Field Trip to Pixar

I spent quite a bit of time up in Northern California in August and September.

On one of my trips to San Francisco I met up with some of our Million Dollar Screenwriting & Content Career Alumni for a tour of Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville.

The company's blockbuster credits including Wall-E, Ratatouille, Cars, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters Inc., Toy Story 1 & 2 and A Bug's Life.

Disney's Robert Iger is the CEO, Steve Jobs is the Chairman, and James Lasseter is the Chief Creative Officer. Since Disney came into the mix - they've significantly ramped up the production schedule. They are currently in production with Up! and Toy Story 3.

In the picture on the right are Lanser Howard, Bryan Hsuan and Brice Parker and I are standing in the main lobby.

Below is a picture of me posing with Scully and Mike.

We visited the animator huts, the rendering farm, the screening rooms, and the facility's commons and ample recreation grounds. We also stopped by Story Department and saw how the ideas are brought from script to screen. Andrew Stanton, Director/Writer of Finding Nemo describes his inspiration for the movie in saying, "In 1998 after working on A Bug's Life I wanted to spend time with my son. We were on the way to the park when I thought to myself, finally, some father/son time". He spent the whole day telling his son, "No," "Don't do that," "Stop" and it really concerned him that he was being run by fear. He knew it wasn't the way he wanted to be with his son - and this idea of the overprotective dad ultimately went on to become Finding Nemo.

Finding Nemo's development process began in May 2000 when the first storyboard was delivered. By October the 10,000 storyboard had been delivered and in November of that year they had the first screening of the film in story form. By May 2001 the 20,000 storyboard was delivered and in September the first sequence went into Production. In February 2002 the 30,000 storyboard was delivered followed by the fourth screening in April and in July the 40,000 storyboard was delivered followed by the fifth screening. In October 2002 they were ready for their first audience preview with the final 43,536 storyboard delivered that same month. The finished film was released in theaters in May 2003.

It was really great to get an insider look at the feature film animation process and get a feel for the whole corporate culture of Pixar Animation Studios.

Many thanks to the guys for making it a fantastic adventure for all.