PROVO, Utah (ABC4) – The 41st College Television Awards or “Student Emmys” concluded earlier this week and BYU students won both spots in the animation and TV commercial categories. Winners received a $3,000 cash prize.
The winner of the animation category was a short story called “Stowaway,” a humorous story about an unsuspecting baby Kraken that mistakenly ends up aboard a pirate ship. BYU animation student Tyler Bitner produced the short film with Ethan Briscoe who served as the director and writer of the film.
“It’s an easy thing to start a project. It’s a hard thing to finish it,” said BYU animation professor Seth Holladay. “This team was very unified, and they made a goal together that this was going to get done. They knew it mattered for their future experience, their future job opportunities, and their future connections. It was such a great team to work with.”
Audiences can watch the animation here.
Photo by Ethan Briscoe
The winner of the best commercial category was a piece called “Life’s Journey,” a story about a young man who saves his meager earnings to purchase the car of his dreams, a Ford Mustang. He then meets the woman of his dreams and sells his car to purchase an engagement ring. The commercial was directed by Tyler Richardson and Asher Huskinson with Rebekah Baker as producer and Campbell George as writer.
“It was the toughest shoot I’ve worked on,” said Baker. “Not only did we plan the entire shoot in three weeks in the middle of the pandemic, but there were also some people who questioned whether the idea was even worth investing in. I’m so proud of my team for moving forward despite all those challenges. It helped prepare me for the things I do day in and day out for work. You have problems and you have to find creative ways to solve them. That’s what we learned at BYU.”
Audiences can watch the commercial here.
Photo by Rebekah Baker
