Alec (Sofija) Kucere-Lavcinovska
The Battle of Ice Spire
“We sing because we can't speak anymore. Dance is an extension of that - we dance because we can't speak anymore.â€
― Kristin Chenoweth
Alec (Sofija) Kucere-Lavcinovska is an animator and storyboard artist immigrated from Latvia. Having been aware of language barriers since she was a child, Alec understands the importance of visual based communication and storytelling through art. Animation takes the idea one step further, walking people through a scene, forcing them to spend time with a character, to truly understand the story.
The Battle of Ice Spire is the vehicle through which Alec wishes to explore and familiarize herself with filmmaking and animation. While the story is rather simple, four friends fighting a fantastical dragon, the medium through which Alec decides to tell the story is anything but. Animation is one of the most tedious, time consuming avenues for self expression there is, yet the end product captivates most people that scoff at fine art. Animators exist because while a picture can tell a thousand words, one thousand pictures can tell one united story, be it simple or complex. The Battle of Ice Spire is not the most profound of dialogues, but it serves as a great way to foster learning of animation in a college without an animation program. It is also a way to allow Alec to direct her own animated feature, as directing requires the artist to be familiar with all types of artistic forms.
Alec's preferred medium is the illustration and animation software Clip Studio Paint, and the editing software Premiere Pro. She hoped to become more familiar with industry standard animation tools in the future.
Alec intends to stay on the East Coast and pursue animation as a full time career. Animating, storyboarding, and eventually directing are all avenues they are interested in, but in the meantime she will continue to produce more animated films.