Student Animator Wins Scholarship

At the age of 11, Brittany Jones knew she wanted to be an animator.

The film “The Little Mermaid” inspired her.

“I started to think, ‘Wow, people get paid to do this!’ ” Jones said.

Last week, the Ojai Film Society showed its confidence in Jones’ animation abilities by presenting the 21-year-old Ventura resident with the Ojai Film Society Fred Lamb Scholarship.

Dr. Fran Merkley, president of the Film Society, said the $1,500 award is not determined by one project an applicant is working on, but on the potential the individual shows.

Merkley said a beautiful animation piece and outstanding letters of recommendation secured the scholarship for Jones.

The piece that garnered the scholarship committee’s attention was a 2 1/2-minute film, “Passage.” Jones said she got the idea for the film from her experience breaking off a long-term relationship.

Jones, who is entering her junior year as a character animation major at CalArts in Valencia, hopes one day to own a small studio.

This is the third year the Ojai Film Society has awarded a scholarship to a Ventura County film student. This year’s award was in honor of the late Thatcher School history teacher Fred Lamb, who loved film and shared his passion with students. Jones was selected from about 30 applicants.