In the Spring of 2005, an incoming freshman inquired of me my position about the film program at BYU, from which I was graduating. My answer surprised both him and me. I told him it was perfect. Perhaps there was some skepticism on his part, but I confidently reinforced my position. The faculty of Brigham Young University’s Media Arts Program were and are still today the very best any university program has to offer.

There is an important discovery, however, that gave my schooling the meaning and significance that enabled me to reply with unflinching confidence to my freshman associate. What I came to BYU seeking– an education in moral film production– wasn’t there, not because it was being blatantly ignored, but because a school of moral film thought didn’t exist. This realization enabled me to have more confidence in my faculty mentors and associates.

Yet, I finished my undergraduate studies with the sense that there was more. There the adventure began, daring me to define the undefined, to organize the chaos, to establish a framework for moral media production that would point people to God. It already existed individually among working professionals, university professors, and lay artists alike. The challenge loomed to extracted it from those inner sinews to create a resource to educate future media producers to a level that would easily be termed: prolific.

Thus, the formation of the Sun Swing Studies — a discussion of video, animation, and new media in both production and critical thought.

The life blood of these studies is the Gospel the Lord Jesus Christ taught in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Yet, all are encouraged to participate regardless of religious creed. Out of the abundance of wholesome living exude expressions of gratitude and peace. These studies aims to funnel these expressions into engaging and entertaining media.

So welcome home, weary traveler, to Sun Swing Studies. Get involved!

-Brent Leavitt
June 2008