laura2017-blog1 - Tumblr blog

laura2017-blog1 · 8 years ago

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Letter of Intention

Dear All,

I'm Laura, 20 years old and I wish to apply for the Character Animation line. Please find my portfolio here: http://laura2017.tumblr.com/

My love for animation goes way back. I still remember how I got my first photo camera in 5th grade. There were so many stories in my head that wanted to get out. So whenever I had a friend over, we would grab my old Barbies and photograph them in story sequences. It was so difficult to photograph them in a way that our hands supporting the puppet wouldn't be seen. Naturally, I was thrilled to be able to record videos with the next camera I got. I still have some videos saved where I would dress my friends up in costumes and let them run through our neighbourhood to get my stories on the computer screen.

As a young teenager, I discovered my love for drawing. I used to draw days and nights just copying photos or drawing cartoon characters I liked. But what has changed my approach to drawing was a semester at TDA, which I attended fall 2016. After my rejected application last year, I was determined to get better. With my teacher Maja Vendelbo I studied anatomy and tones; the concept of core shadows blew my mind. It's still incredible to me how much I improved in such a short time span. (Here's my old portfolio: http://lauraischneider.blogspot.dk/) Moreover, I never would have believed how amazing an environment Viborg is. The students, teachers, and professionals are all so kind, fun and encouraging that I really feel this is the best place to thrive as an artist. My time here has been the most humbling and inspiring time of my life. I want to attend TAW because I want to improve and learn so much about the field I love; create interesting characters and bring them to life. When I think about studying at TAW, I'm just filled with happiness and excitement, and an eagerness to work hard.

Film and Drawing both being dear to me, I feel that animation is the perfect combination of my passions. Yet I think animation leaves a sense of wonder that live action movies do not. I really look up to Satoshi Kon and especially his work „Paprika". For me, this film is a great example of what makes animated films special. It merges the lines between reality and fiction through its fast pace and matching scene transitions. Paprika is a movie that truly lets you dive into the dream. Compared to "Inception", which presents the dreams as almost logical, too constructed, Paprika is much more imaginative and therefore I think it fits better.

I am convinced that the choice of medium is essential to tell a story properly. Take the classic "Jungle Book", which has so much charm, given by the rhythm of the traditional animation. While the 2016 remake was visually absolutely stunning, it didn't have quite the same impact as the original one. The animals seemed more relatable in the older one, as they were caricatured. The 2016 movie's ape king Louis threw me off – because the set was so realistic, the singing felt out of place. In a cartoon movie, you can get away with funky movement; it is an illusion of life after all. Still, it is certainly amazing to see how far the integration of 3D and live action has come until now... and how much further it can go!

After graduating from High School, I knew I wanted to work in the Animation industry. So I applied for an internship at the 2D Animation studio "Trickstudio Lutterbeck" in Cologne. I enjoyed my 6 months in their team, learning about puppet rigging and animation. Thanks to the time there I am proficient in Photoshop and intermediate with Toon Boom.

In addition, my colleagues and I would visit the Zoo once a week after work and observe and sketch animals. Now, drawing from life has become a habit of mine or the closest I've ever been to an addiction. I draw everyone, wherever and it's almost like a diary for me.

When my internship was over, I got the chance to intern at the VFX studio "Pixomondo", in their Frankfurt office for 3 months. There I looked at animation from a new angle, working as coordination. It was exciting to be part of this big studio, especially since they were working on the dragons of "Game of Thrones" when I came. Naturally, both studios were very different, the size of the team and thus the communication was most striking to me. While I was helping to communicate between the different departments at Pixomondo, at Lutterbeck we were all sitting in a big room together and would just call each other. However, they were also similar in one regard: both studios relied on good teamwork. I am of the opinion that animation is a team effort and everyone needs to be reliable and confident to communicate their side of the story.

Besides Art and Film, a passion of mine has long been Journalism. Together with a classmate, I was the chief editor of our High School's newspaper for well over 3 years. We instructed a team of around 15 students and had to take care of accounting, creating content, as well as getting it laid out and printed. It was a good lesson for me, as I learned how to lead and also work together with a team. Without all of our combined efforts, we never would have achieved 2 issues per semester, winning as many regional awards as we did.

