By Andon Carling

In late March, a new BYU Center for Animation was announced. Pixar President Ed Catmull came to speak during the announcement and said, in a post-speech press conference, comments that stunned many.

"It's amazing to suddenly see that BYU is producing the best in the industry," said Ed Catmull, president and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios. "It's the perception not just at Pixar but also at the other studios that something pretty remarkable is happening here."

It's that kind of success, noted by industry employers and film festivals around the world, which helped foster the support for the Center for Animation.

The center is a collaboration between the College of Fine Arts and Communications and the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology.

Its purpose, according to faculty and administrators, is more about streamlining a hodgepodge of projects and administrative responsibilities than making films.

Since both colleges typically work on computer animation projects together, a center will provide a united structure from which to oversee the projects, coordinate curriculum, raise funds and work with companies and individuals in the industry.

Brent Adams, professor of animation and director of the center, said he expects the center will alleviate that problem. He also hopes it will allow other colleges, such as physical and mathematical sciences, to "plug in" to the animation resources without much hassle.

"If some other college says, 'You know what? We've got this really great project but it's going to need some major help from the animation program,' then we can run that project - if it's appropriate and there's funding in place - through the Center for Animation," Adams said.

The center will also provide more educational opportunities for students.

Each college is hiring at least one additional instructor to assist in the center: one will be specialized in computer animation and another focused on the technological programming.

Kelly Loosli, the head of animation curriculum and assistant teaching professor in the department of theater and media arts, is one of three faculty members who have previously guided the program on their own. He said they've had to sacrifice their own time and money to prove the animation program can be successful.

"We're only on 10-month contracts, but we were all working over the summer," Loosli said. "We were working 60 to 80 hours a week. ... The students were excelling, the program's excelling, but the faculty is suffering in the process."

Jed Henry, a senior from Angola, Ind., majoring in animation, said students taught themselves many of the necessary skills involved in producing films. They've received training from Pixar mentors, returned interns and online tutorials. Some students registered for online courses, separate from BYU, to learn skills that will help them produce quality films, Henry said.

Ryan Woodward, associate professor of animation, agreed. He said because professors are limited on the number of courses they can teach, they've only been able to focus on particular aspects of the field. He said new faculty members should help them expand their offerings.

"I look forward to the ability to create more productions in a variety of styles and themes," Woodward said. "Currently, students focus on a very commercial style because it's attractive to big studios, and that's very important. I'm also very excited about the opportunities for students to do more experimental animation."

Each of the faculty interviewed stated that the greatest challenge in starting the Center has been working out the logistics between the two colleges.

Alan Parkinson, dean of the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology, said every meeting about the center involved numerous representatives from each college. Everything from the budget to curriculum changes has to pass through both colleges, he said.

Rory Scanlon, associate dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, agreed.

"Setting all of this up was part of the challenge because we had nothing to mirror it," Scanlon said. "We had nothing to look at on campus and say, 'well, let's copy that.'"

Faculty from both colleges is trying to raise funds for an endowment which will allow the program to be financed through continual interest, without ever touching the principal investment.

"The center has to support itself," Scanlon said. "If the center runs out of funds, the center will close."

He said one reason they went to the center was because many professionals and donors said they would support the project.

"We didn't go into it blindly," Scanlon said. "We went in understanding there was a fairly strong support system already available."

Scanlon said he's felt strong support from BYU administration, throughout the process, and is excited to see what the Center for Animation can become.

"[Animation] is a strong representation, I think, of the ingenuity and the skills of our students," Scanlon said. "And we're pleased that the professional world, outside our campus, has recognized that skill level. We think it's one of the many ways in which our college, and the arts, can truly shine and become a light on the hill."