Storyboarding a career at Pixar /      - PDF document

SKETCHY Storyboarding a career at Pixar /      oy Story 3, ic h ran103 minutes , was laid outon 49, 6 51 s toryboards . Story artist Christian Roman starts by mapping a characters movement, sometimes adding a gag or two to the script. PHOTOGRAPHSBYDEBORAHCOLEMANPIXAR Summer 2014 B OSTONIA    Pixars Emeryvi ll e, Cali f ., cam p us who ho p e to catch a g limpse of the animation studios next killer project better preparestudio is so secretive a b out work inpro g ress thatBostoni a reporters, there to interview stor y artist h ristian Roman , were not a ll owe to go anywhere without an escort what movie Roman is currentl y storyboardin g ( based on Pixars lineup of “ lms, it could be “ Th e Good Dinosaur or r Finding Dor y , among others). Because he wasnt allowed to show us his o ce,  Roman met with us in the neu- f a con f erence room,w h ere severa l ease l s were pur - posel y devoid o f an y hint o f on - g oin g or upcomin g work. A se q uel l i ke tory can be bur - de n e d with th e mis - conce p tion that it w i ll be i n f er i or tothe original.   BOSTONIA Meanwhile, on the floor below, a sun-sp l as h e d atrium d isp l a y s t h stu ios past gl ories, some p l ate d in 2 4- k arat g o ld . T h ere are Aca d em y A wards for Best Animated Picture for F inding Nem o ( million at the box office g lobally ) The Incredibles ( $631 million ) , forRatatouille ( $623 million ) , for W ALL- E ( $521 million ) , for Up ( $731 million ) , f or Toy Story 3 ($1 billion), and for 3 B ( $538 million ) . Since its creationin 1979 as an o ff shoot o f Lucas f Pixar has made 14 feature films d earne d more t h an $8.5 b i ll ion.It is ar g uably the most successful animation studio in the histor y of f ilm, neck and neck with the House o f MouseŽ„parent compan y Disne y . CFA91 Pixar seven years a g o, is one of 50 stor artists h ire to ma k e sure t h success continues. For our benefit, he demonstrates one as p ect of the p rocess b e h in d Pixars remar k a bl e p ro d ucts b y d on a computer monitor usin a d i g pen. He s k etc es a quic k rectang l e aroun d t h e outstretc h e d arm o f Sheri ff Wood y , f rom y 3 . To ma k e ou oo at h is an , Im g oin g to put a window in the back o f the roo m h es into reall y frame it an d ca ll attention to it,Ž Roman sa y s. An d b Wood „voiced in the f ilm y Tom Hanks„is a foot-tall , the five-and-a-half- f oot taller Roman makes h e rooms cei l in g is proportiona ll y h i gh . Wit h toys, you nee d to consi d er t h at t h e camera is d own at t h eir l eve l ,Ž e sa y is the major part o f Romans j ob, but its not the f irst part.Years before a Woody or a Li g htnin g ( Cars ) come to t h he and Pixars team o f stor y artists l ize exact ly h ow t h e cow b o y or race car wi ll interact wit h ot h erc h aracters an d w h ere t h e y wi ll appearin t h e scene. T h e y stu dy t h e script ma p movement an d camer a an g les, o f ten addin g new g a g s or ideasas t h ey g o. Wa l t Disney b e g an usin g stor yb oar d s in 1933 to create h is now - l e g en d ary s h ort Th e T hree Little Pi g s , an d s in ce the n anima t i o n stud i os h ave use d t h em to cement t h e stor y before the ex p ensive and arduous b e g ins. Roman an d t h e nine stor y artists w h o wor k e d on y 3 made 49,651 storyboards 3 for the 103-minute film . B ld s the Pixar record for num b er o f stor yb oar d s„112,000 .  Every an gl e, every moment, h ow h e l i gh tin g wor k s, t h e t h in g s in t h e b ac k groun d „it isnt just ran d om,Ž s Roman. Its ver y speci f ic andver d etai d . Ž Af ter the story artists create rou g h d rawings in A d o b e P h otos op, h e y insert t h em in Pixarsproprietar y Pitc h Docterso f tware, which p uts the boardsin or d er an d a ows t h e artists h em l i k e a movie . T h e b i g revea l comes w h en stor y artists p itc h t h eir wor k to t h e d irector an d writers, actin g o ut t h e scenes comp l ete wit h d ia l ogue, en h e artists. T h ey even sin g t h e son g s t h at accompany t h e on - screen action ( I sin g in my car a lot to practice,Ž Roman sa y s ) .  T h e d irector wi ll say, Its goo d , b ut what i f he does this? And other p eo p le i n t h e room wi ll c h ime in wit h t h eir o wn i d eas,Ž e sa y s. Ever y one is rea lly supportive, b ut t h e y want to see t h scene be better. So I mi g ht f eel a little b eat u p , b ut I ll ta k e a ll t h e notes, t h in k a b out it, ma k e anot h er version, an d pitc h it a g ain.Ž W h en t h e story b oar d s are comp l ete, t h ey get put toget h type of film reel with rou g voices. That rough version of the film g oes to a layout artist ( comparable to camera bl oc k ing in a l ive-action f . The animation team p oses the ch aracters, u l timate l y a dd in g s h a d in g patterns, clothin g , and other f inishin g touc h es . T HE ROAD TO PIXAR h an 20 years a g o, w h en Romanwas a junior paintin g major at BU, h e imagine d t h at t h e i d ea l jo b wou ld c om b ine w h at h e d i d in h is paintin g cl asses, music c l asses, an d t h e BU un d er g ra d stu d ent t h eater g Stage Troupe. Animation b ecame an i ntri g uin g option a f ter an artist f rom D isne y came to campus to ta lk a b out wor k in g onThe Little Mermaid .  