The Pixar Process

The work that goes into making even one shot or scene of a Pixar movie takes years and is a phenomenal undertaking, one that can't be easily articulated, it is a journey that takes, usually, over 4 years. However, three Pixarians, Michael B. Johnson, Ricky Nierva and Soctt Clark appeared at the EG Conference that happened back in April, to give an insight into the huge workload in a Pixar movie, in particular Up (video above).

As well as seeing some of storyboarding on The Incredibles, we get an in depth look at the deep thought put into the production design of Up and its characters, namely the symbolism of the squares and circles of Carl, Russell and other characters, all the way through to blocking and to final animation. The painstaking attention to detail and to comedic and emotional timing is outstanding and reinforces why Pixar is atop the Computer Animation world.

Courtesy of The Pixar Times.

Monsters University Logo and Synopsis Revealed

Disney and Pixar have revealed a little bit more about Monsters University, the 2013 prequel to 2001's Monsters, Inc.

Firstly, we have the above logo, the official logo for the film, it's simple, but it's effective. It's a nice combination of the classic Monsters, Inc. logo and vintage varsity writing.

Secondly, Disney and Pixar have also released the official synopsis for the film (below):

Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn't stand each other. Monsters University unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.

As is to be expected from Pixar, it sounds great, a nice way to break up the massive stack of Pixar sequels as of late (with Toy Story 3 last year and Cars 2 due out this year) and I can't wait to see what Pixar'll do with a prequel.

The film is set to be directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae (A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., The Incredibles, Up) and is due to be released on 21st June, 2013.

More Monsters University Details

Following the announcement that Monsters University - the prequel to Monsters, Inc. - had been delayed to 2013 and that it was to be directed by Mater and the Ghostlight director, Dan Scanlon, we get some more details.

We now know that Scott Clark will be the film's supervising animator. Scott announced this via Twitter today and he has past experience with the film's director Dan Scanlon, as he worked alongside him (with both of them in these roles) on Mater and the Ghostlight.  Clark also served as supervising animator on Up and the original Cars.

Sounds like the team is really shaping up for Monsters University.