Haley Vallandingham ENC 1102 Wolcott Annotated Bibliography Pixar: An Annotated Bibliography Computer animation is a widely used tool

in the film making industry and its application is garnering more and more attention every day. Majority of movies today contain computer graphics (CG); commonly for effects that would be impossible or too expensive to achieve in real life, (i.e. Transformers) other times for an entire film (i.e. Shrek). It would actually be astonishing find a movie with no CG in modern day film production, aside from documentaries or low budget independent films. None, however, do computer animation quite like Pixar. With Pixar Animation Studios leading the industry in popularity and box-office sales, it is no surprise that this organization makes a more successful adaptation of the technique. They were, after all, the first company to use CG for full-length feature films. The animation quality of Pixar blows that of other computer animation studios out of the water. With that in mind, it may it may perplex one to learn that it isn't the animation that makes Pixar so successful, but the story behind the animation. These people think differently than normal people. They're strange - in the best way.- Billy Crystal, voice actor for Mike Wazowski from Monsters Inc. The majority of these articles/interviews/documentaries discuss the processes behind creating an original story and why that makes Pixar successful, which is also why there are only seven annotations; variety is lacking. Any aspiring animators should keep these approaches in mind. Pixar has entertained millions of people worldwide, garnering an unprecedented record of box-office success. Catmull, Ed. "How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity." Harvard Business Review 86.9 (2008): ..64-72. Business Source Premier. Web. 21 Oct. 2012.

This magazine article was written by Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and president of Disney Animation Studios. In the article, Catmull explains the importance of finding good people, rather than good ideas when searching for potential employees. The view the good ideas are rarer and more valuable than good people is a misconception of creativity. In filmmaking and many other types of complex product management, creativity requires hosts from a variety of backgrounds working together to solve a great many of inevitable problems. Pixar is unique in the sense that all of their worlds, stories and characters were invented internally by their community of artists; as opposed to other studios who buy scripts and stories from the outside. Catmull doesnt believe that Pixars success is luck. Rather, their adherence to a set of principles and practices for managing creative talent are responsible. The way to foster a collective creativity, Catmull says, comes in three easy steps: Place the creative authority for product development only in the hands of the project leaders (as opposed to corporate executives); build a culture and processes that encourage people to share their workin-progress and trust one another as peers and co-workers; and dismantle the natural barriers that divide disciplines. Its the formula to a creative workspace and community. Fritz, Ben. "Disney Animation Gets a Pixar-ization." Variety 406.2 (2007): 1+. Biography ..Reference Bank (H.W. Wilson). Web. 15 Oct. 2012. Entertainment reporter and blogger Ben Fritz writes an article on the merging of two major film companies; Walt Disney Feature Animation (WDFA) and Pixar animation studios. Edwin Catmull, co-founder of Pixar and newly appointed president of WDFA, believes a radical shift is required at the revered cartooning firm, which has been struggling since the late 1990s.

Together, with chief executive officer and co-founder of Pixar John Lasseter, Catmull is in charge with reviving the biggest name in animation while simultaneously maintaining the same creative, unblemished track record of Pixar. In order to bring WDFA to its former glory, Catmull and Lasseter introduce some techniques used by Pixar to the animation firm, including a new development process, new talent, and an openness to the formerly shunned hand drawn cartoons. They were going through one of the biggest changes since the late 80s, when WDFA was producing one movie every four years. Fritz states that the problem with Disney animation wasnt with the quantity of films produced, but with the quality. Previous president Bob Iger believes that Catmull and Lasseter can help improve the quality of Disney feature films, and bring it the same success that Pixar has garnered. Gordon, Andrew, and Anthony Lucas. "Eyebrow Acting." Metro Magazine 157 (2008): 98-101. ..Print. In this magazine article, Oscar nominated Australian animator Anthony Lucas speaks with Andrew Gordon (a lead animator at Pixar) about the Pixar method and compare notes on the profession. Lucas starts the conversation by stating the Story is King ideology of Pixar and relates it to the characters themselves, claiming that the characters are what makes the story. As a lead animator, Gordon is essentially creating the story through his animation of a character. Gordon wholeheartedly agrees with this Story is King claim, stating it wouldnt matter if you were making something in CG(computer graphics) or sand, story is incredibly important either way. Gordon goes on to describe all the processes of animating a character, and one of the first, most important steps is research. An example he gives is from his work on the film

