Tito Olawole
Tito Olawole is a British-Nigerian award-winning animator (Royal Television Society Southern Craft Award 2021), illustrator and creator. She’s passionate about representing diverse characters and stories influenced by her Nigerian heritage, UK upbringing and Japanese pop culture.
Tito graduated from Bournemouth University with a BA (Hons) in Computer Animation Arts in 2019. She’s worked as a 2D animator and CG Generalist in branded content and broadcast television. Tito has also been a creator and character designer in animation development. Her anime-inspired TV show concepts have been co-developed with the BBC in the Ignite Scheme 2021 and selected as the winning pitch of the Children’s Media Conference 'Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is' Session 2023.
Tito is currently a Production Assistant and hopes to continue gaining experience in 2D series development and production to one day become a showrunner.
Why I applied
I applied for the mentoring program to receive guidance through the process of creating a pitch deck for an independent 2D animated short film. I particularly wanted to learn from a mentor who had previously created/directed a 2D short film and gain an understanding of how budgets or other constraints could impact design and animation style choices. I planned to use this knowledge to create a short film pitch deck which I could use to apply for grants / funding in order to then create my first 2D short film
Project Outline
My project is a pitch deck for a 2-3 minute non-dialogue animated short film called ‘Heartstrings’. It’s loosely based on the Bible story of David and King Saul: David would play the harp to calm the king from his torment and depression.
‘Heartstrings’ explores the idea that music is more than a creative expression, it can facilitate communication, connection and healing. The story follows a 12-year-old daughter called Ìfẹ́ who desires to reconnect with her mother, Fúnmiláyọ̀, through the power of music. However, she is met with resistance from a dark force determined to keep Fúnmiláyọ̀ distressed and detached from reality.
‘Heartstrings’ would be an independently produced 2D animation for an audience of all ages. Its visual style combines traditional hand-drawn animation techniques with anime-inspired character designs and a heavy use of FXs.
"The SDT mentoring program was such a supportive experience for me. Tanya Scott was an amazing mentor and a great help in guiding me through the process of creating a short film pitch deck. I learnt so much from hearing how she made her short 'The Wolf of Custer' and I was able to figure out the focal point of my story using the key principles of her approach. I also found our sessions invaluable for candid conversations about navigating the animation industry. Tanya has achieved much of what I aspire to do as a creator so I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to ask her questions and absorb her wisdom."
Tito Olawole 2024 Mentoring Programme
Contact
If you like Tito's work and are interested in hearing more about her project please don't hesitate to reach out