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vftawpf · 8 years ago

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Letter of Intention

(+34) 658 17 61 95

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To whom it may concern,

My name is Violeta Fellay, I am 26 years old, and this is my second attempt at applying for admission to your Character Animation program. Last year I made it to the interview, and I hope to have improved my portfolio enough for this year's class! You can find it at http://vftaw.tumblr.com/

Ever since I was a kid I always had a pencil in my hand. I spent all my free time doodling and creating stories in my mind. Despite this, I could never envision myself living from my art, so when the time came to choose a career I pursued my other passion: languages. I moved to Buenos Aires and enrolled in English Translation at Universidad del Salvador, and started studying Japanese with a private teacher. The first three years were very positive, but during my fourth year, when graduation became apparent, I realized that translation was not what I wanted to live off of and my academic year went downhill. However, at the same time I became more enthusiastic about art. I started making friends online who helped me grow as an artist and become more involved in the community. I was no longer doodling; I was making art with a purpose.

By then I was already 22, and after finishing my degree in Translation, I found out Animation was available as a career in Argentina, and I saw it could be a way to channel my passion for art. I enrolled in the Animation Program at Universidad del Cine. Unfortunately, since it’s a relatively new bachelor, it is really lackluster. Even though I learnt a lot about live action films and developed my understanding of film theory, I was very disappointed both by the lack of focus on animation itself, and by the unqualified art teachers there, from whom I received almost no feedback and no real instruction.

During that time, I also took a course at the Academia de Animación. In their three-month stop motion workshop, I learnt animation and how to make a puppet. Before we knew it we were knee-deep in the preproduction of our short film, “Experimotion”. We had two weeks to prepare the sets and characters, and only five days to animate all the shots. It was crazy but it made me see how a professional environment works and I knew right then that that was what I wanted to do for a living.

After finishing that course, I talked to my friends from university, and we decided to make another short film, following the Academia’s model of production, with me acting as Animation Director. This time it took us four months, because we could only work during the weekend, but it cemented the fact that this is what I wanted: to work with other people to make our stories come true through animation.

After seeing no improvements in my university, I decided to drop out and started saving money to study abroad. I dove headfirst into my own projects and portfolio, and got involved with a couple of stop motion projects where I was Animation Director pro bono, as well as helping with the art department in the creation of sets and puppets. You can see the shorts I worked on in my showreel and in the 'optional' tab.

After getting your rejection letter last year, I did not get discouraged. I had my mind set into furthering my education. I found a small but renowned school, Daniel Martinez Lara's PSL, a 3D animation school based in Barcelona, where I've been living for the last seven months. It's been a great and challenging experience. The curriculum is tight and really demanding, for a 10 month course. I've been enjoying it immensely and look forward to continue growing these last few months. It is a course focused on character animation, but it also emphasizes the need of the independent animator to know how to model and rig, so that our showreels can be more unique, instead of having the same character rigs over and over again, and using our own props as the animations call for them.

I am a proficient user of ClipStudio, Paint Tool Sai, and Dragonframe. I'm learning animation in Maya and Blender, and can also make polygonal models and rigs in Blender. I have a working knowledge of TVPaint, Photoshop, AfterEffects, Premiere, and Corel Painter. I speak fluent Spanish and English, I have a moderate command of Japanese, and I am learning Danish.

As for my future, I see myself completing my education, and working mainly as a character animator, or generalist if needs must, but I could also see myself working in production. I do not have aspirations to work for big-name studios, I would much rather work for small studios or indie productions, preferably with projects that I resonate with and that drive my creativity. I would love to work in a 2D feature in Europe, but I am open to traveling for work wherever it presents itself, as I love seeing knew places and meeting new people.

Sadly, animation has been pigeonholed as a children’s ‘genre’ by the general population, I wish to see that changed and for animation to be seen for what it is, a tool for telling stories, any kind of stories. Other than a few indie features, and sitcoms, it is usually short films that touch more mature themes. It is great to see how enthusiastic young people are about shows and movies, and I wish for the industry to continue growing out of its box.

I want to tell stories for the people that do not get to see themselves in media. I want to tell stories where the characters are not a stereotype, where their lives are not plot devices or mean jokes. Growing up without a positive reinforcement in the media I consumed was harsh, even if I did not realize it at the time. I am now critical and no longer a passive consumer. I am vocal and open minded, and I wish to be part of the change of the industry with my work.

