Ella Dobson is part of a team nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy. Photo / Dean Purcell
Ella Dobson is part of a team nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy. Photo / Dean Purcell
A talented New Zealand animator is making her mark in America with an Emmy nomination for her work about gun violence.
Auckland woman Ella Dobson - daughter of broadcaster Jude Dobson - is part of a team nominated for a News and Documentary Emmy for the New York Times seriesConception.
Dobson was one of 12 creatives involved in the New York Times' series about becoming a mother and parenthood.
For her project 'When your child's bogeyman is real' Dobson illustrated the story of Melissa, a mother who survived the 2007 Virginia Polytechnic shooting where 32 people were killed.
Her self-described style is "minimal and abstract" with a touch of impressionism.
Through Dobson's animation viewers are taking on the journey with Melissa as she deals with her young son's growing anxiety around the worry of another shooting.
At a launch of the Conception series the New York Times flew Melissa to New York to meet Dobson.
"It was a really emotional meeting. We talked for a really long time and I also met Melissa's friend who had lost a relative in a shooting," Dobson says.
"Melissa was asking about gun violence in New Zealand and praising how safe New Zealand was."
Months later New Zealand was propelled into the world spotlight when 51 people were killed and as many injured in the Christchurch terror attacks.
"That news was shocking to hear and was unfathomable for me that it had happened here," Dobson said.
Dobson hoped Melissa's story would help parents of New Zealand children understand any anxiety over gun violence.
The Emmy nomination is just one of a swag of accolades for the 24-year-old.
When your child's bogeyman is real, another piece for Dow Jones and a project she worked on with mum Jude, won Dobson a prestigious D&AD Wood Pencil award.
The project with Jude was part of a WW1 documentary for the NZ Herald called Le Quesnoy.
Ella Dobson said working with her mother, through Jude's own successful production company Homegrown Television, was an honour.
"I had to put my professional hat on because working with family can have challenges but I am lucky to be in an industry where we can work together."
Ella Dobson has been nominated for her work on a serious about gun control. Photo / Dean Purcell
Jude Dobson said she was immensely proud of her daughter who was a hard worker and had shown talent from a young age.
When other kids were drawing stick figures Ella was drawing full sketches with detail and "all the parts filled in".
There were encouraging and skilled art teachers at Three Kings Primary and Diocesan School for Girls who encouraged and provided creative spaces.
"A great teacher makes all the difference and she has had a few of those over the years."
Dobson completed a Bachelor of Design at AUT in 2016 and went on to Communication Design at Champlain College in Vermont where she "fell in love with animation".
The Emmys will be announced in October but Dobson is too busy to give it too much thought.
Another project is on the boil with Josh Safron, a producer on Gossip Girl, for a new Netflix series called Soundtrack and other opportunities in the pipeline.
Ella's Awards
Best Awards | Moving Image Finalist 19 NYT Emmy nomination for the NYT Conception series for category Outstanding New Approaches: Arts, Lifestyle and Culture (her episode was one of the 12 films) | 19 New Creators Showcase, Cannes Lions | Winner 19 D&AD Next Animator | Winner 19 AI-AP's Int'l Motion Art Awards 7 | Winner 19 Livingston Award | Finalist 19 Adobe Design Achievement Awards | Honorable Mention 17 Australian Graphic Design Awards | Distinction 17 Best Awards | Moving Image Gold & Graphic Finalist 17
