Above: Alumnus Robert Barnhart is nominated for an Emmy for his lighting work on the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show.
Nominations for the 68th Emmy Awards were announced on July 14 by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and several CalArts alumni have been recognized for their work in television.
Amazon TV’s Transparent, co-produced by Zackary Drucker (Art MFA 07) and Rhys Ernst (Film/Video MFA 11), is nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, as well as Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series. Director Jill Soloway is also nominated in the category Outstanding Director for a Comedy Series, for her work in the episode “Man on The Land.” The episodes “Kina Hora,” “The Book Of Life” and “Man On The Land” are also nominated for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program. The episode “Kina Hora” is nominated for Outstanding Costumes for a Contemporary Series, Limited Series or Movie.
Ad Council’s Love Has No Labels campaign is nominated for Outstanding Commercial. Among the creators of the project are video director Jeff Teeter (Theater BFA 06), art director David Offner (Theater MFA 05), art/production coordinator Amanda Smith (Theater MFA 11), set designer Giao-Chau Ly (Theater MFA 11), sensor tech Kevin Goold (theater faculty), motion capture engineer Nick Suda (Music MFA 14) and motion capture actors Rachel Ho (Film/Video BFA 14), Jake Harkey (Dance BFA 15), Rebecca Green (Dance BFA 15) and Mireya Lucio (Theater MFA 11). Nominated in the same category is Honda’s two-minute spot “Paper,” created by a team of animators that includes David Braun (Film/Video BFA 13) and Quique Rivera (Film/Video MFA 14).
Above: Honda’s commercial ‘Paper,’ which received a nomination for Outstanding Commercial.
Kirby Dick (Art BFA 76) is nominated in the category of Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking for his film The Hunting Ground. The film also garnered a nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song “‘Til It Happens to You,” composed by Diane Warren and performed by Lady Gaga.
Robert Barnhart (Theater BFA 87) is nominated in the category of Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series for his work on the season 12 finale of So You Think You Can Dance. In the category of Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, Barnhart received two additional nominations for his design on the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show, which featured Coldplay, Bruno Mars and Beyoncé; and also for his direction of The Oscars. Barnhart has won eight primetime Emmy Awards with a total of 35 nominations.
Also nominated in the Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series category is alumnus Daniel K. Boland (Theater BFA 95) for his lighting direction on episode 917A of The Voice as well as Johnny Bradley (Theater BFA 07) for his work as Media Server Operator on episode 917A of The Voice.
In the category of Outstanding Short Form Animated Program, SpongeBob SquarePants, created by alumnus Stephen Hillenburg (Film/Video MFA 92), received a nomination for the episode titled “Company Picnic.” Adventure Time, created by alumnus Pendleton Ward (Film/Video BFA 05), was also nominated in the same category for the episode titled “Hall of Egress,” which was directed by alumnus Andres Salaff (Film/Video BFA 09). The Powerpuff Girls, created by Craig McCracken (Film/Video 92), is also nominated for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program for the episode “Once Upon a Townsville.”
For a full list of nominations, visit emmys.com. The 2016 Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, airs live on Sept. 18 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
With additional writing by Soleil David.