Amalie Angelo Haase - CA Portfolio 2017

My twin Sofia (left) and me (right)

Hello, people at the Animation Workshop!

My name is Amalie Angelo Haase, but everyone calls me Malle. I’m 22 years old, I live in Aarhus and I’m applying for the bachelor degree in Character Animation at the Animation Workshop 2017.

I also applied for CA in 2016, but didn’t get in, thus this is my second time applying.

Animation has always been a huge part of my life – especially 2D animation and stop motion which have a very big spot in my heart!

I started dreaming about getting into animation when I was about 13 years of age and made my own small animations and animatics – I even worked on a 4 minute long music-video animation, but sadly never got to finish it.

I first learned about TAW through research to my “OSO-assignment” in 10th grade, where I wrote about the animation industry, education, history and development, and some of the technical work behind it.

At the time I hadn’t planned on getting an STX, and therefore wasn’t sure if I could get a bachelor in animation, but here I am five years later with my exam from Viby Gymnasium where I studied music (A), English (A) and social studies (B). And when I heard that one of my friends applied to Visual HF last year, my dream of a future in the animation industry resurfaced. I knew I had to get in!

I have been drawing since the day I could hold a pen with my hand. This has left me with great experience in drawing with all kinds of traditional media. I started working digitally in 2010 where my first media to work with was GIMP. Later on I then moved to working with more professional media, giving me a great proficiency in programs as Paint Tool Sai and Adobe Photoshop.

Besides drawing, my greatest passions are music, singing (mostly to myself), creating costumes and acting. Acting has been a big part of my life for many years and thus also a big part of me as a person. It is something that comes very natural to me and I love the thrill of performing on a stage for a live audience. This has also brought me great joy in reflecting my experience from acting, into a character, making it possible for me to act and feel through them.

I very recently looked into some of the works of Windsor McCay, and I must say, I was impressed. McCay made what is sometimes reffered to as the world's oldest cartoon (1st ever keyframe animation), called 'Gertie The Dinorsaur' (1914). This movie required McCay and his assistant John A. Fitzsimmons - who traced the backgrounds - to create 10.000 hand drawn pictures, which they inked on ricepaper and mounted on carboard. In the animation McCay interacts with the dinosaur Gertie (Gertie on the screen, McCay next to it), giving her commands, feeding her etc. It is truly an impressive and delightful piece of work, and it was exciting to look at some of the origins of keyframe animation.

As mentioned earlier, I applied for CA in 2016 as well, but didn't make the cut. I was, however quite uncertain what requirements there were to make a portfolio, as that was my first time ever applying, and I was very green in a lot of the categories. However this didn't put me down! And now more than ever, I am determined to follow my dream, and has spent this year, getting a better feel for movement, dynamics, anatomy etc. to prepare myself for my new portfolio.

Travelling has been something I have done for as long as I can remember. I have been to different parts of Europe countless of times with my father on our annual skiing holiday or when we went on foreign holidays during summer. But I think the most exciting times I’ve been abroad, has been during my education. In 9th grade I went to China with my classmates, where we each had to live with a Chinese family and go to school with their children - we even performed at the school's talent show one evening. It was a very special and exciting experience, visiting a country that is so different from any place else I have been, and it was a very educational trip.

I have also been to England a couple of times during STX, one being on our study trip to Manchester in our senior year. But before that, about 10 other students and I, were selected to go to the port city Hornsea on a two week exchange, where we would each live with English students during our stay. Though the trip didn’t bring me the same cultural diversity as the visit to China did, this may have had an even greater impact on me. I still remember how sad I felt when we eventually had to go back home and leave all these wonderful people and places behind. I grew a lot as a person, it made me realize some new things about myself living abroad and away from home and I got some amazing new friends, and it will be something that I’ll forever hold close to my heart. (And as a bonus, I gained an amazing British accent!)

My favorite games at the moment consist of ‘Undertale’ and ‘Ori and the Blind Forest’ – Ori and the Blind forest might be the most visually beautiful game I have had the pleasure to play. I found ‘Undertale’ very pleasing with its diverse, lovable characters and the well executed multiple, opposing plots. A game that I also find enjoyable and captivating is the indie game ‘Limbo’. Despite that the title might have been kind of a dead giveaway, I loved the ending - which came as a shock to me - it had a loop-like storyline that tied everything together at the end, and to be frank, it blew my mind away! The style in the game is very simplistic with it’s silhouette style, but it fits the feeling and story of the game beautifully.

Another great inspiration to me is the comic book series ‘Batman’, as I have been quite a Batman-fanatic for some years now. I mainly enjoy the origin of the franchise, the comics, and not just the huge amount of movies and games that have been created for the enormous fandom. I have never been much of a comic book fan, but found the artwork in the newer issues to be very fascinating and find it to be a fresh new inspiration.

Like many others from my generation I grew up with movies from Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks and also the occasionally Studio Ghibli films. I think some of my favorite animated movies is the 2002 adaptation of the book ‘Treasure Island’ by Robert Louis Stevenson, the Disney movie ‘Treasure Planet’ and the computer animated feature film ‘Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs’. I absolutely adore the exaggerating, wobbly body language and facial expressions on the characters, and I cried laughing the first few times I watched it.

My greatest inspiration and idols consist of Felix Colgrave (animator), Vivienne Medrano (animator), Tim Burton and last but not least, Alex Hirsh who is the creator behind one of the animated series that I adore most, ‘Gravity Falls’. The reason why I find this show particularly pleasing, is not only the beautiful yet simplistic animation and artwork, but also the characters, their individual interactions and huge development throughout the series and the exciting, humoristic and emotional plotline that I find nothing short but beautifully executed.

I have also fallen in love with another show that aired on Cartoon Network, the miniseries ‘Over the Garden Wall’ created by writer, storyboard artist and animator Patrick McHale. The light and childish humor reminded me a lot of the animated series ‘Adventure Time’, but the show also has a dark, eerie feeling to it, which I found very intriguing. The character designs seems like something you’d find in the universe of Tim Burton, the music and background art is breathtaking and the clever storyline takes you on an emotional roller-coaster ride – all in less than the two hours the show takes place.

Shows and games like these have been my main motivation, my drive, while working on my portfolio. I kept thinking “This is what I’d like to make!”. Clever stories with meaningful content that stick with people and beautiful characters that the viewer can relate to, feel and grow with.

In conclusion, I am convinced studying at The Animation Workshop will be an experience without equal, and I will assure you that no matter what, I will not give up until I do get accepted.

I plan on financing my education with S.U. but if necessary I will take a weekend job and/or a S.U.-loan.

I look forward to hearing from you and receive your feedback.

Sincerely,
Amalie Angelo Haase
amaliehaase@hotmail.com