I am so excited about a brand new movie coming out Thanksgiving Day from Pixar, The Good Dinosaur. I have been a huge fan of Pixar for so long now. They are films that appeal to kids and adults. It blows me away that each time a new movie comes out it is better than the last one and also how realistic that they make these movies. I had the privilege last week of getting to meet and hear Mike O’Brien of Pixar who is the Technical Effects lead on the Good Dinosaur.
I will admit that I was a little nervous meeting him. To me he is a star. I will also admit that my mommy brain can hardly wrap my head around what really goes in to these kind of movies and the depth and scope of work it takes. This is not Mikes first go around with movies. Finding Nemo was Mike’s first project that he worked end to end on. He has been with Pixar for about 16 years now. His background is in math and computer engineering of all things. Did you know how much math goes into a movie that Pixar makes? There are layers and layers woven in to each shot to make it as realistic and believable as they can get it.
The job of the FX team is to make the film have believable interaction between the characters and their world. They are there to heighten the mood, atmosphere, and drama. The script can only take a story so far. The FX team enhance the story and really bring it life. They have lots of tools at their fingertips, some that even regular people could use to make their own movies. Of course, Pixar has some of their own software and systems that they use to tweak films the way they are so good at doing.
Don’t think that all their work is done on the computer. They also take “field trips” of sorts to visit places and take in the scenery. For The Good Dinosaur a main scene of Arlo being swept down rapids was in able to be designed so well because they all went on a white water rafting trip to feel what it is like to really go down the rapids and how the water moves and sounds.
The job of the Technical Effects Lead is to know what problems will arise before they happen. Mike spends his morning checking on things that have been worked on overnight, checking in with different departments, and then the afternoons are spent working on his scenes in the movie. Did you know that each Pixar film can take about 7 years to make!! Holy Wow!!
The Good Dinosaur is the biggest cinematic scope that Pixar has done to date with 900 shots versus the normal around 300. Trust me when I say you have to go see this movie. And bring tissues! Just the few clips that I was able to get a glimpse of, oh yeah!!
See more about The Good Dinosaur and make a plan to go see it next week!
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