In this mockumentary sitcom, we follow the workers of a coffee shop as they juggle their mundane life with their goals for life in Los Angeles.

My work addresses the importance of self-identity within the Black culture of the United States of America through the depiction of an African American boy who must look into himself to overcome a difficult bullying situation. Animation as a medium is an ideal tool for interrogating the Western perspective of identity through cinematic storytelling. Using established animation methods, I created a visual narrative to portray the impact self-identity has on an individual's actions in certain social conditions. The film expands the medium of animation to subvert the narrative expectations of bullying and presents the idea of identity as a nonconforming concept. Making use of animation as a tool to analyze identity presents the notion that cinematic storytelling makes a cultural change.

Alexander is a story of overcoming the fear of personal artistic expression. Alexander is the son of an affluent family who was found to have musical talent at a young age. Alex grows to enjoy music, but rote exercises alone begin to disillusion the promising musician. Regardless, Alexander dutifully practices piano exercises daily, bored by the lack of creative stimulation but afraid to openly admit it. After an accidental music note sparks his imagination, Alexander escapes into fantasy: a colorful visualization of the original music he creates. Within this fantasy, a warm, supportive community leads Alexander to his most significant source of inspiration: the Muse, an embodiment of his passionate creativity. As Alexander ages, reality begins to cloud his fantasy. Fearful of rejection, frustration and indecision over expressing himself in reality begin to outweigh his joy. Indecision leads to hazy inspiration, and Alexander's Muse becomes weak and colorless. The musician knows he must make a choice: commit to the narrow view of what his family believes art to be, or openly fight for his form of creativity. After seeing his own reflection in the piano, Alexander glimpses life without honest self-expression. He ultimately chooses creativity despite fear. This courageous action is met with real comfort as Alexander's artistic expression finally finds him community in his real world. The paper accompanying my film deconstructs process and influences. I first discuss the importance of Japanese animation and musical theatre to my story and art direction. I then examine how queerness inspired my character creation, and how subverting traditionally gendered traits can encourage creative freedom.

Seeds of Doubt is a two-dimensional (2D) animated film that explores how anxiety can stifle personal growth. The film demonstrates how accepting and coping with this anxiety can help you return to a place of calm and allow you to blossom. Roma, a young witch, struggles to use her magic to successfully make her crops grow. Her lack of confidence leaves her stuck inside the greenhouse until she is ready to move on to the tomato fields outside. She must first re-center herself and overcome her self-doubt before it consumes her completely. This idea is sourced largely from my own personal experience with anxiety as a teenager and how this affected my relationship with myself, my family, and my art.

The evolution of animation in the United States and its resulting classification varies significantly from its global counterparts. Through a convergence of complex cultural, regulatory, and entrepreneurial influences, the medium's experimental artistic principals have remained firmly rooted in the mass-production style studio pipeline codified by Hollywood. Through the advent of academically centered animation education, the development of the internet, self-distribution, and the growing affordability of industry level hardware and software, the industry has expanded beyond the traditional narrow scope. This re-globalization of entertainment in the United States encourages an auteur approach to animated filmmaking that is challenging the strict association of animation as a children's medium.

The Spoon Theory is a 3D animated short film that tells the story of a dancer struggling with an invisible disability. There is a variety of media that focuses on the struggles of the disabled, however the spoon theory focuses on a different aspect by exploring disabilities that are not easily seen. The film uses visual symbols to communicate these hard to discern conditions, creating a visually interesting spectacle while effectively conveying an important message. The Spoon Theory invites the viewer to experience a different perspective on life and raise awareness about the unknown struggles of others.

A half-hour adult animated pilot partially based on eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla. Logline: Brilliant engineering student Dot must keep her boss, famed eccentric inventor Nikola Tesla, out of trouble as his unhinged contraptions wreak havoc on 1920s New York City while he battles his longtime rival, Thomas Edison.

While seeking justice for her brother’s murder at the hands of a bigoted cop, Valentina becomes a social justice activist within her Latin community while exposing the police coverup.

A struggling actress and single mother is cast in a leading role by a renowned director seeking women who have bodies without blemish, triggering a harrowing on-set odyssey that reaches a predatory boiling point.

Best friends, Harry and Dave, both come to face their own versions of mid-life crises. Harry is a former hockey player stuck in his glory days, and Dave is a recently divorced, try-hard dad without any glory days. Harry realizes he’s not in the “prime” he thinks he is but still wants another shot at the Olympics, so he decides to trade hockey in for the most exciting and physical sport in the world – Curling. He drags along Dave to form a team of misfits, including the local shuffleboard champ and hairdresser, Ramona, and a high-school janitor, Gail. Under the training of Harry’s former hockey coach, the team combines their surprising strengths and overcome their many weaknesses in order to pursue the Winter Olympics.