One animation writing class got a special treat this summer after computer animation company Pixar sent artists to their class to work with the students and help them develop their writing.
Students learned how to come up with a story idea, do research for a story pitch, how to pitch their story to a board and how to create a storyboard. By the end of the summer, each student left with their own script for an animated short film, and a new sense of what it takes to become a Pixar animator.
Head of Animation at Cal State Long Beach Aubry Mintz said that getting Pixar to recognize and work with CSULB has been a long-term goal of his.
“I’ve been working here for 10 years and this has always been a goal of mine. I’d love Pixar to know what we’re doing in the walls of our school,” said Mintz. “Finally, we’re on their radar so it’s a great feeling.”
This is the second time in a year that Pixar has came to CSULB to work with animation students. The company sent over animators in January to show a presentation to various animation classes. The presentation attracted such a crowd that the animators had to show it twice in order to satisfy the line of students lined up outside the door.
Following the presentation, Pixar representatives held a Q&A where students were able to ask questions. The eagerness to learn from students impressed the Pixar animators so much that they spoke to Mintz and told him they were interested in returning over the summer in order to do more work with the students.
The chance finally came this summer with the ART311 writing class. Over the course of five weeks, the sessions were broken up. There was one session which included two artists who taught the students. There were four sessions with one artist in each one who taught different aspects of storytelling.
Mai Pham, a fourth year animation major, said that the most important thing she learned from the artists is the evolution of stories throughout the writing process.
“They offered a point of view from an industry perspective and how that operates. You can’t get [that] from inside the classroom,” said Pham. “Usually people think that you come up with a story and it’s done, but it usually goes through a lot of changes over time and that’s normal and it’s okay.”
Pham said that she can see herself applying for the Pixar internship in the future, but is unsure of whether she wants to have a career at Pixar or focus more on TV stations, such as Cartoon Network.
Mintz said that one major goal of the course was for students to see that the idea of working with Pixar is more attainable than they realize. This idea was even more solidified when recent CSULB animation graduate Theresa Reyes received a highly competitive internship with Pixar over the summer.
“When Theresa got the internship, it really became a reality for them. Not only someone their age can end up in such a great place, but someone from CSULB can,” said Mintz. “It became a possibility for them that this thing called Pixar, that everybody grew up with, it’s not an impossible thing to see yourself one day working there.”
One of the animators that came and taught the class over the summer was in their early 20s, proving to the students even more that the path to Pixar may be in their future.
The CSULB animation department won’t have to wait long to work with Pixar again, as they are set to come back and speak with students in November.