There's no other motion picture studio like it in the world.
At least that's what BYU Motion Picture Studios director Peter Johnson claims, and listening to him explain the statement, he might just have a point."Here at the studios we have state-of-the-art equipment, coupled with a group of mostly LDS filmmakers who are striving to have the Spirit guide them in their work," Johnson emphasized.
"It's kind of like the fourth Article of Faith," he explained. "Our whole effort here is an act of faith and that's the first principle of the gospel. When you make a film, you have a picture of it in your mind, you know what you want to happen, but there are no guarantees and you're never sure what the end product will look like. You just go forward on faith."
The second principle of the gospel is repentance and "an artist can never really achieve what he wants to unless he's willing to change, adapt, recognize mistakes, and grow," Johnson noted.
And no project is really successful unless those involved immerse themselves in the work and totally commit themselves to what they are doing, he continued.
Finally, the Holy Ghost is an integral part of what goes on at the studio, said Johnson. "We continually rely on our feelings and impressions while we work, we draw on the blessing as members of the Church to have the Spirit and follow His guidance.
"There's not another motion picture studio in the world governed by those principles or by that philosophy," Johnson declared. "We have the advantage of prophets, apostles, and scriptures that teach us the purpose of life. And we have the opportunity of being involved in projects that capture that purpose on film and explain it to society at large in a format that they can understand and accept."
That's a heavy reponsibility for a studio that is just barely 35 years old. Begun in a small three-room cottage on a wooded piece of BYU property, the studio focused primarily on producing Church films and university work in its earlier days.
Today, the facility is still called the BYU Motion Picture Studio, is still housed on campus property and still films university projects, but the relationship basically stops there. "We are a professional studio, totally self-sustaining and not really connected to BYU's film department or any other department," Johnson explained.
However, many BYU film students have gained a great deal of valuable work experience at the studio during the years. When films are in production, students are always on hand to fill jobs, run errands, and get a taste of the "film world."
When Johnson was hired in 1983 as studio director, he was basically given one directive - "make the studio second to none in its capabilities."
Johnson, a BYU graduate, had worked in the film industry for 15 years and brought a wealth of creative ideas to his new assignment. He spent the next six years updating studio equipment and convincing top-quality LDS professionals to work for the studio.
Today, the three-room cottage has grown into a two-story facility where a project can be filmed, developed, edited, dubbed, completed and screened without ever leaving the premises. The 20-acre studio lot houses sound stages, screening theaters, recording studios, developing and printing machinery, editing equipment, video and audio facilities, construction shops, props and backdrops, and an art department.
"It's taken several years for us to get to this point," Johnson commented. "The majority of my effort has gone in getting the best tools to work with and the best team of people to work with those tools."
Johnson is proud of the team of filmmakers and professionals that have been assembled at the studio. There is a core group of individuals who are employed full-time - "our extended family," he explained. When the studio is involved in a production, either for the Church, the university, or an outside commercial project, additional people are hired to fill the jobs that are created. And when things are quiet at the studio, many of the staff work freelance on other productions.
"Each of the people who work here at the studio fills an important role," Johnson pointed out. "And they are each very good at what they do."
Gordon Lonsdale, director of photography, is one of the busiest members of the studio team. Lonsdale recently returned from two trips to Thailand. He has been involved in filming several television movies, a pilot for a major network, some feature length movies, and several projects for public television. And all this in addition to the work he's done for the Church and BYU.
General manager John Taylor, visual specialist Russ Richins, art department manager Lynn Clark, sound engineer Jeff Carter, film editor Pete Czerny, and film lab specialist Bob Jensen are a few others on the studio's team.
"Basically, over the past six years, with all of us working together, we've totally remodeled and re-equipped the whole studio," Johnson observed. "And we've even managed along the way to produce a few things."
Many Church members have probably enjoyed at least a few of the projects in which the BYU Motion Picture Studio team has been involved. "The Book of Mormon: How Rare A Possession" (see Church News, Nov. 14, 1987) was one of the award-winning films produced by Johnson and his crew. They have also worked on the updated version of "Man's Search for Happiness" and they just finished work on "A More Perfect Union: America Becomes a Nation," (see Church News, Jan. 27, 1990) a project that garnered a silver and gold award at the International Film and Television Festival of New York.
"We've worked hard to get to the position we are right now," Johnson said. "We have the team and we have the facility. Now my hope is that we will be able to utilize the tremendous amount of potential here and produce projects that will advance the work of the Lord."