My biggest influences are comics and cartoons. I love the sprawling world Eiichiro Oda has created in One Piece, and the myriad of characters that populate it. I enjoy getting lost in Mignola’s inks in Hellboy; when I read it I always get an untamable urge to draw. At the moment I am most drawn to Vaughan’s Saga, for its incredibly human sci-fi fantasy in space, as well as Staple’s amazing art and colour schemes. I love all kinds of animations, but the ones that influenced me the most are those by Disney and Pixar, not only for how important they were to me during my formative years, but also for the beauty and care they put into their breathtaking productions, although I do wish they were not so traditional with the themes they portray. One of my biggest influences at the moment is Rebecca Sugar. Steven Universe is the kind of story I wish to tell, with characters that are alive and a story that is driven by emotions, and where the characters are developed through the quiet moments in the episodes. I love how she takes the time to show us the characters instead of using faster cheap tactics to further the plot.

When speaking of my influences, I cannot not mention my online friends, without whose great encouraging and handholding, I would have never taken my art seriously.

Choosing my three favourite works was hard, I am an avid fiction reader and I love watching movies and series, but if I had to choose it would be The Fall, by Tarsem, for its stunning photography and use of real locations, as well as the depression story subtly told through a children’s tale. Lilo and Stitch, for its beautiful animation and design, as well as how it portrays family issues and the importance of human connections. Lastly, I spent most of the last two years raving about Mad Max: Fury Road to anybody who would listen, I was thoroughly impressed by its photography and stunts, but I especially loved the feminist themes that are central to the film and how George Miller chose to empower women without relying on the shock factor of showing the abuse they suffered.

Choosing my least favourite works was even harder, for I usually consume media through recommendations from people who know me. I was specially let down by Laika’s Boxtrolls, I was very excited to watch it given I had loved Paranorman, but the script was disastrous and even insulting at points, which goes to show that even with the most advanced stop motion techniques, the neat 3D-looking animation, and the huge budget, there is nothing to it without a story to sustain it. All-Star Batman and Robin is possibly the worst comic I have read, it is a downright insult to the Batman franchise, and I dislike it especially for showcasing such a skewed view of the dynamic duo as well as Batman’s beyond ridiculous grimdarkness.

I have had the luck to travel extensively thanks to my parents. I have been to a lot of Latin American countries, and have been lucky to visit Europe too. One of my most memorable experiences was last year. When I moved to Barcelona, my 60 years old mom tagged along and we trekked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage before class started. It was a 170km trek uphill and downhill in rocky terrain through Galicia's valleys, carrying our 10kg rucksacks. It was very tiring but so endlessly rewarding that we're already planning when and how we're going to walk the whole 800km way from France.

In 2015, I went on a trip to Europe for two months by myself, and visited Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland and England. This was possible mostly thanks to my online friends who graciously offered a place for me to stay so I did not have to spend much money in lodging. These were people I had never met, but that I had been chatting with for more than five years. I had a fantastic time with them, getting to know them face to face was very exciting. I was hell-bent in meeting as many friends as possible, and it was that what took me up north to Viborg, where I visited one of your alumni and one of my oldest online friends, and she took me on a tour to TAW. I was ecstatic, and I knew I wanted to attend there.

Your program is perfect for me because your intensive curriculum and project-based education is the kind of environment I thrive in. Such a hands-on program will help nurture my skills and I know I have what it takes to make the most of it. Most of my experience comes from stop motion and 3D animation, but my dream is to be a 2D character animator. Nevertheless, I know now that I love all types of animation, and I would be happy working in whatever branch. I am eager to be surrounded by passionate and dedicated students and teachers, and to hone my skills to take my art to the next level. I love working with people and I am always excited to learn from them. I am very inquisitive and a very fast learner.

As far as how I am planning to finance my education, I have savings and a flat that I lease in Argentina, and I am applying to a scholarship through VIA University College. Where I not to get it, my parents are willing to help me with the tuition fees.

Being accepted to your school would be a game changer for me, not only because of your top-notch education, but also for the future possibilities it would open for me. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely, Violeta Fellay

#letter of intention

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