he will do on time and within budget.  Animation takes a lot of time and requires a great deal of equipment.  His company allows us to do locally what we ordinarily would send out to Los Angeles or another city."

Despite his obsession with work and computers, Randrup values his relationships with other people.

He says much of his company's success is because of the creative talents of the eight artists and Web developers working for him.

While his grandfather was dying, he visited several times a week and never left without saying "I love you Papa."  On Mother's Day, he took his grandmother out to dinner and a movie.

"I never worry about Mike working too hard because he doesn't work nervous," said Dorothy Randrup.  "He doesn't smoke, drink, or do drugs.  I'll never forget his consideration for his Papa and me."

Randrup said he made up his mind a long time ago to always treat people the way he would like to be treated.

"I've been treated both ways (good and bad)," he said.  "I know which way I prefer."