Before joining the course, I had only some knowledge in animating, with the only time that I animated being on Photoshop, Autodesk Maya, and puppet stopmotion animating with Lego. Thinking even back during my BA, I have grown so much not only creatively but also as a person.
During my time learning about the various mediums of animation, and made sure that I built a strong foundation of the basics of animation, such as the principles of animation. With these stronger built skills, I was able to become more confident in executing the animation exercises that were given to us in Unit 1. Going into the next two units made me realise how much I enjoyed coming up with my own ideas and the storytelling aspect for the upcoming projects such as LIAF and the 1-minute film, collaborating with the writers. This makes me think about the future and the kind of role I want in the animation industry, that being a director is something that I might want to become. This was also the first time that I collaborated with other animators as well which really helped push me to think in different perspectives as well as bounce off my teammates, showing how important collaboration is in this industry. With also being the assistant director of the film helped me organise and plan correctly to ensure that we are efficient with our time.
Hearing about many alumni talking about their experience, such as Yukai Du and how she started freelancing as well as worked in the animation industry,y made me realise how much work I need to put in to find my uniqueness as well as the skills that I have that can help me stand out.
Also, hearing other industry professionals such as Travis Knight, the director, president, and CEO of LAIKA, as well as the studio visit to BlinkInk, and Ben Cole giving us advice on what recruiters look for when they look at our work. Hearing both of them saying that people look for animators who have good storytelling skills has got me to think about compelling script-writing and to continue doing research about what makes a good story.
Looking at where I am now compared to when I first joined, I have become a much more confident person. I have been able to push myself as an animator and create three films, with two of them that I made entirely by myself. Where I thought from the first year I found it daunting that I would have to create a film by myself, to now wanting to create more films, whether that be as personal projects or as a director in the future.