BYU Center for Animation is an American animation school at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(BYU). The program is a leading university animation program in the United States and has collected 11 student Emmys. Students enter the program through one of two academic tracks: an animation route to graduate with a BFA in Animation or through the computer science route to graduate with a BA in Computer Science. Students from the program have gone on to work at major studios including

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californ ...

, Blue Sky Studios, DreamWorks Animation, and

Blizzard Entertainment Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...

. BYU’s animation program touts 40 alumni at Dreamworks and 15 at Pixar. BYU animation student Emron Grover, for example, was the digital tailor for Pixar's '' Coco''.

Ed Catmull Edwin Earl "Ed" Catmull (born March 31, 1945) is an American computer scientist who is the co-founder of Pixar and was the President of Walt Disney Animation Studios. He has been honored for his contributions to 3D computer graphics (computer sci ...

, former president of Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios, visited BYU and remarked, "It’s the perception not just of Pixar, but also at the other studios, that something pretty remarkable is happening here."

History

Architectural designer R. Brent Adams was teaching evening classes at BYU and championed the creation of a BYU animation program. Donors including

Ira A. Fulton Ira Amond Fulton (born November 12, 1931) is an Arizona philanthropist, land developer, businessman, and founder of Fulton Homes. In 2006, BusinessWeek listed Fulton 36th on its list of "The 50 Most Generous Philanthropists.". The Arizona Legisla ...

provided the funding and supercomputer to establish the program in 2010. An early gift of software from Toronto-based Alias Wavefront, valued at $4 million, helped establish the department's technology base. The Center now operates under the direction of three colleges including the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, the College of Fine Arts and Communications, and the College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. In 2018, the BYU Center for Animation was ranked #1 of the Top 10 Animation Schools and Colleges with BS Programs by ''Animation Career Review''. Adams claims that "a high percentage of graduates of his program get hired by Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks, Sony and other major animation studios."

Awards and notable alumni

In the program's first year it won both a Student Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a Student Academy Award from the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

. The Center has won 16 student Emmys and been nominated for 19 student Emmys including 2019's ''Grendel''. They have also won Nickelodeon’s Producers’ Choice Award and Viewers’ Choice Award, and has been invited to show at

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

and the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. Dan Lemmon,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner, was one of the early students in the BYU Center for Animation.Carter, Edward L
"Software paves way for Y. artists"
'' Deseret News'', 10 February 1998. Retrieved on 12 April 2021.

; Student Academy Awards Awards * Grendel - 2019 * Owned - 2014 * Kites - 2009 * Pajama Gladiator - 2009 * Turtles - 2006 * Lemmings - 2004

References

External links

BYU Center for Animation Official Website

BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications
{{authority control Brigham Young University 2010 establishments in Utah Animation schools in the United States Design schools in the United States