EPISODE 211: ARTISTS AND ARTISANS

"Milton Glaser the Famous Graphic Designer Makes a Drawing"

Featuring "Milton Glaser The Famous Graphic Designer Makes a Drawing" with director Chris Coy,"Il Contrabasso," with director Geoff Groberg, and "Capoeira: Finding the Center in the Ring" with director Justin Cook. Also featuring faculty hosts Brad Barber and Ben Unguren.

Chris Coy combined his visual arts studies with his interest in film by making this unique short documentary about BYU's visiting artist Milton Glaser. In it, the audience is offered a unique look at how Glaser operates by offering one single take, focused on a drawing he composes while ruminating on his experiences with the form.

In "Il Controbasso," both subjects, the instrument and the musician, are of interest for director Geoff Groberg. A musician himself, Groberg shares insights gained on his labor of love while making this short documentary that explore the beauty and joy of playing the upright bass.

Being a documentarian himself, we asked former student Justin Cook to shoot and edit his own segment on location in New York, where he currently studies film in the MFA program at Columbia University. In it, Justin shares his thoughts on the subjects of his film--a Colorado couple who teach capoeira, a Brazilian blend of martial art and dance, and how their passion changed the way he viewed his own life.

BYU TMA Grad Justin Cook sends a report from NYC

MORE ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:

Geoff Groberg now works within a variety of media arts formats. Check this out for more examples of his work.

Chris Coy ('06, BFA Graphic Design) is a graphic designer, fine artist, and filmmaker currently living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Examples of his work can be found here.

Regarding his film, Chris has some more thoughts he'd like to add: While it may not be obvious in the film, as Milton Glaser is drawing the picture, he is also simultaneously giving an impromptu lecture. The final film was take two of two takes- the first being rejected because portions of his picture were drawn outside of the the frame. It was a little difficult to ask him to do it all over again- as the first take was also fantastic but he obliged graciously.The project was generously funded by the BYU Museum of Art and BYU's TMA department with all aspects of production completed by full time students.

See more of Milton's work here.

"Il Contrabasso"

"Capoeria: Finding the Center of the Ring"

EPISODE 210: DEVELOPMENTS IN ANIMATION

"Rupert"

Airdate TBA
Featuring "Rupert," "The Brief Social Life of Charles Wickham," "Herman & Sally," and "Gestures" with guests Donald Mustard and faculty hosts Brent Adams and Kelly Loosli.


BYU faculty members Brent Adams and Kelly Loosli discuss early award-winning animations from the mid to late 90's that garnered enough attention to help their program evolve and ultimately develop into the recently created BYU Animation Center. "The Brief Social Life of Charles Wickham" won a student emmy, and many from its student crew went on to work on "Rupert," which largely helped establish the collaborative methods used in the department today. "Herman & Sally" is a uniquely ambitious cell drawing short, as it was a combined BFA project between the directors.

READ A REVIEW OF THIS EPISODE FROM BYU ENGLISH PROFESSOR AND AUTHOR OF THE "MORMON LITERATURE DATABASE" GIDEON BURTON HERE.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FILM:

Check this out for more on "The Brief Social Life of Charles Wickham"

MORE ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:

After graduating with a BA in Design from BYU in 1998, Ben Cloward began a career in the video game industry as an animator. He provided character animation for console games including Robotech: Battlecry, Spy vs Spy, Curious George, and Flushed Away. Ben is currently working for Bioware as the Senior Technical Animator on an unannounced massively multi-player online game. He lives with his wife and five children in Austin, Texas.
Ben enjoys being a mentor and helping students who are interested in getting into the video game industry. He'd love to answer any questions people have or get in touch with anyone who needs some help breaking in. Learn more about Ben here.

"The Brief Social Life of Charles Wickham"

"Herman & Sally"

"Gestures"

EPISODE 209: FUN FILMS

"3 AM"

Airs Feb 25 at 9:00pm
Featuring "3 AM," "Tolerance," "Light the Tree," and "Pickles" with Andy Bailey, Mark Hedengren, Bryce Randle, Jackson Barlow, Jacob Moffat, Jared Cardon, and Derek Pueblo with faculty hosts Brad Barber and Jeff Parkin.

These films are short and fun--often the result of spontaneity and a love of making movies. Their narratives range from a high stakes night of making a sandwich to a bizarre late night conversation between two tired friends. Two of the pieces, "Tolerance" and "Light the Tree" developed from the demanding "24 Hour Filmmaking Marathon" at the LDS Film Festival, where participants write, shoot, and edit a short film in 24 hours.

MORE ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:

Q. Bryce Randle II graduated from the Media Arts Program in 2006. While at BYU, he worked at Walt Disney Pictures as the editorial intern on Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Bryce currently lives in Utah and has worked on features, documentaries, and commercials. He is married to Nancy Randle and has a boy named Derek.

"Light the Tree"

"Pickles"

"Tolerance"

EPISODE 208: CRISIS AND UNITY

"Barren Earth"

Featuring "Barren Earth" by Bryan Lefler with faculty host Tom Russell

In this episode, former TMA student Bryan Lefler discusses why he chose, as a young, unmarried film minor, to make an ambitious dramatic narrative about an engaged couple dealing with a sobering development that could make or break their union. The film delves into how conditions and relationships are challenged in a moment of crisis, while probing the notion of unconditional love.