Monsters Inc. He was lead animator for the character Mike Wazowski, so he was in charge of bringing that character from storyboards to life. One of the more distinguishing features about this character is that he has only one eye; Gordon needed to know how to display emotion with essentially half a face. He did extensive research on the physical nature of the eye and how it moves, blinks, or sticks, and how the brow arches and changes shape; anything he could use to get emotion out if the character. Gordon also describes the amount of acting that goes into character animation. Majority of scenes, especially those that involve grand gestures and movement, are acted out by the animators themselves. This helps animators understand how something should move and what that thing would look like from certain angles. All this is important because it shows the exact amount of attention to detail that goes into making a Pixar film. Dir. Leslie Iwerks. The Pixar Story. Feat. John Lasseter, Edwin Catmull and Steve Jobs. Walt ..Disney Studios Motion Pictures, 2007. Documentary The Pixar Story, directed by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Leslie Iwerks, tells the tale of the Bay Area start-up that revolutionized Hollywood. This documentary takes audiences inside the company that transformed the animated film industry to what it is today. Using never-before-seen footage from the Pixar library, along with historic animation and firsthand accounts by animators, studio executives, directors, producers, and voice performers, this film encompasses the entirety that is Pixar is in a mere 80 minutes. In the mid 1980s, an inspired and animated trio of innovators combined their gifts in art, computer science, and business to launch a new way to make 3-D animated films and changed the face of filmmaking forever. John Lasseter, Ed Catmull, and Steve Jobs overcame years of

creative struggle and financial loss to launch an entirely new film industry. Of course, there were the non-believers. The voice actors themselves were skeptical: I had no idea, visually, what this would look like. He let me stretch it a little bit, and really make it this really - kind of a closedhead injury kind of a guy, (Tim Allen on his character Buzz Lightyear.) The success Pixars first full-length feature film acquired astounded these men. But unlike other men, they didnt let the success go to their heads. Instead, they thought, we have to do better. Each film produced after Toy Story incorporated something new, something different; a better story line, new animation software, more life-like movement of character. And every year they got better and better. They set the bar high and kept raising it, which they will continue to do in the foreseeable future. Schlender, Brent, and Christopher Tkaczyk. "Pixar's Magic Man." Fortune 153.10 (2006): 138..49. Business Source Premier. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. John Lasseter, an animation genius with skill comparable to Walt Disney himself, is a master-story teller. In this article, authors Brent Schlender and Christopher Tkaczyk interview Pixars magic man, asking him how he does it and what his plans for WDFAs face-lift are. This article, like the documentary previously annotated, goes into great detail on Lasseters life, focusing greatly on his origins and up-bringing. Hes wanted to be an animator for Disney since he first realized that people actually earn a living for creating cartoons and was one of the first students ever to be put through CalArts character animation program. He got his job at Disney, but was disappointed learn that it was not the Disney he was expecting. Its values were more about profit than story. This led Lasseter to work for Lucas Film and consequently direct the first character animation cartoon done with a computer. With the help of computer

scientist Ed Catmull and business man Steve Jobs, Lasseter created the first computer animation program, named Pixar, after which they named their soon to be multi-million dollar company. Seton, Mark. "Pixar Phenomenology: The Embodiment of Animation." Metro Magazine 157 ,,,,,,,,(2008): 94-97. Print. This magazine article was written by Dr. Mark Seton, an Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Performance Studies at the University of Sydney. In the article, he describes the value of embodiment, improvisation, and collaboration as integral to innovative expression and creative problem-solving. He offers an analysis of the Pixar process from a phenomenological and complexity theory perspective, hoping to open up a new conversation between staff and students in the animation field. Like most everyone in the field of animation, Seton agrees that Pixar garners its success from its Story is King approach. He, however, brings a new idea to this theory. He claims that, after reviewing documented accounts of artists at Pixar, it is the artists lived or phenomenological experiences that powerfully influence both the narrative and technical innovations of their work. Seton believes that it is important for animation artists to see that their shared and embodied life experiences have an impact on their creative work. In other words, Pixar is so successful not just because of the way they tell stories, but also because of their artists abilities to collaborate and improvise; these abilities that were learned from life experiences. This is an interesting topic because not many people consider life experiences to be that important when animating a story. Are opportunities for experience being pushed aside for a more technological training? Are student animators missing out on nurturing their own unique

sense of embodiment? An excellent example of life experiences influencing creative work would be the story of Pixar co-founder and animator, John Lasseter. Weinman, Jamie J. "The ProblemWith Pixar." Maclean's 121.26/27 (2008): 76-78. Print. Pixar is the world's most renowned animation firm, but entertainment writer Jamie Weinman of Macleans magazine believes that its more recent movies seem to express a more art-like quality. This leads her to believe that Pixars popularity might suffer due to their more artistic and idealized approach to story making. Weinman backs up this theory with an example ; Ratatouille, a two-hour tale about food, art, and creation, was nearly too complex for children, and it performed less well in North America than predicted. In addition, although Andrew Stanton created Pixar's biggest hit with 2003's Finding Nemo, his new film, WALL-E, is a science-fiction epic with minimal dialogue and a major social message. This is something majority of children might find difficult to grasp. WALL-E has earned ecstatic reviews, but box-office returns suggest that audiences may be moving toward more conventional animated movies, like those of Paramount Pictures or Dreamworks. That does not mean Pixar is struggling yet, but it may mean that Pixar has lost control of the industry that it created.