Build Software like Pixar Makes Movies
summary
Pixar builds tools and films together: they prototype short films about every 18 months to push specific tech (fur, skin, lighting) and incubate directors, and they ship software like RenderMan (technical Oscar winner, used in 27 of the last 30 VFX winners) and CAPS (which modernizes Disney color/painting). They sell hardware early (the Pixar Image Computer, ~300–500 units) and survive via Jobs buying Lucasfilm graphics for $5M plus $5M R&D. Creative governance uses a rotating brain trust, cross-discipline hiring, and studio spaces designed to force serendipitous collaboration.
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chapters (8)
- 0:00Start
- 7:05POLYGON MODELING SUBDIVISION SURFACES TEXTURE MAPPING Z-BUFFER
- 14:34BLUE SCREEN/CHROMA KEY NON-LINEAR EDITING REYES
- 19:24PIXAR IS A HARDWARE & SOFTWARE (R&D) COMPANY
- 23:04LEARNING: SMALL, FOCUSED PROTOTYPES CAN HELP DEVELOP CAPABILITIES AND TEST TECHNOLOGY
- 24:09CAPS Computer Animated Production System
- 32:22PEOPLE CANDOR
- 39:03PIXAR UNIVERSITY
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