Pixar |
Pixar Animation Studios is an award-winning computer generated imagery (CGI) animation firm based in Emeryville, California, California (United States).
Specializing in high-end 3D computer graphics technology, Pixar is the developer of the industry-standard Rendering (computer graphics) Computer software RenderMan, used for high-quality, photorealistic image generation.
=History=
Pixar started as the computer division of Lucasfilm. It was purchased by current Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs and the employees of the division for US$10 million in 1986, establishing itself as an independent company. The sale was based on George Lucas desire to see Pixar succeed on its own, as it was unable to shine in the shadow of Industrial Light & Magic. The newly independent company was co-founded by Dr. Edwin Catmull, President and Chief executive officer, and Dr. Alvy Ray Smith, Vice president and Director. Jobs served as Chairman of the board.
Initially, Pixar was a high-end hardware company whose core product was the Pixar Image Computer, which primarily sold to government agencies and the medical community. While the machine never sold well, John Lasseter began creating short animations, such as Luxo Jr. , to demonstrate the power of the system at SIGGRAPH, the computer graphics industry s largest convention.
As poor sales of Pixar s computers threatened to put the company out of business, Lasseter s animation department began selling commercials to outside companies, including successful campaigns for Tropicana Products, Listerine, and LifeSavers. In addition, Pixar was key in the development of CAPS (Computer Animation Production System), a computer-assisted animation post-production software system for Walt Disney Feature Animation. After substantial cuts to most of the computer department, Pixar began its current life by making a $26,000,000 deal with Walt Disney Company in 1991 to produce animated feature films, the first of which was Toy Story . The company was Incorporation (business) on December 9, 1995.
Today, Jobs continues in his role as chairman, and is also the company s CEO. Catmull remains president. Lasseter —a two-time Academy Award-winning film director and animator— oversees all of the company s projects as Executive Vice President of the Creative Department. Other notable members of the executive team are Sarah McArthur (Executive Vice President of Production), Simon Bax (Executive Vice President and Chief financial officer), and Lois Scali (Executive Vice President and General Counsel).
=Disney and Pixar=
All of Pixar s major features thus far have been made in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company. All aspects of production (writing, development, animation production, post-production) have been handled in-house by Pixar, with production costs split between Pixar and Disney. Disney has handled all distribution aspects, including all distribution and promotion costs. In 1997, after the release of their initial film, Toy Story , both companies signed a 10-year, 5-picture deal, in which the two companies split production costs and profits. Disney alone, however, retained the rights to the films and characters. In addition, Disney collects 10 to 15 percent of each film s revenue as a distribution fee. [http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/29/news/companies/pixar_disney/]
The arrangement has been very profitable for both companies, with Pixar s five feature films having grossed more than $2.5 billion. This gives Pixar the highest per film average gross of any production company. The working relationship between Pixar and Disney will end in 2006 with the movie Cars (movie) being the last joint venture between the two companies.
The main contention between Pixar and Disney began with the production of Toy Story 2 . Originally intended as a straight-to-video release (and thus not part of Pixar s five picture deal), the film was upgraded to a theatrical release during production. Pixar demanded that the film then be counted toward the five picture agreement, but Disney refused.
The two companies attempted to reach a new agreement in early , without Pixar s involvement. As of July 2005, Pixar has yet to reach an agreement with a new studio.
Robert Iger, the president and new CEO of the Walt Disney Company, has resumed talks with Steve Jobs, stating he hopes the two companies can find common ground. It has also been rumored that either Disney or Pixar delayed the release of Cars from its original 2005 release date in order to buy time to negotiate after Michael Eisner leaves Disney.
=Feature films=
A movie called Ray Gun (movie) was rumored to be released by Pixar in 2007, but latest reports indicate that this will be a 2D computer graphics feature which Pixar has no interest in developing. Currently Warner Brothers owns the rights to develop this film.
==Traditions==
There are several things that Pixar puts in every one of their feature films.
===John Ratzenberger===
John Ratzenberger (most commonly known as Cliff Clavin from the television sitcom Cheers ) is always a character voice, referred to by the studio as their good luck charm . The following is a list of his roles in the first seven Pixar movies:
He also voiced a character in the English Dubbing (filmmaking) of Spirited Away , overseen by John Lasseter. Actor Wallace Shawn also appears in multiple Pixar Films.
===Cameo appearances===
Every Pixar film has included cameo appearances of characters or objects from their other movies or short films.
Examples:
===Teaser trailers===
The Pixar teaser trailers since Monsters, Inc. consist of footage created specifically for the trailer, spotlighting certain central characters in a comic situation. Though similar scenes and situations may appear, these sequences are not in the films being advertised, but instead are original creations.
Examples:
===A113===
Similar to George Lucas 1138 (number), the letter-number sequence A113 is an animation in-joke which appears in all Pixar films to date, save Monsters, Inc. (see A113 article for more information).
==Inside References==
===Harryhausen s===
In an homage to Ray Harryhausen, stop motion animation pioneer and designer of countless cinematic monsters, the restaurant in Monsters, Inc. is named Harryhausen s.
=Short films ( Shorts )=
=References=
*[http://alvyray.com/Pixar/default.htm Alvy Ray Smith s Pixar History Page]. Retrieved June 9, 2005. *[http://corporate.pixar.com/faq.cfm Pixar Corporate FAQ]. Retrieved June 9, 2005.
=External links=
*[http://www.pixar.com/ Pixar s web site] * *
==Articles==
*[http://money.cnn.com/2004/01/29/news/companies/pixar_disney/ CNN s Pixar dumps Disney ] *[http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.06/pixar.html Wired Magazine: Welcome to Planet Pixar]
==Blogs==
*[http://pixaranimation.blogspot.com Luxo] *[http://upcomingpixar.blogspot.com UpcomingPixar]|
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