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Members of the Brigham Young University AdLab pose on the red carpet at the College Television Awards in North Hollywood, California, on April 13, 2024.

Courtesy Jeff Sheets

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Shown is a screenshot from the short animated film “Witch’s Cat,” which was produced by Brigham Young University animation students.

Courtesy Brigham Young University

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Brigham Young University animation students Jessica Fink Blaine and Abby Staker attend the 43rd College Television Awards presented by the Television Academy Foundation at the Saban Media Center in North Hollywood, California, on April 13, 2024.

Courtesy Willy Sanjuan

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Brigham Young University students claimed the top spot in both the “Animation Series” and the “Commercial, PSA or Promo” categories at the recent 43rd College Television Awards, also known the “Student Emmys.” The awards were presented by the Television Academy Foundation on April 13 in North Hollywood, California.

The awards recognize and reward excellence in student-produced programs from colleges nationwide. Emulating the Emmy Awards selection process, entries for the College Television Awards were judged by Television Academy members. Top honors and a $3,000 cash prize went to the winning teams.

Best Animation

BYU’s winning animated short story was “The Witch’s Cat,” a heartwarming tale of a witch’s feline who grows jealous of the attention the witch is giving to her new boyfriend. The cat’s attempts to thwart the relationship leaves viewers laughing while anxiously waiting to see what happens next. The film was directed by BYU animation student Abby Staker and produced by Jessica Fink Blaine.

“The theme of ‘The Witch’s Cat’ is really about love,” Staker said. “I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, I love the true principles that it teaches me. A couple of those principles that are in ‘The Witch’s Cat’ are love and change and forgiveness.”

Bringing the film to life was a herculean task that required effort from dozens of BYU students, whose skills in animation, design, commercial music and computer science played important roles.

This is the 20th time since 2003 that a BYU animation film has been featured at the Student Emmys.

Best Commercial

BYU AdLab students claimed the top spot in the “Commercial, PSA or Promo” category. In fact, BYU AdLab students swept all three nominations in the commercial category.

This year’s winning commercial was “No One is Alone,” directed by Remington Butler and produced by Alex Mcbride and Tanner Jackson. The commercial depicts the touching story of a loving family and the impact of Alzheimer’s disease. This is the AdLab’s fifth-straight win in the Student Emmys for commercials.

Other BYU commercials that received nominations were “Maximum Immersion,” directed by Remington Butler with Eli Wright, Alex Mcbride and Lucy Nielson as producers, and “We Don’t Judge, We Drive,” directed by Butler, written by Carter Halvorsen and Jeremy Holbrook, and produced by Gwynie Bahr and Tanner Jackson.

Tyler Stahle is the media relations manager for BYU.

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