Ines Peres brings Portuguese culture to the heart of Manchester

Prior to the Degree Show opening, Animation student Ines Peres discussed her animated film ‘The Keeper of Thoughts’, how she found inspiration to create it and the process of working as part of an animation team to create to bring her idea to life. 

Ines is part of our Degree Show Spotlight Series. Want to hear the stories of more students behind the Degree Show? Read the our previous piece in which Textiles in Practice student Becky Mars discusses the experiences that shaped her final year project.

Turning inspiration into animation 

Any idea turns into something real and tangible through dedication and perseverance. ‘The Keeper of Thoughts’ was no different. Originally, all I knew was I wanted to use this opportunity given to me to share something from my culture. I felt like this was my chance to leave my mark in in the world of animation and show what I wanted my work to represent.

What I lacked was a worthy story. Given this situation, I just kept drawing and taking pictures of anything I saw back home in Portugal, hoping a plot would form in my head. Luckily, where I lacked direction, I had my tutors to support and offer me advice and with their help, which resulted in a refined short film, pitch that was then accepted into production.

The idea transformed into an animation through the commitment me and my team members put into it. Collaborating with other animation students made this film a reality because without their support it would have been almost impossible to create in the time given to us.

Devleoping work collaboratively 

Throughout these last three years, I have tried out multiple separate roles within animation teams due to the nature of the BA Animation course. For this project however, I was mainly a director, since it was originally created by me, so I had to step up and offer visual guidance. Previously, I have also been a producer, animator and storyboard artists. Each of these experiences has given me a different valuable lesson.

I think it is vital for any artist to develop the mind-set that collaboration is an exciting way to thrive in our industry. Collaborating offers us the unknown. For people have diverse opinions and so bring fresh feedback into a project, thus creating something better than before. This happened when I joined some film students in second year to create a film. I have also had cases where it can be difficult to compromise between many creatives within a team, but these harder experiences are what offer you the chance to work on your communication skills. It doesn’t matter what kind of collaboration it is, as a creative you will always gain something out of it.

Working with Manchester’s creative industries

Besides getting the opportunity to work with other Manchester School of Art’s students, I was also able to co-operate with some special projects. The initial one of which was Unit X, which was my first try at working with students from multiple other art courses. It was my first in many ways, especially in setting up an art space and creating contacts within the industry. The most rewarding however, has been creating a short for BBC Five Live during my second year. The brief introduced me to what working with clients was like in the industry and I got to try new animation styles such as puppeteering.

Overall, Manchester was a breath of fresh air for me. Coming from the business centre of Frankfurt am Main, I had no prior involvement with the chaos of creativity. Here it is all around. From HOME art space, cinema and theatre, to the Northern Quarter: Manchester is a place rich with inspirational sites and events. My favourite is the Manchester Animation Festival to which I have gone every year. Finally, as an international student, I was also able to find my place within this community given how diverse the city is. 

Ines’ animated film ‘The Keeper of Thoughts’ can be viewed at the Manchester School of Art Degree Show from 9-20 June.