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BYU professor and alumni shine with Oscar-nominated animated film

An animated short film co-produced by BYU animation professor Kelly Loosli was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Short category. The Academy Awards will air live on Sunday, March 10, on ABC.
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BYU students shine at 42nd College Television Awards with multiple top accolades

The Television Academy Foundation announced the winners of the 42nd College Television Awards or “Student Emmy’s” earlier this week and BYU students once again claimed the top spot in the best animation series and the best commercial.
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BYU student created video game wins international award

A new video game created and produced by BYU students recently received the “Highly Commended” award from the Rookie Awards – an international board that evaluates and ranks top video game design schools around the world. The award earned BYU the number five school in the world for game design and development.
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BYU animation, AdLab students win Student Emmy awards

The Television Academy announced the winners of the 41st College Television Awards or “Student Emmy’s” last week and BYU students claimed the top spot in the best animation series and the best commercial.
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Former BYU animation students now with Pixar discuss the innovations behind Disney’s ‘Soul’

In Disney and Pixar’s “Soul,” a middle-school band teacher named Joe Gardner (voice of Jamie Foxx) makes one small misstep which takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before — a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth and where he meets a precocious soul, 22 (voice of Tina Fey).
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BYU student film featured at the world’s largest children’s film festival

The film depicts a mother and daughter in the African country of Senegal who work hard to harvest salt by day and enjoy music by night. The short film masterfully highlights the importance of family and joy without the use of dialogue between characters.
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Playing the cards right: New game aims to help youth improve mental health

Data from the National Alliance on Mental Illness found that one in six U.S. youth aged 6–17 experience a mental health disorder each year, and nearly half of all mental illness begins by age 14. BYU clinical psychologist Jon Cox hopes to reverse these alarming trends.
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Swashbuckling student-made video game takes home 2 first-place awards

Each year for the past five years, students at BYU’s Center for Animation have been tasked with creating an entire video game from concept to finished product. This spring, the latest team made history by creating the first game to win first place in two different categories at the Intel University Games Showcase.
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Water animation gets easier thanks to BYU professors

Computer science professors at BYU developed a method to quickly resize 4D animations of fluids without having to completely re-simulate the entire sequence.
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BYU Center for Animation claims sixth Student Academy Award

BYU’s highly esteemed Center for Animation became even more reputable when the short film “Grendel,” directed and produced by BYU animation students, recently won the Center its sixth Student Academy Award.
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From Brazil to California: One Animator's Path to Pixar

In Pixar Animation Studios’ 2017 blockbuster Coco, one of the characters sums up his path to musical stardom: “No one was going to hand me my future. It was up to me to reach for my dream, grab it tight, and make it come true.”
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Animation nabs top ranking

It’s a good year for BYU’s Center for Animation: in May BYU animation students won E3’s College Game Competition, and now BYU tops the Animation Career Review’s ranking of animation schools with Bachelor of Science programs.
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BYU students win E3 game competition

With their genre-bending "Beat Boxers," BYU animation students take the top prize at E3's College Game Competition.  

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BYU back to E3 with Nokbak

Nokbak is the third BYU-created video game in five years to be nominated as a finalist in E3’s College Game Competition.

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Another student Emmy nom — this time with accompanying wedding bells

Taijitu, BYU's newest animation short, recently received a student Emmy nomination — the animation program's 19th since 2004.

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Animation students create quick, easy-to-learn video game and find mainstream success

Along with their longheld success with animated shorts, BYU animation students continue to venture more into the world of video games and found some mass appeal with their latest project.

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BYU Animated Short Wins Student Emmy, Makes Shortlist for BAFTA Award

The BYU Center for Animation has a history of earning accolades for its student-created animated short films each year. 2016 has been no different.

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Cinematic version of Charlie Brown shaped by BYU prof, alums' pens

Transforming the iconic two-dimensional work of Charles Schulz to a three dimensional feature-length film is no easy feat, but that was the challenge for a BYU professor and six alumni who contributed to "The Peanuts Movie."

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BYU animators try new genre, win another Student Emmy

Another year, another Student Emmy for the BYU Center for Animation. This year's film, Ram's Horn, explored a new animation style with a Wile E. Coyote feel.

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Frozen co-director encourages BYU animators to provide hope

Chris Buck, director of Frozen, spent some time on campus addressing BYU animation students and "handing the torch over."

