My day at Pixar Studios

 
About 25 bloggers from around the world were at Pixar Studios last week to get a sneak peak at Toy Story 3 and find out more about how the studios’ iconic animated films are made. Wow. This place is super cool; it’s like a cross between a computer, a college campus and a very large movie theatre. Former Pixar CEO Steve Jobs designed it to be a place to share ideas and you can see them bouncing off the walls and landing in the frothy lattes and machiatos, then sipped by 30-somethings wearing frayed jeans and trendy tweed caps. You walk into an open area the size of a football field, framed by open brick and stainless steel beams. Lurking in every corner are characters from the films …. a larger than life fuzzy blue Sully (Monsters Inc), a curvy McQueen and his gang from Cars, and of course, the beloved Woody and Buzz from Toy Story. There is a restaurant, coffee bar and company store. The preferred mode of transport seems to be rollerblades and scooters. Small clusters of coffee tables, sofas and chairs dot the area … and if you squint you can just imagine employees discussing the plot of the Bear and the Bow (2011). I personally am very excited about this one: it’s set in Scotland and will feature the voices of Reese Witherspoon, Billy Connolly and Emma Thompson.

Our tour guides were Bobby Podesta and Mike Venturini, the supervising animators for Toy Story 3. It was clear this was a type of celebration for them … the film is nearly complete and the culmination of four years of hard work. As we walked through the halls, they pointed out one of the renderfarms, a huge computer about the size of bungalow. I’m a bit fuzzy about what rendering technically is … but sussed that it takes a reeeaaallllllllly loooonnnnnggggg time. For example, it can take hours for one computer-generated frame to “render”. Multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of frames in a typical feature length film, and well, I’m dizzy thinking about it.

Then we entered the most interesting work space I have ever seen. The animators are given carte blanche to design and build their own workspace. “Andrew’s” office is a step back in time. You press a button and a bookshelf magically moves to reveal a Prohibition speakeasy, with whiskey bottles and card tables. There are photos on the wall of some visitors, like Reese Witherspoon. There’s a tiki room which rivals Disneyland. “Angus” has a toy collection with a mere 3k plus toys. Snowflakes and fairy lights hang in the corridor, next to a bar with a stone fireplace with a decorative riffle above. Oh, and did I mention the band set up? I’m sure some serious frat-style parties go on here.

We got to meet Bobby Whitehall, the 3D guy, or as he said, the one to blame if you get a headache when you watch the 3D version of Pixar films. Of course this wouldn’t happen, Pixar takes a conservative view of 3D, sacrificing some movement to make it a more realistic experiences (and not nauseating). We saw the 3D version of the Carl/Ellie montage in Up. It was very emotional and I was blinking fast and wondered how the heck what is basically a next generation cartoon can reduce a grown woman to near tears.

Then we were treated to a special screening in Fort Knox the company theatre. We had to leave all bags and mobiles, etc. in a special area and were frisked and x-rayed. One of the security guards opened my pen, looked inside, and then shook my notebook. I asked him what he was looking for… and he gave me a once over. Cameras. I reveled in the thought that this buff bodyguard thought a 45-year-old mum was a spy.

Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter appeared in a bright Hawaiian shirt, glasses and jeans. He gave us all a warm Silicon Valley welcome and told us about how he loves being in the Bay Area (he lives in nearby wine country with his five boys). His best friends all have “normal” jobs (dentists and contractors). It keeps him grounded and connected with Pixar’s audience (read: not affected like LA). As Northern California native, I tend to agree. Pixar has done the unthinkable: taken the risk adverse film industry, shaken it up and made it ultra cool. Sound like another project Jobs is involved in?

We got to see Day & Night, the short film that will accompany Toy Story 3. Director Teddy Newton and producer Kevin Reher introduced it; basically it’s about differences, and how you can meet someone and at first be suspicious, but then realise you have a lot in common. A great message for the times, especially with the politically, racially and religiously divided US.

Lee Unkrich director, and Darla Anderson, producer, were on hand to answer questions. We asked if there were any stories behind the film (aka Toy Story’s Black Friday) but alas, no, the film went off with no major disasters. Unkrich said he was very excited when he was asked to direct Toy Story 3, but then immediately felt like he wanted to throw up. He spent a lot of time looking at trilogies and didn’t find many that “worked” (with the exception of Return of the King). They wanted each to work as a story in their own right, but have the trilogy make a complete saga: Toy Story was the introduction of the toys; Toy Story Two is the ultimate next step in a toy’s lifecycle, when they sit on a shelf and are admired; and Toy Story 3 is the final adventure which explores what happens to university bound Andy’s much loved childhood toys.

Does Andy take Woody to college? Do you really think I would spoil it for you? What I can say is that there was not a dry eye in the house during the screening and every parent with children anywhere near college age will identity with the theme. Damn you Pixar, animated films are not supposed to resonate with adults. They’re for kids 😉

Toy Story 3 will be released in the UK on 23 July.

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk