A former TCC student has caught his own Dragon Ball through hard work and determination. Chris Bevins, a NE Campus graduate, works for FUNimation as a director.

A cartoon network staple, Dragon Ball Z starts in Japan, but goes through processing and production in North Texas before being released in America.

"We don't just translate. We Americanize it for re-release in America," he said.

Bevins received his certificate of completion in audio production last May and has worked for FUNimation since his intern days.

The company purchases animation from Japan and then the real work begins. The script is rewritten and the voices are recorded in English.

"We change the music sometimes because it is dated or cheesy," he said.

Each episode of Dragon Ball Z has a turnaround time that is different for each portion, Bevins said.

To translate from Japanese to English normally takes one week, and the rewrite is the same, but the actors' recording time can differ.

"We put in U.S. phrases and make it more understandable to Americans," he said.

Bevins started working for FUNimation as an intern while attending TCC and working in retail.

An internship is required for the certificate and the degree in radio and television broadcasting.

Bevins assumed he would have to do grunt work like getting coffee and donuts for the regular staff, but that is not what happened.

Barry Watson, vice president in charge of production, wanted his interns actually to work for their money.

"I was extremely lucky to work right from the beginning," Bevins said. "It was a dream come true."

Watson, who has hired other TCC students, indicated they are motivated people, and he believes his company gets the benefits from their enthusiasm.

"Chris has the right attitude, works hard and is very interested in learning," he said.

As an intern, Bevins started working as an automated dialogue replacement (ADR) engineer, which meant he was responsible for the quality of sound on the recording.

Bevins said he realized early on that to get better at his job, he would have to be there more.

Therefore he quit the retail business to work full time at FUNimation.

After working on some of the 290 episodes of Dragon Ball Z, Bevins got a chance to work as an assistant director on Fruits Basket, which is only on video and DVD.

Bevins' initial goal was to be a voice actor, but he decided he could get a back-up career and learn the technical aspects of the industry.

"It was kind of like backing my way into the industry," he said.

Bevins said he got a great education on voice acting by watching the actors on the various shows that FUNimation handles.

Bevins got his chance to do voice acting when he won a small part as the puppy on Dragon Ball Z.

Bevins has a love of acting, but because of the opportunities at FUNimation, he also believes he could be a good director as well.

"I can work in the field of audio production and study the craft of acting at the same time," he said.

Bevins was recently promoted to director, handling his own show and in charge of all aspects of the process.

Dragon Ball GT, takes place seven years after Dragon Ball Z.

The company is still working on the precursor to Dragon Ball Z, which is simply called Dragon Ball.

GT has most of the characters from Dragon Ball Z, but they are all older except for Goku, who is transformed into a 10 year old again.

The dragon balls are now all in outer space, and the search is still on.

As the director of the show, Bevins has a hand in everything involved with the production.

"It is ultimately my responsibility for what ends up on TV," he said. "The whole picture is my job."

The actors not only have to read their lines with the proper emotion for the scene, but also must match the mouth movements on the screen.

This is just one of the many aspects of production that Bevins has to ensure is correct.

"I think that I will enjoy directing," he said. "I think I could be good at it."

FUNimation is also currently working on other animated shows that will soon be on television.

Among the projects are Dragon Ball Z feature films, or small 60- to 90-minute movies, and a show called Yu Yu Hakusho, which is for adult audiences on the cartoon network.

Bevins thinks that working for a small company where everyone works hand in hand is the reason that going to work is a good thing.

"This is like a dream-come-true job for me," he said.

FUNimation also handles everything involved with the Z, such as marketing, license, Web site and Z store.

"We cover all our own bases," he said. "I am having fun while working. How awesome is that?"