The California State University, Northridge community and the public are invited to attend a special presentation on the new animated feature, “Coco,” by Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Byron Bashforth working on “Coco” on July 25, 2017 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. Photo Credit: Deborah Coleman / Pixar

The presentation by Byron Bashforth, Pixar’s character shading lead — texture shading artist — will be from 3 to 4 p.m. in CSUN’s University Student Union (USU) Theatre, located on the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

“Those attending will learn the basic process of what goes into making a Disney and CG (Computer Graphics) film,” said CSUN art professor Robert St. Pierre, who also serves as faculty advisor for the Animation Student League of Northridge (ASLN) — a CSUN student-run organization whose mission is to provide students pursuing a career in animation with essential industry knowledge so that they may succeed in careers in animation.

“They’ll be learning about the animation process, see sneak peek film clips from the movie and get insight [into] how animated movies are made,” St. Pierre said.

During the presentation, Bashforth will talk about the making of the movie, and the animation and film industry. A Q&A session will follow the presentation.

The film’s theme centers on Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) — a Mexican holiday that honors the memories of deceased loved ones and ancestors — and follows a boy’s journey to unlock the real story behind his family history. The film is scheduled to be released in theaters on Thanksgiving Day.

The idea of the film was originally pitched in 2010 shortly after the release of “Toy Story 3.” The production for the animation began in spring of 2016.

Bashforth joined Pixar Animation Studios in June 1999 as a render technical director on “Toy Story 2.” He has worked as a shading technical director on several films including “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “Inside Out,” “Brave,” “Up” and “The Incredibles.” He also was a character shading lead on “Monsters University” and “Ratatouille,” as well as the shading and paint lead on the short film “LAVA.” In addition, Bashforth was an integration engineer on “Finding Dory.”

The USU Theatre seats 224 people, with priority seating given to CSUN students. Guests must arrive early to receive a seat. Disney will provide attendees with swag items such as bags, posters and guitar picks.

For more information on events, please email asln@csun.edu.

animation, Disney