E-mail:
cathrinebaabholm@hotmail.com
Phone number:
+45 23 20 45 85
Dear The Animation Workshop,
A lot of my early
childhood memories contain some kind of creativity.
I remember asking the adults in the kindergarten for more copies of the beautiful coloring books and how one of the interns drew a boys portrait with all us other kids as spellbound spectators. And then of course that one time where my mom wouldn't let me watch Hercules for the third time in a row.
I remember asking the adults in the kindergarten for more copies of the beautiful coloring books and how one of the interns drew a boys portrait with all us other kids as spellbound spectators. And then of course that one time where my mom wouldn't let me watch Hercules for the third time in a row.
Art and animation
have always fascinated me, and even more the craft behind it. Live action
didn't really catch my interest before my late teens. I found the stories told
in animation more interesting, more liberating and more appealing for my
imagination. Drawing animals has always been my first go to when drawing -
especially as a kid; horses first and then just animals in general - happily
inspired of my, then, vast growing army of teddy bears.
During high school
I started to miss the creative aspect of learning. It had all become numbers,
strategies, global economic growth and facts. But then I found out about The
Animation Workshop. I visited the school several times, during open house and
at a week long internship. Everything felt so natural and I fell in love
with the place instantly. As a kid my biggest dream was to draw for Disney, but
not knowing that you could actually get an education and a degree in animation
I moved on with other ideas. But there it was, I could do it, I could become an
animator - and suddenly any other career that I had been
considering throughout my school years just felt so unnatural, though all
creative, they had
been nothing that I had ever felt truly passionate about.
So, after
graduating high school I started to turn my focus towards my drawing skills. The same summer I attended the summer course in
classical drawing and continued afterwards to take life drawing classes in
Aarhus. By March 2015 I had my very first portfolio ready for the
CA-program. At the following feedback session I was recommended to take a
semester at The Drawing Academy, and so I did. I attended the small, cozy class
of the spring semester 2016 and it was truly wonderful! It was great to have
both Artem and Maria as teachers and combined, their different ways of teaching
made so much more sense - almost like one plus one equals two. That's something that I would really look forward to, if I
get accepted to the CA-program; the rotation of teachers. It's a great approach
and it has shown itself super beneficial. Secondly it's an awesome
opportunity to meet people from the industry with fresh hands on
experience.
Also
coming to Viborg, being around TAW, and meeting other dedicated,
passionate and creative people have been so rewarding. Here is time and space
for the creative flow and it somehow feels like coming home. - And you don't
just leave home, right? So, I joined the Open Workshop. Here I've been
working on my portfolio, so this will be my second application for the
Character Animation program. My drawing skills have improved tremendously ever
since started TDA, but especially after attending OW. It has been such a
privilege to be able to get to know software like Photoshop way better, and it
has brought another level of fun into the drawing process. I'm now very
comfortable working in Photoshop, and I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I've
also tried to animate a bit in tv-paint on a very beginners level.
For almost 6 years
I've been working in the retail industry, both part- and full time. It's a
tough job and it isn't always fun. But still I stayed. There was a very strong
collegiate unity even though our department alone had almost 200 employees.
People cared about each other and it was an excellent place to grow. Throughout
the years I've been asked to take on more and more responsibility and new
tasks, and I'm now scheduled to take on a part time management position for a
couple of months. I don't seek leadership and it's not a goal for me, but I
happen to find myself in the position of it from time to time. I like to see it
as a way of growing and self-exploration and I don't mind it as long as it
comes naturally. With that said, I see myself more as the diplomatic glue, when
it comes to group work and people in general. I would rather guide and lead in
the way of appealing to people’s intuition and to make sure that everyone feels
welcome than decide for others without them having a say.
