All work shown was drawn and crafted by my hardworking and skilled classmates under my vision in a 14-week semester. The third-year curriculum at SVA calls for one of my favorite projects; a group film in which teams of 20 students vote on a pitch and come together to create something great. Luckily, my idea for a “Dog Russian Revolution Chase Sequence” was picked and I was able to take on my dream job as the director!

Sobaka literally translates to “dog” in Russian – reflecting the anthropomorphized dog characters we went with that help reinforce the distance between the fictionalized story we are telling and the true, complicated, and messy events that took place during the Russian Revolution.

I’ve always loved Russian literature and stories told by authors that depicted grand, beautiful, warm upper class societies contrasted by the poor, cold, desolate common folk that had been outcast by their royalty.

As a director, I was constantly “clocked in”, communicating with my classmates at all times during the day and giving feedback on all aspects of the project. When someone needed help with completion, I would step in and find a way to reassign work – or take on the responsibility myself. We had weekly check-in meetings on top of our usual class time and I worked closely with our producer to ensure that deadlines are met and submitted work is up to our standard. I created technical guides to make sure everyone was on the same page about specific programs and skills and animated my own shot in the film as well.

[Right: Natalie Frank, Andy Weaver, Gina Flora]