Why?

Film is my passion and obsession. As a child, I remember spending countless hours watching films and being enthralled by the stories weaved by the filmmakers. I would not understand that films are people’s jobs until my sophomore year in high school. I remember watching the appendices to Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and thinking “that’s their job. They wake up every morning and step into a fantasy world and seem to by having the time of their lives. I want to do that.” And then I realized, I could do it. The next day, I went to the principal of my high school to try and get a news program at our school that I could help run. It was granted. The next week, I did my first shoot ever, and the end result was horrible. However, the feeling of working behind a camera and creating something from nothing was the best feeling ever. I knew I only wanted to be a filmmaker and nothing would stop me. I quickly picked up skills and techniques and now, while I am certainly no Spielberg or Tarantino yet, I feel confident enough that I could actually make a living out of this. As far as animation is concerned, I have always been interested, but uncertain about it. With live action, all you need is a camera and you could, in theory, make a movie. However, I had no idea where to start with animation. It’s probably the biggest reason why I am taking MART 571C, so I can understand and create my own animations. I have found that animation is probably the hardest thing concerning film that I have done to date, yet I find it the most interesting. Animation is unique and creates a separate world from live action. This fascination, which started in my childhood, is the driving force that pushes me to further explore and understand animation.