From BYU’s Animation Labs to Pixar’s Creative Teams, Stacey Truman Shares Her Experience
As a mother of three active boys, Stacey Truman can sometimes feel herself stretched thin, pulled in different directions as she tries to keep up with them.
It doesn’t get much easier when you consider her involvement in the new Pixar movie “Elio,” which placed her as the character shading and grooming lead — her first leadership role — for the past three years.
At Pixar, children who are born during the production cycle of a movie get a production credit; all three of Truman’s boys have a credit.
For Truman, it‘s a fun tribute that celebrates navigating motherhood and the workplace — though the juggling act is certainly not without its ups and downs. “There are times when it’s really hard and it stretches you, and then there are times when things fall into place,” she said.
“Elio“ became a film of “deep connection” for Truman with its focus on family relationships and theme of connection.
Years before she would become acquainted with the space fanatic Elio, Truman was an animation student at Brigham Young University, where her professors emphasized the power of collaboration. It was at BYU where she learned how to not just execute her own vision but how to “bring to life something as a group.”
“We leaned on each other,” she recalled. “We bounced ideas off of each other. We each found areas that we really wanted to focus on and did those, but brought what we could to the table.”
BYU’s Center for Animation was a launching pad of sorts, setting her up to become involved with films like “The Good Dinosaur,” “Luca” and DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” the Deseret News previously reported.
Now, as a team lead for “Elio,” Truman continues to grow and stretch in new ways.
Read the full Deseret News article by Bethany Twede here.
