The House Where Laurel Grew

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The House Where Laurel Grew is my degree project from MassArt, the culmination of my technical learning and design sensibilities. Over the course of the year-long project, I went through multiple story iterations and dozens of style tests before arriving at the final version

of my film.  

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I went into my senior year not knowing what story I wanted to tell with my thesis film, but I did know that I wanted to explore the relationship we have to our

homes. I myself moved only once during my childhood, but saying goodbye to my old house forever made me think of houses as archives of human experiences. I set out to create a character who would experience a similar pang of nostalgia and loss after being separated from their childhood home. 

 

And so Laurel's house, and Laurel herself, were born:

we see her at different ages as she explores seemingly mundane facets of her home. Only after she moves

away, and hears that the old house burned down, does Laurel realize the extent of her connection to the house itself. And yet her grief is soothed by the memories she has from her childhood: they are not destroyed in the house fire, but forever preserved in her heart and made sweeter with time.  

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After considering non-linear timelines, experimental film techniques, and digitally rendered backgrounds, I decided to depart from my usual style of working and embraced my fondness for traditional art making. Seeing my digital animation composited onto my ink-wash and conte backgrounds was one of the most satisfying developments of my school career. I even tested the idea of shading my film traditionally with charcoal (as seen on the left), but ultimately settled on a more streamlined digital replication of that look.  

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Working on a film about the loss of one's sense of home and normalcy was especially challenging during my

senior year of college, much less during a global pandemic that required remote learning and social distancing. The support of my classmates, professors,

and friends and family was paramount to my success

this semester, and to my on-going efforts to see my

film through to the end. 

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