Lessons from a week at Pixar.
When I accepted my new position at Pixar, I came home to find a spread of Pixar toys on the kitchen table, with a large card that said “Can!” on the front. It was an echo of the words of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story, and an affirmation that I can fly. I’ll always cherish that card and that moment.
I’ve now spent one week at Pixar Animation Studios. An editor I recently worked with called it “the Valhalla of animation”, and he was right. Though I’ve only been there a week, I can already see how special a place it is, and indeed what a privilege it is to be there. The culture, the environment, even the work itself is so different and infused with creativity and meaning. It’s palpable, something you can see in the brick and taste in the water.
A place like Pixar is a place where one can learn. Steve Jobs once told a potential employee, “You’re like a small sapling, and we can take you and make you into a great tree.” Pixar is a place where that can happen, if you let it. And I’m determined to let it, soaking in everything I possibly can.
Here is a sample swatch of the color Pixar is painting in my life:
- Always be both a teacher and a student. You always have something to learn, and often the person you learn from can surprise you. Have the humility to always be open to instruction, along with the confidence to share your expertise with others. Everyone stands to gain from this.
- Be responsible for yourself. In many ways, Pixar still operates like the small company it once was, and this is possible because it trusts its employees to be responsible for themselves. When people are given responsibility rather than rules, they’re empowered to rise to the occasion, rather than live in fear of making a mistake.
- People matter more than ideas. Pixar’s president Ed Catmull is brilliant, and I admire him more than anyone else in animation. In this video, he explains how in filmmaking people are more important than ideas. After all, it’s from people that ideas spring. This philosophy is engendered in Pixar’s culture, where relationships are encouraged alongside creative and personal development.
This merely scratches the surface of the densely rotating mass of Pixar that my brain is still attempting to sort out. But it’s a solid foundation for anyone in any line of work.
To infinity…
Day one.
Today is my first day at Pixar.
Since setting out for California three years ago with wide eyes and a narrow wallet, my life has consisted of one surprise after another. I’ve sat in the room as LOST was cut, been in meetings with John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, talked with Zachary Levi after a Bible study at his house, and said hi to Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek) as he walked down the street with his wife.
All of that was great fun—but what resonates most deeply is how God has watched over Brooke and I. After those memories have blurred, I’ll still remember how the church that we had only recently joined provided for us when we were jobless, without even being asked. It was shocking, and a blessing spiritually even more than financially.
God is good.
In the documentary Art & Copy, advertising legend Hal Riney says something like this:
There are very few good people in this business, and it’s rare to get the opportunity to do really great work.
I’ve had the incredible opportunity to twice be a (small!) part of great work: first on Tangled, and then on Wreck-It Ralph. Now I’ll have that opportunity once more at Pixar. It’s a rush, and a ride I’m constantly surprised and excited to be on. I nervously wait for the day people realize that I don’t belong, and throw me back to the desert of local TV from whence I came.
Until then, I wonder. What’s around the next curve?
I have no idea. But I’m excited.
We can break the rules here; we can make it more like real filmmaking.
Brad Bird
In early 2010, Brad Bird stopped by Chapman University in southern California to talk about his work and philosophy of filmmaking. It was a fascinating conversation, full of Bird’s infectious humor and enthusiasm, as well as a plethora of rare peeks into the Pixar process.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t there.
But my wife was, and she graciously recorded the event for me on her iPhone. Here it is, cleaned up as best as can be. There are still occasional moments of quiet audio and peaking applause – but if you can get past those, there is a lot of wisdom and fun here.
Brad discusses his live action approach to animation, extensive use of After Effects for previs, creating spontaneity in animated films (by making each department fly blind), how the first 20 minutes of Back to the Future are critical, and yes, Edna Mode even shows up for a visit.
So check it out! And be inspired – perhaps inspired enough to make a film of your own.
The Early Art of Pete Docter
Though it hasn’t been updated in many years (it mentions Toy Story as a recent accomplishment), this site offers a terrific glimpse into the mind of the young animator who we now know as the director of Monsters, Inc. and Up.
I’m not sure that I’d ever seen any of this art before, and I certainly hadn’t seen the clip from Pete’s short Palm Springs that Pete apparently gave the site owner permission to upload in the mid-90s.
There’s a youth and newness to the art and text that energizes. Rummage through this collection and be inspired.
I really want to make movies that touch people and make them better. Otherwise, what are we doing here?
