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Ed Catmull- Finder
Pixar ’s Pixel Pioneer
Invention, Inspiration and Innovation
Childhood dream- to become an animator
Cofounder and President of Pixar Animation
Vision: Feature Films can be made on Computers..
Cutting edge technology at the core of wonderful creations: Toy Story, Monsters’ Inc…
“ When done well , the voices, the story and animation come together in a pure act of creation.”
Ed Catmull- Vision
Amanda Croasmun
Julia Gooding
Brad Van Schouwen
Anoop Veethil
Booma Venkataraman
Malav Vora
ED CATMULL
• In high school days aspired to be an animator.
• Ended up taking Physics and computer Science because he couldn’t draw well.
• Joined pioneering program in computer graphics at University of Utah and graduated with a Ph.d in computer graphics in 1974.
Educational Background
• Joined New York Institute of Technology as the head of computer graphics program.
• Worked mainly on animation, motion blur and rendering techniques.
• Joined Lucas films in 1979
• Joined with Steve Jobs in creating “Pixar” in 1986
Career
• Z-buffer keeps track of depth (or distance from the viewer) of every picture element (pixel) on the screen. The computer then can compare any new objects being displayed with depths of current pixels on display to decide which pixels are visible.
Z-buffer
• This procedure made computer-generated images more realistic, because instead of simply “painting” the picture with simple colors, the colors of real surfaces can be captured and then attached to the appropriate objects
Texture Mapping
Their vision for computer graphics in animated films
Motivating employees
Pixar’s clear goal
Catmull and Jobs
Released in 1995, reflecting 9 years of creative and technological achievements
Goes down in history as the first fully computer-animated film.
Highest grossing film of 1995, $360 million
Toy Story
A Bug’s life broke all previous Thanksgiving weekend records..
Highest grossing animated release of 1998
$163 Million domestic and $362 Million Worldwide..
Won four ASIFA Hollywood Annie awards
Bug’s Life
Personal Life Born March 31, 1945 in
Parkersburg, West Virginia Father of four children First job: theater usher Present job: president of Pixar
Animation Studios Favorite Web site:
Amazon.com Leisure Activities: “What
leisure?” Car: Lexus License Plate: PIXAR Greatest Achievement: Coon’s
Award
November 24, 1999
First animated sequel to gross more than its original
Golden Globe Award for best picture-musical or comedy
Two Grammy Awards
Six ASIFA-Hollywood Annie Awards
Toy Story 2
Industry Competitors Dreamworks- Shrek, Ants, Chicken Run
Disney- The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Lilo and Stitch
Universal Studios- The Land Before Time, An American Tail, Rocky & Bullwinkle
Sony- Stuart Little, The Chubb Chubbs (Playing with MIB II)
Paramount Pictures- Nickelodeon’s Hey Arnold
Warner Brothers- Looney Tunes
Monster’s Inc.
Second highest grossing animated film of all-time, second only to The Lion King
Grossed over $500 million
Most successful US animated film ever in Japan
Monster’s Inc was nominated for 5 Academy Awards
Sixth largest opening in Industry History
Has a clear organizational goal: to be the best computer graphics company available. Combines the creative and technical employees into a strong team. Cross-trains employees through Pixar University, utilizing the full extent of his employee’s talents Welcomes complaints and suggestions from the team to improve the company’s processes. Motivates his employees by challenging them.
Why is Catmull Inspirational?
Compensates both his technical and creative people similarly. Constant feedback from all levels within the organization. 3 Scientific and Technical Engineering Awards from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Recipient of the Coons Award (the highest achievement in computer graphics) An Oscar® for significant advancements to the field of motion picture through RenderMan®, a Pixar software program.
Why is Catmull Inspirational?