Standing out isn’t an every-day happening. Reaching high expectations isn’t an every-day happening. Raising one’s homeland and university name isn’t an every-day happening. Out of very few applicants who get selected, Houhou got into Gobelins L'École de L'Image, Paris because of his exceptional work and final portfolio.
This is what Mohammad had to say about his work:
I enjoyed story telling in general, and animation is a field where this can be used in many dimensions. So, I decided from that point on that animation is going to be my field of specialty because I saw potential in the story I produced. And I wanted to do more of that.
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Tell us about how you put your portfolio together. And did this have anything to do with meeting the eligibility requirements at Gobelins?
My senior portfolio was a compilation of my work from LAU and my work from The Council, a post production and animation company, where I worked for a year and a half. I retrieved projects from my second year at LAU up until my senior year to build my portfolio in a way that includes several styles of work.
To get accepted at Gobelins, an applicant is required to submit a senior portfolio, a motivational video (speaking about oneself and one’s personal goals), and an interview. So yes, definitely, my portfolio helped me immensely in getting accepted into Gobelins. Still, I never thought that my animatic video would be enough for Gobelins since the standards there are really high! -
Now that you are in one of the best animation schools worldwide, are you satisfied with what you are learning?
I am extremely satisfied to have reached this stage. It’s crazy here! I am enrolled in 20-international students’ classes including 17 different nationalities, and I am loving this cultural diversity all around me
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How does it feel to be in an institution as prestigious as Gobelins? Who do you owe this success to?
Even though I am actually here, at Gobelins, I still feel like I’m in shock. I can’t believe that I made it this far! This being said, I constantly worry about the requirements and high expectations I am supposed to meet. And this motivates me even more to work harder and keep moving forward and getting better at what I love doing the most…in order to match up to the standards there. What I feel is like a mixture of excitement and pressure because I look around and I see huge competition. This makes me want to push myself because of the thrill that grows inside me.
This is what Mouhammad Houhou had to share concerning how he reached Gobelins. To upcoming students who feel they want to get into animation, he says,
“If you want to specialize in animation, stat while you are at LAU and keep working hard until you make it.”
It is never easy to set a goal and to reach it, without hard work and perseverance. Adding creativity to the mentioned characteristics, these would qualify as Mouhammad’s personality traits!
