Jasmine Ghoreishi, from ESMA to Framestore: a passion for movement and animation
Jasmine Ghoreishi has always been drawn to the arts, and her dream was to tell stories through animation. After studying at ESMA Montpellier, she built her career in London, where she is now Senior Animator at Framestore.
The origins: between family reticence and a first step into art
Growing up, Jasmine was already considering a career in the arts, an idea that worried her parents. They advised her to take a baccalauréat ES rather than a baccalauréat in applied arts. But after graduating, she remained determined to pursue a career in the arts. So she enrolled in a MANAA in Lyon, where she discovered a wide range of disciplines: architecture, textiles, computer graphics, nude drawing and so on.
Animation has long fascinated her, but she sees 2D as a more closed career path. So she turned to 3D, which was more open in terms of job opportunities. Her research led her to ESMA Montpellier, where she applied without hesitation: “And the rest is history”, she sums up with humour.
The ESMA experience: rigour and solidarity
The three-year course offered by the school at the time was particularly dense. Jasmine, unfamiliar with computers, initially doubted her ability to follow so many technical courses: animation, modelling, compositing… But she persevered. For her, spending hours in front of a screen was worth the effort if it meant she could fulfil her dream of telling stories like those of Disney or Pixar studios.
The teachers, former professionals who have become professors, play a central role. They approach the students as young colleagues, demanding but offering concrete feedback on the world of work. This intense supervision binds the class together. In their final year, the students spend most of their time together, helping each other to finish their films and staying on course despite the pressure.
Studying at ESMA taught her above all to work quickly, well and as part of a team. She leaves the school with a thirst for experience and an enhanced ability to adapt.
Graduation film: The Wave
Jasmine is actively involved in the film La Vague, contributing to the character design, storyboarding and animation. Presenting the short film in front of a panel of professionals is a key stage: it’s an opportunity to get interviews with studios that have come to recruit.
That’s how she met the team at The Mill in London. A few weeks after graduating, she moved to the UK to join the studio.
First steps in the industry: from The Mill to Framestore
Jasmine’s professional start is marked by a double adaptation: to a new job, and to a new life in a foreign country. Although bilingual, Jasmine is discovering daily life far from her family and in a different cultural environment. But what she had learnt at ESMA helped her to integrate quickly.
At The Mill, she worked for nearly two years as a Junior Animator on commercials and music videos. The pace was fast: the projects were short (two to five months), the teams changed frequently, and deadlines meant she had to work fast. This experience enabled her to develop her skills and build up a solid portfolio.
In 2017, she joined Framestore, still in London, this time on film productions. She stayed on, rising through the ranks to become Senior Animator.
A career marked by a variety of projects
At Framestore, Jasmine has worked on a number of films from different worlds. Her first project, Paddington 2, remains her favourite to this day. She went on to work on Detective Pikachu, Lady and the Tramp, the His Dark Materials series, Tom & Jerry, Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, and most recently Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
This diversity of styles and characters, from fantastical creatures to photorealistic animals, enriches his experience and makes his portfolio particularly complete.
The job of the entertainer: bringing life through movement
Jasmine specialises in animation, a field she likes to compare to acting. The animator gives a performance through a virtual puppet, infusing it with emotion and credibility. She stresses the importance of close observation of movement and anatomy to give characters a real soul.
Thanks to her generalist training, she is also able to interact with other departments (modelling, lighting, compositing), which facilitates collaboration within productions.
Advice for future students
In her opinion, animation is a constantly evolving sector. Tools, pipelines, teams and even artistic guidelines are constantly changing. So you have to be able to adapt quickly. Deadlines, revisions and changes of direction are all part of the job.
But Jasmine insists that it’s a stimulating world, where there’s never a dull moment, and which will always need artists to tell stories, create films or design video games. For her, working with ESMA alumni is an added bonus, strengthening the bond within the teams.