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BYU wins Student Academy Award to go with Student Emmy for Owned

BYU Center for Animation has “owned” the animation category the “student Emmys” for over 10 years. The tradition continued as BYU won its 13th and 14th student Emmys in 11 years. Fittingly, this year’s winner is Owned.

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The Killers, Owen Wilson make new music video with BYU students

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers went to BYU alum Jared Hess to produce a Christmas music video to go with a new Christmas song. Hess pointed him to BYU, suggesting students could create it.

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BYU animators take home first-place ‘student Emmy’ for Estefan

The BYU Center for Animation has produced another 'student Emmy' winner. Take a look at Estefan, the world's greatest hairdresser, and the students who brought him to life.

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BYU’s award-winning Center for Animation is on the move

President Cecil O. Samuelson has approved the move of the Center for Animation from the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology to the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

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BYU Center for Animation’s new film a double 'student Emmy' winner

BYU Center for Animation film DreamGiver won an animation "student Emmy" over the weekend. DreamGiver tells a story that seamlessly incorporates computer animation and traditional animation.

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Dance and animation collaboration produces stirring viral video

A two-and-a-half minute animation by BYU visual arts professor Ryan Woodward has gone viral, logging more than 1 million page views between Vimeo and YouTube. The piece was created in collaboration with dance instructor Kori Wakamatsu.

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BYU student film takes home two ‘student Emmys’

BYU student film Inspector 42 won two "student Emmys" over the weekend, taking home best drama and the "Directing Award" for best overall director.

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Two newest BYU student animated films win 'Student Emmys'

The Brigham Young University Center for Animation extended its award-winning tradition by earning two "Student Emmys" this year.

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BYU animated short wins Nicktoons’ Viewers’ Choice and Producers’ awards

Fans of BYU's Center for Animation voted its latest short film to victory in the Viewers' Choice category of Nicktoons Network's annual animation festival. Festival judges also awarded "Pajama Gladiator" their Producers' Award.

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Pixar president praises BYU animation program at premiere of latest short film

The president of Pixar lauded Brigham Young University's animation program after he delivered a speech at the university Thursday.

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Newest BYU animated film wins a ‘student Emmy’

The latest animated short film from Brigham Young University’s animation program will be awarded a College Television Award (also known as a “student Emmy”) later in March at the Academy of Television Arts Sciences Foundation gala in Los Angeles.

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Animation at BYU subject of Lee Library lecture Nov. 3

R. Brent Adams, industrial design and animation professor at Brigham Young University, will discuss “What’s BYU Doing Making Cartoons?” at a Harold B. Lee Library’s House of Learning Lecture Thursday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m. in the library auditorium on the first level.

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BYU animated films win two College Television Awards

For the second year in a row, Brigham Young University's animation program has won a "student Emmy"-- two, in fact. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation, the non-profit, educational arm of the organization that awards the Emmy, announced BYU's student-produced short films "Faux Paw: Adventures in the Internet" and "PetShop" as winners in separate animation categories.

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BYU students complete new computer-animated short film "PetShop"

Students from Brigham Young University's award-winning animation department have finished their new computer-animated short film "PetShop." Plans are underway to submit the film to animation festivals around the world, and some students involved in its creation have already received jobs as a result of their work.

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BYU digitally animated film wins College Television Award

The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation, the non-profit, educational arm of the organization that awards the Emmy, will present Brigham Young University with a first-place College Television Award for "Lemmings," a digitally animated short film produced by students.

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BYU animated short recognized at film festivals

A digitally animated short film produced by a group of Brigham Young University students is receiving recognition at film festivals around the world.

Alumni Spotlight

Chris Harvey

June 28, 2022 06:31 PM
I grew up smack in the middle of the country in Kansas, in the Kansas City metro area. Through a turn of fate I ended up living in Utah and studying at BYU. I graduated in 2003 and worked on Lemmings. Since graduating I've worked for Digital Domain, Dreamworks two times, Pixar two times and now Meta.

Ethan Dean

July 11, 2022 10:24 PM
I grew up in Michigan, and met Brent as a teenager touring the animation program. I started in 2012 and graduated in 2015. I worked at Disney Interactive, Moonbot, and Psyop the year after I graduated, and ended up at Pixar the beginning of 2016. I've worked on some great projects in my time at Pixar, and hope to continue making more.
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Awards and certifications

20 College Television Awards

20 College Television Awards

6 Student Academy Awards

6 Student Academy Awards

Houdini Certified School

Houdini Certified School

Unreal Academic Partner

Unreal Academic Partner