I t h ou gh t, wow, peop l e d rew t h is,Ž says R e move d to t h e est C oast a f ter g raduatin g , the best thin g he could f ind was a j ob as a f acilitator in a nimation art c l asses . He wor k e d t h ere f or a year until a colleague, who also w o r ked a s an anima to r o n T he Sim p sons, h e l pe d h im l an d a j o b as a l a y out artist on t h e Fox s h ow. is next jo b g im experiencecreatin g story b oar d s, an d w h en h returne d toThe Sim p son s a ye ar l ater, h e p aire d u p wit h Bra d Bir d director of the Oscar-winnin g Disne y and Pixar film R atatouille, a m an h e d escri b es as a mentor . R oman b ecame The Sim p son s stor yb oar d supervisor, t h en d irecte d th e Disne y cartoons Fillmore! an d ! A merican Dragon: Jake Long . He r eturned to the land of Homer t o wor k as a stor y artist on he S im p sons Movie. h en in 2007, h For i nsp i rat i the story artists o r Stor y 3 vi s i ted Alcatraz , a d um p , an d a p resc h oo l , an d spent a good d Barbie and Ken . SKETCHES COURTESY OF DISNEY/PIXAR 2) Summer 2014 B OSTONIA  g ot a call f rom Jim Reardon, d irector h e h a d wor k e d w i th a t The Sim p sons, w ho w as then head of stor y Pixar s W ALL-E . Roman arrive d at afortuitous time. The p revi - ous y ear, App l es Steve Jo b shad sold Pixar to Disne y for $7.4 billion,a move that put to rest y ears o f bick-ering over part ners h ips t h at t h e two com p anies s h are d . It a l so p ut Pixar an d Disne y un d er s h are d mana g ement, with f or mer Disne y executive vice p resi ent Jo h n Las - seter in charge of creativity at both p anies, and f ormer Pixar p resi - d ent E d Catmu ll ta k in g on t h e a dd i - tional presidenc y o f Walt Disne y A nimation Stu d ios. h in it d i d nt c h an Pix ars famousl y pla y ful culture, once d escri b e d t h e S an Francisco Chroni - c l e as a p re p ubescents p aradise o f foosball and p ool tables, movie p ters, and cafe teria workers servin g f un f ood . ŽT h ays, emp l oyees navi g ate p us ( com p lete with l , g ym, b as k ll court, cerea l b ar, and regularly visiting ergonomists ) Razor scooters an d wor k in a b ui ld in g populated b y life-size models of blue f urr y monster Sulle y f rom M o n ste r s Universit d Monsters Inc . , an d Bruce, the shark who re f uses to ea t fish, from F inding Nem o . T h ere are f requent screenin g s o f in - p rocess films and p erformances Pixars improv team, w h ic h R oman starte d. FINDING INSPIRATION a f ilm, scenes are divvied u p a mong story artists, w h o retire to p ective o ff ices and create s tor yb oar d t h um b nai l s. y 3 , f or example, about a g roup o f toys p lottin g their escape from the Sun- e Da y care center, presente d s h a es. Seque l s, Roman s a y s, are often burdened with the m isconception that the y are f ated to be in f erior to the ori g inal.  P l us,Ž h e sa y s, t h ere is re l uctanceto c h ange c h aracters or d o anyt h ing r a d ica l t h at wou ld b rea k t h in g s t h at were a l rea dy esta bl is h e d e a scene Roman d esi ne h wouldnt have made sense if it had f ollowed the scripts ori g inal direction to a b an d on Woo dy s trait as owner A n dy s re l ia bl e to y .  lly , Woo dy sta y e d at t h e y c are,Ž sa y s Roman. He d i d nt eave, d wante d to g o h ome to An d y. I d i d a first pass storyboarding the scene, a n d the te am r e a l iz ed th a t i t wa s n t q uite ri gh t, b ecause Woo d y is a ll a b out h d ication to An dy . To h ave im y t h d nt seem true to Woo dy . dy h a d to l eave; e nee d e d to tr y to g et k to An d y. So I went b ac k in an d d i d the w hole sce n e w he r e the s have a confrontation, and Wood y i l e hi s fri e n an d t es to find a wa y home.Ž I f Pixars whimsical surroundin g s and entertainments f ail to p rovidesufficient inspiration, there is alwa y st h e rea l wor ld . For t h e b i g Sunnysi d eescape, t h e Pixar crew toure d near Alcatraz. Researchin g f or another pivota scene, t h ey wa d e d t h a d ump, an d natura lly , t h e y visite d a presc h oo l . Roman a l so spent a g oo d deal o f time with Barbie and Ken dolls,necessar y wor k to stor yb oar d t h e T irst meet .  We d a ll t h e to y s in t h e stor y room to see t h eir sca l e re l ations h i p s h ow t h eir oints move d ,Ž sa y sRoman, w h o l ater wor k e d wit h t h e Bar b ie an d Ken c h aracters w h enhe helped create the screenpla y fo r t h e H awaiian V acations h ort .  W e to k eep Kens movements ver y l imite d b ecause t h ats t h e wa y t h e d o rea lly moves, an d we wante d itto b e aut h entic .  Thats one of the things I like about k in g at Pixar: we a ll l oo k at storiesand try to figure out what makes them g ood. And i f its not g ood, how could it b e ma d e b etter? T h e artists an d p eo pl ehere are at the top o f their g ame, which es it intimi d atin every d ay to h ecause I a l wa ave to b e t h e b est I can b e . Ž p Roman (far left ) arrived atafter ApplesSteve Jo b s so ld t h e company toDisney for$7.4 b i ll i on.