The amazing story of Pixar is its own
Back in the 20s, a young Walt Disney created the company that would be the pioneer in film-making with artificially generated images. Animation is a format from the beginning, and concept lends itself to break barriers as technology becomes increasingly (and exponentially) sophisticated. The advent of sound defines the role of music in those early animated shorts, the mirror used by the artists to imitate their own expressions became rotoscoping and after much evolution-this-in digital animation techniques we know today. Art pushes technology and technology inspires art, and we have seen over the last forty years.
When ‘Star Wars’ would mark a generation of 3D receivable of the ‘Superman’ 1978 or those melted faces of ‘Lost Ark’, in 1982 came the first film to use the CGI for much of its footage, ‘Tron’; a degree that today remains unique in visual style is concerned. Few remember ‘The Sherlock Holmes’ but for historians of the synthetic image is a milestone, as the gentleman by the window was the first film character generated entirely by computer, work conducted John Lasseter, who ten years later would direct ‘Toy Story’.
The passage of eighty to ninety bring two other titles remembered for their advancement in the field of computer generated image, ‘Abyss’ (1989) and ‘Terminator 2’ (1991), both directed by a director more driving technological advancement in film, James Cameron. The low aqueous minute dimensional creature ‘Abyss’ displayed took eight months of work, effort two years later would allow the existence of T-1000, this cyborg played by Robert Patrick who turned into either, change the status of aggregation of your stuff or converted their hands on sharp metal blades.
The willingness of some directors with respect to technological progress is vital to follow the film breaking their own barriers. David Fincher RED pushed to abandon the usual silhouette of a camera and make a lighter that would allow HD roll the canoe race for ‘The Social Network’; Danny Boyle (who had already used the video for logistical reasons at the start of ’28 days’) needed a more manageable to capture the frenzy of India in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’; without the Thomson Viper, Michael Mann could not have captured that wonderful night Los Angeles ‘Collateral’, without technological concerns the origins of George Lucas PIXAR not be the same.
After training in a program of Disney (which also included directors like Tim Burton and Brad Bird), John Lasseter was touched to see ‘Tron’ by the possibilities he saw in the computer generated image. Initially allowed Lasseter Disney Animation and other entertainers such as Glen McQueen would experience with funds created by CGI; however, when presented a first draft (whose budget was very similar to that of a film of traditional animation) was fired by a company feared that computers Negotiated traditional animation were loaded without even save money or time on the road.
After experimenting with the technological advances of the time Star Wars, George Lucas hired Ed Catmull, a professional engineer, for a new division devoted to LucasFilms that research and develops tools for digital cinema production. When they knew Catmull Lasseter was fired from Disney, they signed him immediately. As the only animator template, became the figure that challenged engineers to go beyond to meet the needs of their creative ambitions and thus was born P • I • X • A • R, the powerful computer that improved the speed and the image rendering capabilities.
The dream was to create the first entirely computer generated film and LucasFilm unable to invest in it, PIXAR was outsourced as a company in search of a benefactor. came And Steve Jobs. He invested relying on future rehash and quickly began experimenting with short commercials, leading the producer to win prizes and implement new software in the industry. However, PIXAR was in financial distress; although Jobs was recapitalizing the coffers, this was unsustainable in the medium term and needed revenue.
Years after that encounter with Lasseter was Disney – which had already employed many times CAPS, software that allowed integrating CGI images of traditional animation films – which ironically saved their skin by their desire to have him as Director for a feature film. And ‘Toy Story’ was born a then provisional title for a story that wanted their creative boundaries come into very different from what the company had done in mouse that its renaissance – and probably its golden era with ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘The Little Mermaid’ and ‘The Lion King’.
After ‘Toy Story’ come more adventures that led the company to further refine the 3D computer animation, in addition to continuing its commercial smash. With ‘Bugs’ come to consider change history for the technical difficulties involved individually generate as many ants, but Lasseter always pushing his team to that managed the impossible – in this case creating a “team of crowds” -. In ‘Monsters Inc.’ challenge was stuffed bear hair history; I still remember how much of the marketing is focused on selling the hair hair animation Sulley. In ‘Finding Nemo’, Andrew Stanton confesses repenting ever their efforts with a story under the sea by the work involved in creating all this universe of textures under water, reflections of light in the background and ultimately, this fascinating and colorful marine world.
Since PIXAR care ‘Toy Story’ there have been many advances in CGI. The sea of Titanic rendered with Linux, which meant the visual hallucinatory ‘Matrix’ in 1999, this first attempt to make realistic 3D animation that was ‘Final Fantasy’, and with so much work on the technical side they forgot to tell a story – Helm’s Deep in “The Two Towers’ WETA that put on the map, the first film with all generated characters with motion capture (‘Polar Express’) or, of course, Pandora (‘Avatar’). Many others have left an imprint in the way of technical advances in cinema but the secret of PIXAR was always the soul of their stories and the belief that technology is only a tool.