Pixar Studio Tour | The legacy of Steve Jobs still alive

(Emeryville, USA) “The exterior windows of the building reflect our reflection. When you open the door, it’s like stepping through a mirror into a world of creativity. »

The building in question, the main campus of Pixar, is named after Steve Jobs, who headed California’s animation studios from 1986 to 2006.

Jeanette Marker, a longtime employee who is currently a production assistant forInside Out 2, makes us visit the places populated by characters, such as Woody, Buzz, Mike, Sully and Edna. Throughout our walk, she recalls the impact of the co-founder of Apple in the creation of Pixar’s premises.

Since this is a working environment, it is not open to the public. The Press however had the chance to browse it during a media event for the release of the film elementalin theaters since June 16.

“We moved in in November 2000 after four years of work,” says our guide.

The visionary inventor bought Pixar from George Lucas in 1986 after leaving Apple – he would return there in 1997. The small studio had been around for a few years and specialized in special effects, but still had ambitions to produce films animation. After a few groundbreaking short films – including Luxo Jr.starring the lamps and the ball that have become emblematic – the success of Toy Story in 1995 gave Pixar the means to realize its dreams.

thoughtful buildings

Steve Jobs wanted Pixar’s new offices in Emeryville to do two things: “so that employees could be inspired by the outside world as well as by the people they work with.”

Many architectural choices were made in order to realize his entrepreneurial vision. “To never forget life outside, the facade of the main building is entirely fenestrated. In addition, the brick path outside continues inside before becoming a wooden floor. The atrium, which takes up almost the entire ground floor, is intended as a public square [town square] which brings together the cafeteria, the toilets, the café, the lunch area, the souvenir shop and the cinema, lists Jeanette Marker. It’s very easy to stay within the four walls of your office when doing computer animation. We make films that tell the human experience, so you have to live it to do it well. »

Steve Jobs was so keen that his employees cross paths and discuss as often as possible that he had initially suggested that a single toilet be installed in the entire building. “Not many people said no to Steve Jobs, but enough did to make sure we had enough toilets,” laughs Jeanette Marker.

A Parisian train station – the main building is split in two, like platforms – and the city of New York also inspired Steve Jobs in the development of the Pixar campus. “We are located on Park Avenue and the offices are organized in a quadrangle. The other buildings are named after New York neighborhoods: Brooklyn, West Village, Soho, Uptown and Ellis Island,” says our guide. These house various divisions of the company: development teams, recording studios, archives and gymnasium. A swimming pool as well as soccer, basketball and beach volleyball courts are also available to employees.

Along with the adorable characters hidden throughout, the premises are decked out with gorgeous production designs, plenty of artwork, and 11 Oscars – those won for Animated Feature of the Year. Plants, trees and other vegetation green the property and provide fresh produce on the cafeteria menu. Last extraordinary thing that we saw: one of the first 3D televisions which do not require glasses in the world!

Working at Pixar

Peter Sohn, director ofelemental, has been a Pixar employee for 20 years. He started as part of the storyboard team (storyboard) of Finding Nemo. He held the same role for a few other films in addition to lending his voice to secondary characters, including Emile, of Ratatouillebefore writing and directing a first short film, Partly Cloudythen do the same for The Good Dinosaur.

During our stay in California, we asked him how one person can occupy so many different positions in the same company.

Bob Peterson, who wrote and directed the above short elemental, Carl’s Datehas been with Pixar since 1994. He started in the former TV commercials division before joining the animator group of Toy Story. He too contributed to the storyboarding of a few films and gave his voice to characters, including Roz, from Monsters, Inc. He also participated in the writing of Finding Nemo and of Up, which he co-directed. We also met him in Emeryville.

“At Pixar, each project leads to another. If you’re part of the story development team, you don’t just draw scripts, you present your ideas. I believe that participating in the creation of the story is the best way to move on to screenwriting or directing, believes Bob Peterson. Today, people are more specialized and only wear one hat. In the 1980s, my hats went to the sky, because I had to model the objects, animate them, write the story and everything else. Pixar allowed me to continue to do everything and still allows it. »

Travel and accommodation costs were paid by Disney, which exercised no control over the content of this report.