Apart from the school club, I have been working freelance for the newspaper "Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger" for around 4 years now and I enjoy sharing my views and giving my audience food for thoughts. The same goes for my art - I always try to incorporate stories, ever since I read the book "Drawn to Life" a few months ago. Walt Stanchfield stresses how important the storytelling and the simplicity in a drawing are. Before, I would just draw a pretty picture, without much thought in the backstory. Now, I find the storytelling to be the most fun. With the basic skills I learned at TDA, I just want to bring interesting characters to life and tell their stories. In studio "Ghibli" movies, I really enjoy the characters. Take "Princess Mononoke" e.g., where they are all relatable to some extent. Even the ‘villain' has a motif and is not just evil; it's not just black and white. Eboshi (the antagonist) wants to save her people from the wild animals, and that is why she wants to kill the God of the forest. At the end of the movie, she realizes her fault and wants to rebuild the city in a better, righteous way. I really like this development in her character. "Frozen" on the other hand has generic characters with little development. Not only is Prince Hans a boring villain with little motivation. But even the main character, Elsa, acts without a goal and I do not see her as a good role model for children – and they are the main audience. Mostly, she behaves like an angry teenager. To put it in a nutshell: Good movies have a message they want to convey, just like good drawings hint at a deeper story. And interesting characters need to have a motif and need to grow with their challenges. That, for me, makes a great film.

An example I would like to mention is „Persepolis", which has simple, graphic style. Yet, it shows the character growth and the change in her world in a touching way. I think we as artists hold a responsibility to our audiences to entertain them and but to make them feel and reflect on a deeper level, as well. It is a privilege to share your views and to show how you see the world. Therefore, I want to use the skills I learn at TAW to create films with both a meaningful story and beautiful visuals.

For the future, I think the industry will rely more on smaller studios. In our global time, a lot of independent studios can reach a larger following now and get a better exposition. I also hope that the animation industry in Europe grows further. In Germany animation is unfortunately not really being invested in. It's a pity that what little 2D animation there is, is being outsourced to China because it would otherwise not be affordable. That takes away from the art form and treats it like a mass product. But stunning projects like "Song of the Sea" show that the co-productions in Europe can be successful, both artistically and financially. I look up to "Noerlum" and I hope to contribute to the art of animation just like they do. As for the medium, I feel there are a lot of options to explore: Take the "SPA Studios", which I admire, for example. Their innovative approach to 2D animation with a 3D look is very promising and I can't wait for their project "Klaus" to come out!

Born to a Spanish mother and a German father, their two cultures surrounded me growing up. Maybe that is why I am so intrigued by new cultures and languages. In 10th grade, I got to spend 5 months as an exchange student Nova Scotia, Canada. I really benefitted from being away from home as that made me more self-reliant and open for new perspectives. Besides that, I have traveled a lot throughout western Europe, of course spending many summers in Spain. The most precious travel memories are from a one-month Interrail trip through Italy I made alone last spring. Instead of sleeping in Hotels I tried out Couchsurfing and got to be more close to the actual life there. It was super interesting learning about my new found friends‘ lives and stories. Now I'm living in Viborg and learning Danish, which is luckily very similar to German. The reason why I like languages besides the culture is also because I want to be able to communicate with as many people as possible. I believe that Animation is communication in its essence. Work by Sylvain Chomet like "The Triplets of Belleville" and "The Illusionist" demonstrate this, as they work without words and yet communicate brilliantly on many different levels - through the story, the characters, the atmosphere.

Jean Giraud (Moebius) with his grand imaginary worlds is pure creativity. How he incorporates storytelling into his art is unrivaled and always lets my imagination run wild. I also like Käthe Kollwitz and her way to process personal experience through her work. They make her artworks feel precious and intimate. I would also like to mention Andreas Deja and his work on Scar in "Lion King" or "Dschafar" from "Aladdin". It is amazing how he manages to give the characters distinct facial mannerisms that make the characters feel real. On the other hand, I adore Ryan Woodward's flowy, seamless animation style. There are so many great artists out there and I hope to find my own voice, just as they did.

I am very lucky that my family absolutely supports me and my dreams. So they offered to finance my education. In addition, I have some savings from my internships.

Viborg is a special place and I would be overjoyed to get the chance to learn here for the next 3 and a half years. I want to develop my art so much more and I know that there is no better place than TAW for my goal to learn the art of animation in an international environment. I sincerely hope you got to know me a little bit in this letter and that we will meet at the interview.

Yours faithfully,

Laura Schneider

#letter

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