Burns' determination to pursue a medical career led him to become a member of HOSA. Half of his senior year consisted of clinical rotations at Southwest Memorial Hospital. After high school, he was accepted at the University of Notre Dame but, unable to afford the tuition, he chose to attend The University of Texas at Austin, where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. While there, Burns got his start in video production by volunteering at K29HW-D, Texas Student Television. During his time with TSTV, he founded "Sneak Peek", the longest-running student television program in the world, in which he reviewed films and conducted interviews with guests such as Adam Sandler. Burns went on to become the president of the tech support company teleNetwork Partners, and eventually broke out to form his independent company Rooster Teeth. In his final year of university, Burns was intent on making a movie. Joel Heyman and Matt Hullum, who were roommates at the time, agreed to help, with the former agreeing to star and the latter helping write, produce and direct. They shot "The Schedule" (1997) over a three-month period on 16mm film for $9,000. It took 10 months to edit on a non-linear editor Burns himself built. That same system was used in his early videos, including their first viral hit. Burns became frustrated with the difficult distribution process and the film only screened in a few festivals. They turned down an offer of about $25,000 to buy because they "wanted to hold onto the story." A few VHS copies of "The Schedule" exist in Burns' possession. Soon after, the trio parted ways. Heyman and Hullum went to Los Angeles, while Burns accepted a position at a local tech support company. There, he met his co-workers and future "Red vs. Blue" collaborators Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola. In June 2002, Burns teamed up with his colleagues to create their first viral video, a Mac Gamer Switch parody. Burns attributes "two vectors that came together, the movie guys and the tech guys," as being a catalyst for their success. Burns joined Geoff Ramsey and Gus Sorola in one of their many Internet ventures, "drunkgamers".com creating voiceover-enhanced gameplay videos for the website. The trio were giant enthusiasts of the 2001 first-person shooter video game "", leading them to discuss whether an automobile in the game known as a Warthog looks like a puma.