Minecraft animations: Where should I start?

[Fireized]

Hello! I really wanted to start getting into creating Minecraft animations lately. Not crappy ones like mine-imator or something, I mean high quality ones like the type you see on music videos. I know that this is no easy thing to learn and I am willing to spend the time and effort to get good at this, but I honestly am having trouble finding where to start. From a bit of research, I'm pretty sure Maya would be the best way to go, and I can probably get the free student version. Does anyone either know any good quality videos on this that I can use, or have experience with that kind of thing and is willing to give me a few lessons? Thanks!