This coach was an exceedingly narrow one, but as there was a slight spherical excess over two on a seat, the driver waited till nine passengers had got in, without taking the measure of any of them, and then shut the door after two or three ineffectual slams, as if the fault were all in the hinges or the latch, — while we timed our inspirations and expirations so as to assist him.
Lorraine and I got to visit Pixar back in November for a charity thing. I came back from the event so jazzed about the creative process. They talked a lot about their way of making stories and then re-making them and all the input that goes into them before they become a final product. It was some pretty fascinating stuff, especially to someone who largely works alone. Every single person who got up and talked about their role at Pixar and how they worked — it was a great drug, listening to all these bright people, obviously very happy with the company they keep and work they were doing. One particular highlight was a walk-through of the new animated short “Partysaurus Rex” by the director, Mark Walsh. At the end of the evening, we found ourselves walking away with a sketch of a scene that didn’t make the short by Valerie LaPointe (don’t worry, it was acquired legitimately). I don’t think you need to have walked through some of their halls (again, legitimately) to know that Pixar has this special touch, the great storytelling DNA that’s made it so successful. But you could do a lot worse than following their advice, when telling your own stories.
