A 2D Animation Capstone Thesis created by Kateri Esposito ‘25
A young boy suffering from a terminal illness receives a flashback of his life through the metaphor of the sea, where he realizes the impact his short life had on others.
A young boy suffering from a terminal illness receives a flashback of his life through the metaphor of the sea, where he realizes the impact his short life had on others.
From PITCH to PREMIERE
01. The Pitch
When Kateri Esposito ‘25 joined JPCatholic, she probably didn’t expect to start working on her senior capstone as a freshman. But while pitching a story for Prof. Hulburt’s Animation Pre-Production course, the concept generated a lot of excitement from her classmates, and they thought – why don’t we actually make this? After discussions with Prof. Hulburt, he greenlit it as an Animation capstone.
Pitch Sketches by Kateri Esposito, Clarenne Ysmael, Corrina Borjon, Cody Harrington, Brayden Masse
02. Forming the Team
A project of this scale would need a big team, and Kateri began recruiting for key roles from among her classmates. The team would eventually grow to more than 40 students and alumni, including:
Graphic design by Karla Trujillo and Grace Reel
03. Alumni Mentorship
Prof. Hulburt encouraged Kateri to connect with Josh Martin ‘23, whose ambitious 2D animation capstone Elephant Tracks went on to receive over 15 awards and recognitions. Kateri had actually served as a colorist on that project and reconnected with Josh to seek his advice on her own capstone. Josh served as a mentor for Kateri throughout the development and production, and he was so impressed by the project that he even volunteered to join the animation team himself!
04. Story Development
Kateri continued to develop the narrative with the help of students and faculty, refining it to an 8-page script. In crafting the story, she drew on her screenwriting classes with Prof. Riley, as well as her Philosophy courses, to explore themes of suffering, hope, and human purpose. What does it take for a life to mean something? What kind of difference can someone make in just eight short years on earth?
Storyboards by Timothy Jude Halpin, Clareanne Ysmael, and Josh Martin
05. Pre-Production
Starting the capstone experience as a freshman gave valuable extra time for pre-production and production. Kateri’s team developed concept art, storyboards, and a color script to help guide the project. Many more students were brought on board to collaborate on these assets for the project.
Color Script by Patrick Schloss
06. Production
Animation Capstone is technically a 9-month sequence (3 courses); The Heartbeat of the Sea took advantage of an extra year of pre-production, plus 12 months total of production. A large team was formed to assist Kateri and Clareanne in completing 14 minutes of animation. They used tools like Adobe, Krita, Callipeg, and Procreate to accomplish the keyframing, inbetweens, coloring, cel lighting, and background art.
07. Casting & Sound Design
Kateri and her team held auditions to fill all the speaking roles. Voice talent ended up including acting junior Lisa Ruiter as Daniel’s mother, and even Catholic media producer Jim Morlino as Daniel’s canine companion Scuppers! The team used JPCatholic’s “Vault” studio to record the lines, and the new Pelican Reef music studio to record foley.
08. Scoring
In addition to studying Animation and Screenwriting, Kateri completed a minor in Digital Music and composed the score for her own film! She recruited music student Theo Pashley to mix and master the score, as well as create an original song for the credits, “Lost at Sea.”
09. Premiere
After an intense and rewarding journey, The Heartbeat of the Sea premiered on August 29, 2025 to a packed theater at the Ritz in Escondido, as part of JPCatholic’s Graduation Week showcase. Kateri and her crew were able to witness their labor of love on the big screen, and see firsthand how it moved audiences to tears.
Where can you watch it?
After a year of film festivals, the project will be released online for everyone to see!
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