Category:BFA Animation

BYU awarded its first BFA Animation degrees in 2004. Since then, the program has received national acclaim, particularly in the animation department, which has won eleven Student Emmys in the last eight years. In recent years, Pixar Animation Studios has mentored students on a one-on-one basis, a remarkable offer as Pixar only mentors two schools in the nation: BYU and Cal Arts, a private animation school founded by Walt Disney himself.

In 2008, Ed Catmull, President of Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, visited BYU campus. In his address he said,

"Over the years, Pixar has worked with a lot of different universities around the country and hired people. One of the interesting things is, all of a sudden, in the last few years, we found that BYU has risen to the top. BYU has an extraordinary program here."

Following Catmull's address, a new Animation Center was announced, which aims to "foster further collaborative work, both with external partners who mentor and hire our students as well as to create more formal and effective curricular collaborations across campus," said Dean Stephen Jones of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, which houses the animation major. The Center will be housed in the Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, and will be directed by animation professor R. Brent Adams.

Brigham Young University Animation Students have won eight College Television Awards commonly known as 'Student Emmys' from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The films that have won are Lemmings, Petshop, Faux Paw, Noggin, Turtles, Las Pinatas, Lion and the Mouse, Pajama Gladiator, and Dream Giver.

The Students in the Animation Program have also won two Student Academy Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The two winning films are Lemmings and Turtles.

In 2008, their short Pajama Gladiator was selected to be part of the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival and was awarded the Producers' Choice Award.

In 2011, their latest animated film Dream Giver won an award for best animation and music composition at the Student Emmys.

NewsLinks

• The Deseret News - Local draw: Pixar increasingly tapping into BYU talent (24 June 2011)
• BYU News - Pixar President Praises BYU Animation Program at Premiere of Latest Short Film (28 March 2011)
• The Daily Universe - Taking a look at BYU’s animation program (11 March 2011)
• The Deseret News - BYU Center to Develop Animation Creations (28 March 2011)
• The Daily Herald - BYU Will Centralize Animation Program (27 March 2008)
• KSL - BYU Creating a New Center Focusing on Computer Animation (27 March 2008)

External Links

• The Animation Center at BYU