I'm a sucker for
the good story and I have a tendency to get drawn towards fantasy and
mythology - especially in literature - it’s like a gateway away from real life
where only the imagination sets the limits. By this I don't mean the fairy tale
kind of stuff but stories that are relatable and can be projected upon real
life in some way. Recently, I've been taking a liking to the graphic novel
Blacksad which is far away from fantasy, though still fictional and finds its
home in the crime noir genre. The pleasant watercolor and the semi-realistic humanized
animal world fit so well with the 50's feel. I like that it plays on historical
events and always has an extra plot twist up the sleeve. The characters we meet
along the way though, are not always that deep - but the fact that they appear
as specific animals makes one believe that we know more about them, and leave
us conflicted and curious when proven wrong, which is a nice little detail. It
has made me realize just how much small details like adding an animal or color
to a character can add to the overall narrative.
Kubo and the Two
Strings on the other hand is a good example, when it comes to lack of story;
it's quite predictable all way through and doesn't do the beautiful visuals any
justice. I was left with a kind of "meh"-feeling after watching it,
even though the stop-motion is so neat and the humor cute.
Another film that
catches a bit of my dislike is Anomalisa. Not that it's a bad film, it just
puts me off. Several times during the film I just wanted to sink through the
seat and disappear. Stop motion as a media is really used wisely in order to
communicate what they wanted, and I truly appreciate that. It's a strong film
and it does its job leaving one with a weird, uncomfortable feeling.
A lot of the
latest Disney and Dreamworks productions I've found to be quite disappointing.
Frozen and How to train your dragon 2, to mention a few. They seem so shallow
and predictable and the characters are very flat. A good, solid story weighs
heavier than seamless animation in my opinion. Not to say that strong visuals
and good animation isn't important, I just can’t see it carrying a film alone. It seems like the bigger studios have shifted a lot of their focus to
favor only the visuals, more or less and that is sad to see. I know that
they've got a brand to take care of and that they can’t
just throw themselves into something crazy and experimental, but still. If they
don't start producing something with more depth a lot of the smaller studios
around the world will start taking over their market share. Not that I would
mind. People get more and more aware of what they watch - and the smaller
studios produce films with a lot more character and soul. But for now I guess
people will still go and watch, just because it's Disney or one of the other
big ones.
An experimental
film that I feel really has the whole package is Psiconautas, the forgotten
children, which I found deeply fascinating due to the very completed world, and
the crazily amazing visuals. The sound, colors and design enhances the strong narrative
and the dimensional characters who are nor good nor evil.
Another movie that
is something special to me is Spirited Away. It was the first Miyazaki film I
ever watched and I've re-watched it so many times since. The universe is
magical and the characters are so dimensional and always have a motive for
doing as they do. Throughout the film we
see our main character Chihiro developing as a character - we actually see how
the journey of getting her parents back changes her as an individual, which is
really lovely.
There are so many
possibilities in animation, and I enjoy quite a range of different genres and
ways of telling a story. It would be quite an experience to work on a feature
film at some point. Even though I seem to find more cons than pros when it
comes to big studios, I would like to try it out at some point, though.
Otherwise I think I would be more likely to find myself at a smaller studio or
doing some sort of experimental animation - something that's maybe even on
psychological level - but in an easily digestible way. I could see myself
working as a storyboard artist too but I would definitely go for studios with
stories and characters that portray more depth than the high-end industry can
offer.
In general I'm
quite open to new stuff: I'm really looking forward to dig further into the
many opportunities that animation offers.
Travelling as a
part of my job would be amazing. Since my first application I went to South
Africa twice. Once with a friend, once alone. I grew a little each time.
Looking back, I feel sort of relieved over not getting in the first time I
applied, or I wouldn't have become who I am today. I definitely needed time to
grow as an artist but not least as a person and individual. I pushed myself out
of my comfort zone which undoubtedly made me grow more confident and
assertive.
Going travelling
was a creative boost for me. Such a foreign culture and surroundings were
fertile ground for new ideas - but so is the environment around The Animation
Workshop. What I want to say with this is that I don't seek inspiration
somewhere specific. I collect small inspirational snippets from all sorts of
places, a walk in nature, a piece of literature, an old myth or simply by
having a conversation with a friend.
So, I would like
to do animation in order to tell stories, as stories were told to me. Let other
people get absorbed into a fictional universe, whether it's for the sake
of the story, the animation or the journey itself.
Yours sincerely,
Cathrine Baab Holm
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