If you've ever seen a Pixar movie in theaters,
you've likely seen the short that comes
attached to the beginning of the film.
And if you're anything like me,
every time you sit down in that theater
waiting for that Pixar film to begin,
you completely forget about the short beforehand.
The short films themself don't directly make any money, and most people overlook them.
Sure, they win an Oscar from time to time
for Best Animated Short,
but Pixar has earned enough Oscars
from their feature-length films.
So why do they keep on producing them?
Well, it started off as a way to push the technology.
Back in 1984, before Pixar was the studio we loved,
they were a division of Lucasfilm
called The Graphics Group.
Initially, Pixar was a high-end
computer hardware company,
whose core product was the Pixar image computer,
and animation wasn't even a goal of theirs.
They developed a system that primarily sold to government agencies and the medical community.
Fortunately for us, the system never sold well.
So in hopes of boosting sales,
an employee, John Lasseter,
who had a history in developing short films,
suggested that they show the products' capabilities
with demonstration through animation.
So they began testing the waters
and produced a short film called,
“The Adventures of André and Wally B.”
The film showed what a computer can accomplish.
This film was less of a film
and more of a test of the tech.
[ALVY RAY SMITH:] We had the particle systems by
Bill Reeves we wanted to showcase,
and we had motion board—this was one of the most revolutionary things that Pixar came up with.
You actually blur characters out
in the direction of motion, during a frame.
[BRYAN SEEKER:] But people were still
in awe of what they saw.
They had never seen fully realized characters.
It wasn't until “Luxo Jr.” was produced by Pixar,
and shown to audiences,
that they were in awe of the far more realistic look.
But more importantly, Pixar was trying
to show off the software again.
[CRAIG GOOD:] Self-shadowing was the lamp turning around and casting shadows on itself.
[JIM BLINN:] What would be a cooler way
to show off this technology than having the
moving light sources be these lamps moving around
so the shadows changed position all the time?
[BRYAN SEEKER:] However,
it wasn't just the photorealism.
Pixar was onto something.
It was the emotional realism.
Industry professionals were quoted saying
it was the first computer-animated film
that enabled viewers to forget that
they were watching a computer animation.
[RALPH GUGGENHEIM:] And people were just
talking about it forever as...the first:
the first time they'd seen it.
And the "it" that they had seen
was the first time they'd seen emotion and character
and storytelling in a computer-animated film.
[JIM BLINN:] There's curiosity,
there's dismay, there's sympathy,
there's bemusement...a whole range of things
that he was able to get through
to the audience using just a few
joint angles and this thing.
[EBEN OSTBY:] You realize that, okay, it's no longer a test if it's actually touching you in some way.
[BRYAN SEEKER:] And audiences agreed.
The film received the first ever nomination, 
ever, for a 3D-produced film at the Oscars.
It showed character and emotion
through lifeless objects.
[JOHN LASSETER:] And I'll never forget.
Jim Blinn, one of the giants in
the computer graphics research world,
came to me after...the show.
And he said, "John I have a question for you."
And I thought, (sighs)
Oh no. Jim Blinn, he's going to ask me about
the self-shadowing algorithm, I know he is.
(whispering) I don't know that...
(speaking) he goes, "John...
was the parent lamp a mother or a father?"
And I just smiled and I thought, We did it.
[BRYAN SEEKER:] Pixar had achieved
exactly what John Lasseter came to do.
He showed that technology pushes the art,
and showed the world how
a story can be told with a computer.
The goal slowly shifted into showing the world
that they could produce a feature film.
So they did "Red's Dream" to show that
they can nail a mood and environment,
and implement rain for the first time.
Then came "Tin Toy" and the idea of
a story from a toy's perspective.
And through so, they made the first ever
human character in Pixar's history,
and it pushed them in the technology.
It became the first ever computer-animated film
to ever win an Oscar.
And Pixar again knew that they had
something magical on their hands.
In four short years, they went from
creating the first 3D short film ever,
to creating one that could rival
any other short story out there for that year.
It became clear to Pixar that the feature film that they were going to make
would take inspiration from "Tin Toy," and well...
the rest is history.
"Toy Story" became an instant classic,
and the 3D animation was up to a point where
it could believably recreate still life in motion,
and tell a thought-provoking story.
So why does Pixar continue with these shorts?
I mean, the technology is fully evolved and
they've done a feature film and made money.
Why go backwards rather than forwards?
Well, that wasn't always the case.
During "Toy Story," Pixar stopped
production on any short length films.
It wasn't until after the completion, that John Lasseter and Pixar realized that those short films,
much like "Tin Toy" did,
helped them flex their creativity.
It became a way to collaborate and play with ideas without committing to years spent on a project.
The Pixar team realized that their best ideas
were coming through that collaboration.
And then it became a way to allow Pixar
to hear new voices within the company.
Future Pixar directors would have their start
in Pixar shorts, and show off their talent.
But it wasn't only the directors.
Animators, storyboard artists, everyone else got to try out their interests on these short films,
and really push their creativity and learn the art moreso.
So when it came around to producing those
feature films, they'd even better at their craft.
Directors like Mark Andrews directed "One-Man Band" before developing "Brave."
Or Peter Sohn, who did "Partially Cloudy"
before moving on to direct "The Good Dinosaur."
Or many people that already worked at Pixar had a chance to direct,
like Ronnie del Carmen was given a chance to direct "Doug's Special Mission,"
and later would co-direct "Inside Out."
Or Angus MacLane, who directed a number of
side short films from other movies
before moving on to "Finding Dory."
This is why Pixar does those short films.
At first, it was a way to test out this technology.
But then, they continued to discover new talent and
give them new opportunities inside the company,
and allow them to grow.
But the main reason that Pixar
still makes these short films today
is because it allows them to play.
It allows them to have fun, experiment.
This is what thrives that company.
This is why I love Pixar.
It's not about the money. They make these short films because they are interested in them.
They are inspired by them. These are employees' passion projects: a way to show off their talent.
And they're more interested in harboring that talent
and pushing their storytelling abilities.
[ED CATMULL:] But we do think that
people enjoy them. That's enough reason.
If people go to our films and they have a
great time, then we will have succeeded.
And the shorts are part of that enjoyment.
[BRYAN SEEKER:] So what do you think of the Pixar shorts? Do you love them like I do?
It's always such a treat walking into the theater
and having a new one to watch.
As always, thank you so much to my patrons:
Adam Gray, Jeremy Jacobs, Jenny Edwards, Jeremy Robson, Gabe Marshanda, Trevor Cowan, Gunner Legland, Colleen West, and Gerard Gallifa.
Thank you so much for your support guys!
As always, thank you for watching!
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