It’s 7 p.m. on a Saturday. The clock counts down with less than 24 hours to go on a 48-hour animation sprint, but students show no signs of stopping. In quiet corners and lively computer labs scattered around the sixth floor of Willamette University’s Pacific Northwest College of Art’s downtown Portland campus, teams of artists sew puppets, carefully draw and redraw fantastical scenes, and consult their storyboards and spreadsheets for guidance. Need a break? Mattresses and sleeping bags are ready to help students get a little rest, and two friendly dogs scamper around the building, eager to offer emotional support.
This is the second annual PNCA Animation Jam — a 48-hour challenge designed to test students’ ability to work together on short animated films under pressure. The process mimics the collaboration of a more industry-focused animation team. Although not required, participants are encouraged to bring sleeping bags and spend two nights at the school to fully immerse themselves in the creative process.
While the student-organized event is a competition, the spirit is friendly and collaborative. Teams were made up of a mix of undergraduate and graduate students from different departments. A few illustration students from Willamette’s Salem campus even make the trek up to Portland to participate. This year’s challenge reached full capacity with 52 participants registered, surpassing the initial limit of 40 students.
“Hosting the PNCA Animation Jam has been a great way to build community among our students, even between majors,” says Piper Haswell BFA’25. “I think it also provides a wonderful way for students to see what they’re capable of creating, especially for younger students.”
This year’s “Once Upon a Time” theme inspires short stories about fairytale heroes, darkly murderous wolves, and one surprisingly friendly sleep paralysis demon. Students work in a variety of mediums, combining stop-motion animation with digital drawings and hand-drawn illustrations. Original music, sound effects, and voiceovers are produced in PNCA’s very own recording studio.
“I see the students taking the skills they learn in our classes and combining them in new ways to make their films,” says animation faculty member Marilyn Zornado, herself an award-winning animator whose work has appeared in commercials, a PBS documentary, and even a music video for “Weird Al” Yankovich.
“Hosting the PNCA Animation Jam has been a great way to build community among our students, even between majors"
— Piper Haswell BFA'25
At the end of the event, students watch their films together and share them with the world in a public film festival. While the product of their work is impressive in its own right, perhaps more important is the leadership and teamwork they learn along the way — essential practice for working in the highly collaborative world of animation and filmmaking.
“The challenge of only having 48 hours to create their films teaches students better time management skills when it comes to production, something that I think is important going into any professional industry post-graduation,” says Mya Katz BFA’25, one of the event organizers. “Bringing the community together for a weekend helps build camaraderie and teamwork skills as well. We're excited to have hosted it again this year (and hopefully many more years to come)!”
watch a film from the 48-hour animation jam
