Calm Mornings

Calm Mornings

Calm Morning Hour creates an environment for all learners to enjoy less-sensory stimulating spaces with moderated sound and lighting displays.

Learn about the magic of visual effects in film. Join Academy member and Walt Disney Animation Studios Head of Effects Animation Marlon West, and Visual Effects Supervisor and Alpha Studios Founder Kaitlyn Yang, for an interactive demonstration about the process of creating effects for the screen. Make your own sensory ocean and beach bottles. Be sure to stay for our 11am accommodative film screening of Moana (2016), with a special introduction from West. 

Calm Mornings create an environment for all learners to enjoy less-sensory-stimulating spaces with moderated sound and lighting displays. Museum staff will be available to suggest areas for self-guided exploration and play before the museum’s opening hours. Museum educators will be available for guided Gallery Highlight experiences that are interactive and adaptable to many learning styles. 

If you have any questions or need assistance planning your visit, please email museumeducation@oscars.org.  

Marlon West, Walt Disney Animation Studios Head of Effects Animation 

Marlon West most recently led the effects department in both creative and technical direction alongside fellow Head of Effects Dale Mayeda for Frozen II (2019). West has been with Walt Disney Animation Studios since 1993 when he came aboard as a trainee effects animator. His credits include The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), and Chicken Little (2005) as effects animator; Tarzan (1999) as visual effects animator; Fantasia 2000 (1999) as assistant effects supervisor; Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) and Winnie the Pooh (2011) as visual effects supervisor; the short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater (2007) as effects supervisor; and The Princess and the Frog (2009) as effects animation supervisor. He served alongside Mayeda as effects supervisor for 2013’s Oscar-winning feature film Frozen, the Oscar-winning short Feast (2014), and the worldwide hit film Moana (2016). West was 7 years old when he checked out a book with a picture of stop-motion animation pioneer Ray Harryhausen and set his sights on a job where he could bring his toys to work. He studied film and writing at Columbia College Chicago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  

Kaitlyn Yang, Visual Effects Supervisor and Alpha Studios Founder 

When Kaitlyn Yang was 9 years old, three events happened that changed her life. She emigrated to the US from China, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, and discovered the joy of digital art by learning Adobe Photoshop. A graduate of USC Film School, Yang founded her own post-production company, Alpha Studios, in 2013. She has more than sixty visual effects credits to her name, from Robot Chicken (2012–13) to Grey’s Anatomy (2019). She is a Forbes “30 Under 30” recipient for Hollywood/Entertainment, co-chair of the Visual Effects Society, and a member of the Television Academy. 

Academy Museum inclusion initiatives are made possible in part by the Ruderman Family Foundation. This program is also made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Back to Main Series