TeviH
05-05-2006, 11:23 PM
This article is a good read:
http://www.topix.net/content/trb/3323466259113274026333596799282047551182
Interesting excerpt:
At one point, McQueen must make a decision during a race, and he slams to a halt. As Sweetland, one of two 'Cars' supervising animators, reviewed the rough animation in a screening room, Lasseter took out his laser pointer and circled McQueen's eyes, which, like all of the film's anthropomorphic characters, are built into the windshield.
Sweetland thought McQueen was trying to figure out what to do next, and therefore needed to close his eyes and collect his thoughts, the way the scene was animated. 'Isn't it about McQueen's trying to decide what he's doing?' Sweetland asked.
'I hear what you are saying. I just don't agree with you,' the director told Sweetland.
Lasseter believed the character knew precisely what he was about to do next, and was only settling himself before acting. A squint, Lasseter felt, would show McQueen's resolve. Closed eyes, he believed, would read as indecision. Sweetland saw it differently, and was concerned that McQueen would come across as arrogant, rather than confident. 'I don't want him to be full of his own narcissism,' he said.
Lasseter wasn't buying it. 'I think we are over-thinking this,' said the director, whose last film was 1999's 'Toy Story 2.' 'We want the audience to say, 'What the hell is this guy doing?' But McQueen knows what he is doing.' Sweetland still demurred. After a few minutes, the debate became, well, animated. Michael Stocker, one of the dozen or so other animators in the room, interjected that he could change the performance of McQueen's mouth (part of the bumper), which might suggest that the character is sorting through his options.
'What if I just had him breathing?' Stocker wondered. Again, Lasseter considered the idea, and then - pleasantly but firmly - dismissed it. 'That's not the way the scene was conceived,' he said. Sweetland and Stocker finally conceded the point, and Lasseter came over to hug Sweetland. 'Good discussion,' he said, patting him on the back. Over lunch during Pixar's annual classic car show and company picnic a few hours later, Lasseter recalled that when he began working at Disney in the early 1980s (his credits included 'Mickey's Christmas Carol'), he approached an older animator about how a scene might be improved. The animator cut him off, saying he hadn't put in enough time to hold a worthwhile opinion.
'If you want my job, go do in-betweening for 20 years,' the animator said, referring to of one of the field's less-prestigious drawing jobs. More than 20 years later, Lasseter remembered that dressing-down vividly. 'When I came to Pixar, I said, 'I will never say to any of the employees what that guy told me at Disney.' ' Creative quarrels such as the one with Sweetland and Stocker, he said, are what he relishes. All Pixar animators are invited to give notes on a colleague's work. Even though Lasseter's opinion eventually trumps all others, he has the confidence to encourage dissent.
Reflecting that open dialogue, the 'Cars' screenplay, which went through 19 drafts, is credited to Lasseter and five other people, including co-director Ranft, who died in a 2005 automobile accident.
'It doesn't matter whose idea it is, but the best idea gets in the film,' Lasseter said. 'We have always had this belief that you should be able to support your idea in a way that can convince everybody. If you can't, may
read more: http://www.topix.net/content/trb/3323466259113274026333596799282047551182
http://www.topix.net/content/trb/3323466259113274026333596799282047551182
Interesting excerpt:
At one point, McQueen must make a decision during a race, and he slams to a halt. As Sweetland, one of two 'Cars' supervising animators, reviewed the rough animation in a screening room, Lasseter took out his laser pointer and circled McQueen's eyes, which, like all of the film's anthropomorphic characters, are built into the windshield.
Sweetland thought McQueen was trying to figure out what to do next, and therefore needed to close his eyes and collect his thoughts, the way the scene was animated. 'Isn't it about McQueen's trying to decide what he's doing?' Sweetland asked.
'I hear what you are saying. I just don't agree with you,' the director told Sweetland.
Lasseter believed the character knew precisely what he was about to do next, and was only settling himself before acting. A squint, Lasseter felt, would show McQueen's resolve. Closed eyes, he believed, would read as indecision. Sweetland saw it differently, and was concerned that McQueen would come across as arrogant, rather than confident. 'I don't want him to be full of his own narcissism,' he said.
Lasseter wasn't buying it. 'I think we are over-thinking this,' said the director, whose last film was 1999's 'Toy Story 2.' 'We want the audience to say, 'What the hell is this guy doing?' But McQueen knows what he is doing.' Sweetland still demurred. After a few minutes, the debate became, well, animated. Michael Stocker, one of the dozen or so other animators in the room, interjected that he could change the performance of McQueen's mouth (part of the bumper), which might suggest that the character is sorting through his options.
'What if I just had him breathing?' Stocker wondered. Again, Lasseter considered the idea, and then - pleasantly but firmly - dismissed it. 'That's not the way the scene was conceived,' he said. Sweetland and Stocker finally conceded the point, and Lasseter came over to hug Sweetland. 'Good discussion,' he said, patting him on the back. Over lunch during Pixar's annual classic car show and company picnic a few hours later, Lasseter recalled that when he began working at Disney in the early 1980s (his credits included 'Mickey's Christmas Carol'), he approached an older animator about how a scene might be improved. The animator cut him off, saying he hadn't put in enough time to hold a worthwhile opinion.
'If you want my job, go do in-betweening for 20 years,' the animator said, referring to of one of the field's less-prestigious drawing jobs. More than 20 years later, Lasseter remembered that dressing-down vividly. 'When I came to Pixar, I said, 'I will never say to any of the employees what that guy told me at Disney.' ' Creative quarrels such as the one with Sweetland and Stocker, he said, are what he relishes. All Pixar animators are invited to give notes on a colleague's work. Even though Lasseter's opinion eventually trumps all others, he has the confidence to encourage dissent.
Reflecting that open dialogue, the 'Cars' screenplay, which went through 19 drafts, is credited to Lasseter and five other people, including co-director Ranft, who died in a 2005 automobile accident.
'It doesn't matter whose idea it is, but the best idea gets in the film,' Lasseter said. 'We have always had this belief that you should be able to support your idea in a way that can convince everybody. If you can't, may
read more: http://www.topix.net/content/trb/3323466259113274026333596799282047551182