Emilie Goulet forges Hollywood animation career

In a recent blog post, Emilie Goulet, BFA (film animation) 01, wrote: “I remember when I was a kid and school would end for the summer. There was so much time off that I would almost get bored after a while… and that’s when I started getting story ideas.”

Goulet’s spare time during summer vacations would lay the framework for a successful career in film and video-game animation following her graduation from Concordia’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in 2001.

In the past decade and a half she’s worked with Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures and Electronic Arts. Her story ideas have appeared in the movies The Little Prince and Scooby Doo Unmasked, as well as several other television and film productions.

Goulet says her university education played a significant role in her path to Hollywood.

“One thing that I learned right away at Concordia was the many different ways one could tell a story,” she says. “Everybody did something differently and could help you see your own work from a new angle.”

Goulet’s inspiration for her work comes from her fondness for storytelling.

“I always loved telling stories. I didn’t know how animation worked but was captivated by how it drew the attention and how versatile the visual language was,” she says. “I wanted to go through the screen and live in those worlds.”

Goulet feels that the interactivity of video games allows her to feel a different type of connection to her audience.

“In movies, it seems like the screen separates the director from the audience in a more obvious way. The director holds the camera at all times,” she says.

“The interactive aspect of the storytelling in video games changes the conversation with the audience every instant.”

Goulet was recently part of the animation team on Big Hero 6, which won the 2014 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.

The film tells the story of teenage robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada and how he thwarts a criminal plot in the city of San Fransokyo. It has grossed over US$650 million worldwide.

“Like many people in the animation field, I grew up watching and re-watching Disney movies. I learned so much about the care and respect for the art,” Goulet says.

Her latest project is Pixels, a highly anticipated 3D science fiction comedy film starring Adam Sandler, due to be released in summer 2015.

Goulet values her connection with viewers, sharing the filmmaking adventure with them. Her advice to current students wishing to follow her path:

“There are two things that I never forget: observe and respect your audience. Never stop learning from watching the world around you, and be true to yourself in telling its story to others.”

She adds, “It all goes back to making connections, the ones we make with our environment and how we share them.”