EPISODE 207: DOCUMENTARIES ABOUT OUR FAMILIES

"Cleon"

Airs Feb 18 at 9:00 pm and Feb 25 at 5:00pm
Featuring "Cleon" and "Married to Art" by Tim Skousen and Matt Schramer with faculty host Ben Unguren

TMA student documentary filmmakers are frequently drawn towards exploring stories within their own families. In this episode we feature two such films--First, Tim Skousen discusses his affectionate portrait of his great uncle Cleon, who explores the role storytelling has taken in his life as an essential gospel teaching tool. Next, Matthew Schramer frames his film "Married to Art" in terms of how his parents collaborate and create art together.

"Married to Art"

EPISODE 206: ROOTS AND WINGS

"Roots and Wings"

Airs Feb 11 at 9:00pm and Feb 18 at 5:00pm
Featuring "Roots and Wings" by Christian Vuissa and Agustina Perez with faculty host Tom Lefler

Winner of the Association for Mormon Letters' Award for Film, "Roots and Wings" is a dramatic narrative about a family's introduction to the LDS Church. Departing slightly from how we might expect such a story to play out, the film takes an earnest look at how this event affects the family's traditions and expectations of each other. Filmmakers Christian Vuissa and Agustina Perez join us to discuss the personal nature of this story, drawing on their own families' conversion stories.

EPISODE 205: COMEDIC NARRATIVES: MISFITS & OUTSIDERS

"285: The Movie"

Featured "285: The Movie" and "Hoagies" with filmmakers Matt Kammerer, Tyler Weston, and Brandon Arnold with faculty member Jeff Parkin

In this episode we feature two unique comedic narratives. "285: The Movie" and "Hoagies" both reflect a sense of funmaking in the process of filmmaking. While humorous, they emerged from classroom discussions on film history and aesthetics, at times even commenting on larger issues than may initially meet the eye. The filmmakers join us to discuss the genesis for their work, the traditions they were drawing on, as well as how some of the films' quirky characters came to life on screen.

"Hoagies"

EPISODE 204: EARLY ANIMATED FILMS

"Gobo the Basketball"

Airs Feb 4 at 9:00 pm
Features "Gobo: The Basketball", "8 Minutes at 325 Degrees," and "Nocturnal," with former student Todd Wahlquist and faculty hosts Brent Adams and Kelly Loosli.

BYU animation faculty members Brent Adams and Kelly Loosli discuss the painstaking process of computer animation and claymation in early works by ambitious student pioneers which laid the foundation for BYU's current animation program. As we feature these early works, the discussions focus on the resources available over a decade ago, and how the animation department has evolved since those early years.

"8 Minutes at 325 Degrees"

"Nocturnal"

MORE ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS:

Kelly Loosli has worked in animation and live action production for the past fourteen years, working on both the artistic and managerial sides of the industries. Mr. Loosli began his career as a clay animator for television commercials at the age of 15. While attending Brigham Young University he received a Student Emmy for his clay animated film entitled "Nocturnal." Some of Mr. Loosli's additional work experience includes DreamWorks Feature Animation working on Films like "Shrek" and "Spirit," and Buena Vista Motion Pictures, the live action division of Walt Disney. Mr. Loosli has spent the last two years helping create Brigham Young University's animation program while teaching animation and storyboarding, while also completing production of the animated feature "The Princess and the Pea" for Feature Films for Families. Mr. Loosli is currently working with University students to complete a Disney style animated short film based on the Aesop fable "The Lion and the Mouse."

EPISODE 203: DOCUMENTARY: "ONLY THE PIZZA MAN KNOWS"

"Only the Pizza Man Knows"

Airs Jan 28 at 9:00pm and Feb 4 at 5:00pm
Featuring the documentary "Only the Pizza Man Knows" and filmmaker Scott Christopherson, with faculty host Sharon Swenson.

Recently graduated student Scott Christopherson joins the show to talk about making his intimate and sobering personal documentary, "Only the Pizza Man Knows." In it, he explores the complex legacy left to him by his father, its effect on their family life, and how Scott takes all of this into consideration when making his own future plans.
MORE ABOUT THE FILMMAKER:

Scott graduated with Honors from Brigham Young University in 2007 with a B.A. in Media Arts, emphasizing in documentary production, and a Minor in Asian Studies. While studying at BYU, Scott established a non-profit organization called the Thai Film Fund dedicated to helping Thai tsunami survivors tell their own stories through filmmaking and photography. Scott is currently teaching documentary film at Spy Hop Productions in Salt Lake City and plans on
attending graduate school at San Francisco State University in the fall.

EPISODE 202: ADAPTATIONS OF SCRIPTURES

"Akedah"

("The Binding," an adaptation of the Abraham and Isaac story)

Airs Jan 28 at 5:00pm
Featuring "The Good Samaritan" and "Akedah (the Binding)" and filmmakers Alisa Anglesey and Jonathan Tanner with faculty host Tom Lefler.

This episode explores student filmmakers taking the scriptures as the text for their films. Alisa Anglesey and Jonathan Tanner share insights on how incorporating stories from the Bible taught them about filmmaking while giving them a new way of looking at details within the scripture stories.

"The Good Samaritan"