Pixar

Company - PixarCompany - PixarSector Investigated – Sector Investigated –

ANIMATION. ANIMATION.

Services and products Pixar provides.

• Pixar started in 1979 as the Graphics Group, a part of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm before it was bought by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986. The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006

• Pixar has made 10 feature films beginning with Toy Story in 1995 and each one has received critical and commercial success. Pixar followed Toy Story with A Bugs Life in 1998, Toy Story 2 in 1999, Monster’s Inc in 2001, Finding Nemo in 2003 (which is, to date, the most commercially successful Pixar film, grossing over $800 million worldwide). The Incredibles in 2004, Cars in 2006, Ratatouille in 2007, WALL-E in 2008 and Up in 2009 (the first Pixar film presented in Disney Digital 3-D). Pixar’s eleventh film Toy Story 3, is scheduled for release on June 18, 2010.

• All six Pixar films released since the inauguration of the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2001 have been nominated for the award, with four, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille and WALL-E, winning it.

Services and products Pixar provides.• Expansion to television – Toy Story was the first Pixar film to

be extended into television, with the Buss Lightyear of Star Command film and TV series. Cars was expanded to television via Car Toons, a series of shorts ( three to five minutes) running between regular Disney Channel shows and featuring Mater (the tow truck voiced by comedian Larry the Cable Guy)

• Animation and live-action – All Pixar films to date have been dominantly computer-animated features (WALL-E has so far been the only Pixar film to not be completely animated, featuring a number of live-action elements). A live action film is being planned by Brad Bird, 1906, about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which is currently in development. Bird has stated that he was “interested in moving into the live-action realm with some projects” while “staying at Pixar (because) it’s a very comfortable environment for me to work in.”

Key Stages Of The Production Process

• A story idea is pitched – A pixar employee pitches his or her idea to the other members of the development team in a way that’s reminiscent of a sales pitch. The real challenge is to get the audience to believe in the idea and see the possibilities in it.

• The text treatment is written – A treatment is a sort document that summarises the main idea of the story. Sometimes, many treatments of the same idea will be developed in order to find the right balance between solid and open possibilities, which will be filled later by development and storyboard artists.


• Storyboards are drawn – Storyboards are like a hand drawn comic book version of the movie and serve as the blueprint for the action and the dialogue. Each storyboard artist receives script pages and/or a “beat outline”, a map of the characters emotional changes that need to be seen through actions. Using these as guidelines, the artists envision their assigned sequences, draw them out and then “pitch” their work to the director.

• Voice talent begins recording – First, temporary “scratch” voices are recorded by Pixar artists for the storyboard reels. Later, when the story and dialogue are further along, professional actors begin recording the character voices, reading from a script and improvising. Actors must record lines several different ways, and the best reading is eventually animated.


• Editorial begins making reels – A reel is a videotape that allows the cleaned up storyboard sequence to stand alone, without a pitch person to tell the story. A pitch can be successful because the storyteller is strong, so reels are an essential step to validate the sequence and are the first instance that the “timing” of the sequence is understood. Editorial uses the information to fix the length and other elements of each shot in a sequence.

• The art department creates the look and feel – Based on the initial text treatment, storyboards and their own creative brainstorming and development work, the art department creates inspirational art illustrating the world and the characters. It also designs sets, props, visual looks for surfaces and colours and colour scripts for lighting, which are impressionistic pastel illustrations that emphasise the light in scenes.


• Models are sculpted and articulated – Using the art departments model packet – a set of informational drawings – the characters, sets and props are either sculpted by hand and then scanned in three dimensional or modelled in 3-D directly in the computer. They are then given “avars” or hinges, which the animator will use to make the object or character move. Woody has 100 avars in hi face alone.

• The sets are dressed – After the sets are built in 3-D they must be dressed with prop models, such as chairs, curtains and toys, to create a believable world. Set dressers work closely with the director to ensure that the directors vision for the environment is being realised.

• The shots are laid out – Translating the story into three dimensional scenes, the layout crew choreographs the characters in the set and uses a virtual camera to create shots that capture the emotion and story point of each scene. Layout often produces multiple versions of shots to provide the editorial department with choices for cutting the scene for maximum storytelling effect.


• The shot is animated – Pixars animators neither draw nor paint the shots, as is required in traditional animation. Because the character, models, layout, dialog and sound are already set up, animators are like actors or puppeteers. Using Pixars animation software, they choreograph the movements and facial expressions in each scene. They do this by using computer controls and the characters avars to define key poses. The computer then creates the “in between” frames, which the animator adjusts as necessary.

• Sets and characters are shaded – The shader is separate from the surface to which it is attached. In other words, the shape is determined by the model, while the surface colour and texture is determined by the shader. The shading process is done with “shaders” software programs that allow for complex variations in the colour or colour shaping. For example, this process allows the colour to shift in different lighting like the reflections on Woody’s polished eyes.

Key Stages In The Production Process

• Lighting completes the look – Using “digital light”, every scene is lit in much the same manner as stage lighting. Key, fill and bounce lights and room ambience are all defined and used to enhance the mood and emotion of each scene. Lighting takes its inspiration from the moody colour scripts created by the art department.

• The computer data is “rendered” – Rendering is the act of translating all of the information in the files that make up the shot – sets, colours, character movement etc – into a single frame of film. Pixars Renderfarm is a huge computer system that interprets the data and incorporates motion blur. Each frame represents 1/24 of a second of screen time and takes about six hours to render, though some frames have taken as many as 90 hours.

• Final touches are added – Editorial oversees the completion and addition of the musical score and the other sound effects. Effect animation adds special effects. And the photoscience department records the digital frames to film or to a form appropriate for digital projection.

How is this sector different from the others?

• Pixar Animation Studios is a CGI animation production company based in Emeryville, California, USA. To date, the studio has earned ten Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, and three Grammys, among many other awards, acknowledgments and achievements. It is one of the most critically acclaimed film studios of all time. It is best known for its CGI- animated feature films which are created with PhotoRealistic Renderman, its own implementation of the industry-standard Renderman image-rendering API used to generate high-quality images.

• Sequels – To date, Toy Story is the only Pixar film to have sequels. Toy Story 2 was commissioned by Disney as a direct-to-video, 60-minute film. When Disney executives saw how impressive the work-in-progress imagery for the sequel was, they decided it should be reworked as a theatrical release. The resulting change in status of Toy Story 2 was one of the major causes of the disagreement between the two companies that nearly led to a split. Toy Story 3 will be the second theatrical sequel when it is released on June 18 2010. Cars 2, the third theatrical sequel, is scheduled for release summer 2011.

How is this sector different from the others?

• Pixar is not against sequels, but believe that they should only be made if they can come up with a story as good as the original. Following the release of Toy Story 2, Pixar and Disney had a gentleman’s agreement that Disney would not make any sequels without Pixars involvement, despite their right to do so. In 2004, after Pixar announced their unsuccessful attempt to make a new deal, Disney announced that they would go ahead with sequels to Pixar’s film’s with or without Pixar, although they stated they would prefer Pixar to agree to work on them. Toy Story 3 was back in pre-production at the new CGI division of Walt Disney Feature Animation, Circle 7 animation.

Evidence• Structure of the sector – Large Company. Type –

Private (Subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company). Industry –CGI animation, motion pictures.

• Types of disciplines (job types) to be found in the sector – Animator, Director, Co-Director, Writer, Editorial Department, Executive Producer, Production Designer, Art Department, Sound, Story Artists and Visual Effects.

• Your sources of information – Pixar website – www.pixar.com, Wikipedia.

http://www.pixar.com/

Education

Pixar