Hey. If you need some help with 3DsMax, my friend Nate and I are the lead animators for Team 103, and we'd be more than happy to help you guys out. Drop me an email (vadyr56@gmail.com) or private message me and we can help you guys out. For starters, I would do the tutorials that came with 3DsMax in the book. They give you the basics and really create a foundation for the rest of your journey in the program. From there, just look up online tutorials and do fun things in 3DsMax that keep you interested. The program can be mindless and boring sometimes (and basically drive you INSANE, as it has with me), but when you have a beautiful finished product, it's very satisfying. Check out our 2005 and past animations at
www.cybersonics.org, and don't hesitate to contact me with anything. Good luck!