About a year ago when we were at Disneyworld in Florida we met a really cool guy named Duncan. Dad and he kept in touch through emails back and forth and we found out that he was working for Pixar right near where we were at. We set up a date to go hang out with him and get a tour of Pixar.

 We were all really stoked to go and see the place where some of our favorite movies are created. Just arriving to the building you could tell it is something awesome.

When you first walk up they have a big outdoor amphitheatre and the lamp and ball from their first short film Luxo Jr. When you walk into the building it is sort of overwhelming. It is very very big and everywhere you look there are life size models of characters like Mike and Sully from “Monsters Inc.”, Bruce, Nemo, and Dory from “Finding Nemo”, and Luigi and Guido from “Cars”. Being able to see the characters like that felt real like they were right there with you.

It was cool all of the things they did as far as the architecture in the building. The bathrooms were put in the main atrium of the building making it so you had to get away from your desk and walk down to them. It was designed like that so you would have to go to the open area which is the social area of the building. On the second floor is where a lot of the conference rooms are they all have big glass windows that swing open and there are two bridges across from each other as well. It was designed so you could stand on one of the bridges and see into all of the conference rooms.

One of the neat things is right now they have a lot of original art from their movie “UP” that comes out May 28^th 2009. It was crazy to see how the characters changed in the process of the film from the original idea to the finished product. It was amazing to see how it all changes and is added upon to make it turn out like they are envisioning. The art ranged from sketches, to clay models, to paintings. It was awesome to see all of the different styles of art and what different people are capable of doing.

It was awesome to step into the film process and learn how it all happens. I definitely have a greater appreciation for animated films now that I know how much work is put into them and how long it takes to be completed.(Check this out to see a summary of how it’s done) 

http://www.pixar.com/howwedoit/index.html# 

Pixar also has a lot of cool things for their employees to do while at work or after hours. The cereal bar was probably Conner’s favorite. It’s like heaven to an 8 year old having a buffet of practically any cereal you could want and a huge refrigerator of milk to go with it. They also had things like the Theatre where they do film screenings of their movies but also show other movies weekly, pools to go swimming in, an Olive Tree Grove to have BBQ’s in, and gyms.

Overall Pixar was a really rad place that had a good vibe. You could tell many talented people were there working on very cool stuff and creating new things.

Thanks so much Duncan for taking the time to show us around Pixar, you have an awesome job!  It is something we will never forget! 

Tags: LOUD California Pixat Friends Travels