A Stranger! From the Outside!
Pixar's geniuses are a focussed and secretive lot, but RenderMan opens the door just a crack.
By Norine Leibel
George Lucas probably never envisioned his Pixar castaway becoming a household name amongst 3D animators. But Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull and his staff shared a dream of building feature films with computer animation. Their dream was realised under the ownership of Steve Jobs. Pixar is now worth $2 billion Ð a far cry from the $10 million 1986 price tag.
Pixar took its baby steps as Lucasfilm's computer division in 1980, and was later subdivided and renamed as Pixar in 1983. Ed Catmull and crew created the short film Andre and Wally B. in 1984, to show off their 3D animation and rendering tools. These same tools would give rise to the RenderMan software. Unfortunately, Lucasfilm did not share Catmull's vision, and in 1986 sold Pixar to Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple Computer.
Lucasfilm's lack of foresight was arguably the industry's gain. Steve Jobs provided Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, then interface designer, the financing and freedom to innovate. And innovate they did. RenderMan was further refined through Luxo Jr., the animated short which received an Academy Award nomination in 1986. Although stoically silent about individual projects prior to release, Pixar chose to share their tool chest with outsiders. Pixar released its proprietary RenderMan for licensing to third parties in 1989. The release was a wise move, as RenderMan is now the industry standard in rendering. A 1992 Academy Award for the software didn't hurt its fame, either, nor did Toy Story, the first fully computer animated feature film.RenderMan-licensed production houses have since produced the special effects in numerous flicks including Jurassic Park, Interview with a Vampire and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace.
RenderMan is essentially a visual effects rendering software system designed to complement modelling and animation software used throughout the industry. It allows animators to control character motion and create photorealistic images with unique precision. Version 4.1 of the RenderMan Artist Tools suite, released this July, is compatible with Windows NT, and includes the enhanced shading and lighting tools perfected in Toy Story 2. As with past versions, RenderMan Artist Tools 4.1 arose out of need for better tools, and, for example, to show the details of Al's skin and whiskers in Toy Story 2. RenderMan's greatest selling feature is the fact that it's been developed, tested and proven with experience and excellent results by its proprieters.
But what does it take to create a software package like RenderMan, let alone continually improve upon it? "I try to hire people smarter than me," Ed Catmull tells Variety Magazine in the July 20, 1998 issue. Intelligence is definitely required, but equally important are creativity and teamwork. Pixar's Research and Development Department sees animators, focussed on the story, and programmers, thinking in terms of simulation and multiple equations, working side by side to create more effective rendering tools. "Those are two different cultures," Jan Pinkava, director of the short Geri's Game, tells Computer Graphics World, February 1998. "Bringing them together is what Pixar does." While there may be conflict between the two ways of thinking, the results indicate some common ground. In a December, 1999 interview with Variety Magazine, John Lasseter, now Vice President of Creative Development, proclaims "We have the lowest turnover rate in Hollywood history." Clearly, part of Pixar's success is its people.
Pixar itself has continued to focus on its animated films. Outside proposals to diversify into special effects and TV series are politely refused. Dabbling in commercials, and even an interactive Toy Story CD-ROM, have all produced the midas touch, but still Pixar remains true to its purpose. "There's a pioneering spirit at Pixar," Lasseter tells Computer Graphics World (November 1998). History proves that Pixar's success lies in staying focussed while trailblazing the path in computer animated films.
Pixar's next full-length computer animated film is Monsters, Inc., due out in 2001. No doubt, they will develop more new RenderMan tools in their voyage of discovery. As with all their projects, Pixar staff are tight-lipped during development and production. Visitors to Pixar Animation Studios are obliged to wear badges proclaiming themselves as "A Stranger! From the Outside!"
After spending the first part of her adult life as an unfulfilled biologist, Norine had the overwhelming revelation (among many) that someone might actually pay her to use her overactive imagination. With that prospect in mind, Norine is now enrolled in the Multimedia Program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Sources: http://www.lucasfilm.com/history_top.html http://www.pixar.comhttp://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1312/n10_v371/20996481/p1/article.jhtml Variety Pixar's deep talent pool lured by Catmull's vision. Author/s: Laura A. Ackley Issue: July 20, 1998
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1312/6_377/58459178/p1/article.jhtml Variety Pixar run by a focused group. Author/s: Marc Graser Issue: Dec 20, 1999
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0CGW/n2_v21/20337285/p1/article.jhtml Meet Geri: the new face of animation. Computer Graphics World Author/s: Barbara Robertson Issue: Feb, 1998
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_1/m0CGW/11_21/57512174/p1/article.jhtml A Bug's-Eye View. Computer Graphics World Author/s: Barbara Robertson Issue: Nov, 1998
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0CGW/11_22/57893020/p1/article.jhtml THE TOYS ARE BACK! Computer Graphics World Author/s: Barbara Robertson Issue: Nov, 1999
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m4PRN/2000_July_25/63662849/p1/article.jhtml PR Newswire Pixar Releases RenderMan Artist Tools 4.1 for Windows NT. Issue: July 25, 2000
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