10am, Oscar Day: Sunday March 5, Hollywood

When I heard I was nominated I went into shock. I just stood there staring, and then this little tear appeared. The phones started ringing and they haven’t stopped since.

Everybody assumes that the Academy pays for everything, but they don’t. Luckily, some guy from Balloch wrote to Continental Airlines and said how about helping this girl, so I got free flights. Adobe paid for my hotel and the film school helped me to buy things like shoes and travel insurance.

I arrived in San Francisco last Saturday, with all the nominees in my category. We spent the week doing a road trip round all the major animation studios. No matter who wins we’ll all be happy. We haven’t had A-list celeb treatment, but all the studios have been giving us amazing lunches. I’ve met the head of Dreamworks and Nick Park, who is so sweet. I definitely see avenues opening up for me with the big studios. I’m not saying there’s a job offer, but they ’re all interested and want to meet up again.

I don’t feel like an Oscar nominee, I feel like I’m on holiday. I saw the red carpet being rolled out at the Kodak Theatre yesterday and it really hit home. Now I’m ironing the creases out of my dress, and I’m like, “My God, I’m going to the Oscars!” Hollywood is a really strange place — people’s dogs wear better frocks than me! I don’t like shopping and I can’t stand trying on dresses. I’m like, “Oh God, just give me something to wear, it doesn’t matter.” But once I’m on the red carpet, I’ll pose for the cameras, though all the photographers will be going, “Who’s that?”

I’m a bit nervous now. I haven’t written a speech but I’d better as soon as I get off the phone! I won’t do a Gwyneth Paltrow if I win. I expect I’ll just stand there like a rabbit in headlights.

1am, Monday March 6, Hotel Bel Age

So, John Canemaker won and I’m really happy for him. But I’m extremely sad because my little group has broken up; tonight we said our goodbyes and I’m more upset about that than about not winning.

God, I was so nervous in the limo! When we arrived the crowds were going nuts. We stepped out on to the carpet and it was like a sea of photographers and people, everywhere you looked — an amazing sight. We walked in right beside Keanu Reeves and George Clooney! It was a brilliant experience to be sitting in the same room as Tim Burton and all these amazing people. We didn’t go to the Vanity Fair party, where all the celebrities go, because you can only get in with an Oscar-winner and John was too tired. So we drove around in the limo for a while, went to the Governors Ball and then called it a night.

It’s a bit of an anticlimax. I think back to the beginning of the week when I met the other animators and we were so curious and excited. We’ll never come together again, which is very sad. I did have fun dressing up though. I got a message from my parents saying they saw me on the red carpet and I looked fantastic. I hope someone remembered to video it!

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