A student from Aquinas Grammar School has shared her delight as one of her A-Level animations was selected to appear on RTÉ2.

Rosie Hughes’ three-minute moving animation film, titled ‘The Depths’, was broadcast on the channel back in May. It was part of RTÉ’s show ‘Home School Hub’, which has been sharing educational content during lockdown.

Rosie’s film came from her A-Level Moving Image Arts work.

The animation was shortlisted by an Irish film festival group for young people – known as Fresh Film Festival. From there, it was selected to be showcased on the Home School Hub.

Speaking about her achievement Rosie said: “It’s a privilege to be shortlisted for the Fresh Film Festival for the second year running, and one that I was honestly not expecting.

“It makes me extremely happy to think that my work has resonated with anyone to the degree it seems to have, and inspires me to create more in the future. I never would have expected to see one of my own homemade films played back to me on TV like that, and I sincerely hope that anyone tuning in enjoys it.”

Rosie’s animation painstakingly re-imagines The Little Mermaid story and she drew each frame by hand via a graphics tablet.

“I got the idea for The Depths from watching a few Studio Ghibli movies and really admiring the fantastical, colourful way in which underwater settings were portrayed.

“After researching into the likes of The Little Mermaid to get an idea of how to go about animating the movement of mermaids, I decided I was ready to take on the challenge of animating an underwater setting, where everything would be constantly moving and so more time would have to be put into every frame.

“Each one had to be drawn by hand via my graphics tablet, playing about 20 frames per second, but it was a commitment that I felt paid off!”

Having achieved 2nd place in Best GCE A2 level Animation Category for her CCEA Moving Image Arts Showcase, Rosie is now taking a gap year before she begins taking her passion further at art college.

“I’ve accepted a place at Arts University Bournemouth, studying Animation Production come October. I’m excited to learn more about the industry I’ve set my heart on honing my skills further than what I’ve managed to teach myself thus far.

“For now, I’m happy enough to sit in my room and work on ideas for whatever personal project comes to me next!”

Watch the animation along with the original article here: https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/belfast-students-stunning-animated-film-18438541?utm_source=whatsapp.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebar–