How to create a creative team? Tips from the studio Pixar.
The translation found 4epT, but since it lacks karma, it publishes on my behalf.
Ed Catmell, one of the creators of Pixar Studios and the current President of Pixar and Disney Studios, talks about the principles that allowed us to create a cohesive team, create a creative atmosphere and cope with extreme situations.
Translation: Alexander Lvov
Found here
')
“The main secret of creating popular films from Pixar studio is the right approach to solving problems within the production.”
Ed catmell
A few years ago, I talked with the head of one of the leading film studios, who was convinced that the main problem was not to find good people, but to find good ideas. After this conversation, I often asked representatives of various studios the question of what was more important - people or ideas. To my amazement, about half answered that more important than the idea. With this, I fundamentally disagree. I think this opinion was due to a misunderstanding of creativity in general. The importance of the idea is too much exaggerated in creating the final product. And this leads to misunderstanding how to manage production in critical situations.
In terms of technology and artistry, Pixar studio is unique in its kind. In the 90s, we were known as pioneers in the field of computer animation. Our development came to a climax in 1995 with the release of the world's first full-length computer animation film “Toy Story”. Over the next 13 years, we released eight other cartoons: “The Life of Bugs”, “Toy Story - 2”, “Monsters Inc.”, “Finding Nemo”, “The Incredibles”, “Cars”, “Ratatouille”, “WALL- And ”that also became blockbusters. Unlike most studios, we never bought scripts or ideas from outside. All our stories, worlds and characters were created directly by our artists. And when creating films, we continued to expand the boundaries of computer animation, registering many patents in the process.
I'm not stupid enough to say that we will never make a mistake, but I do not think that our success is simply a great success. Rather, it is the result of strict adherence to certain principles and rules that allow you to manage talents and cope with critical situations. Pixar is a whole balanced society. We put priority on long-term relationships and retain some strong beliefs, such as, for example, talent - this is rare. Or again: planning does not prevent risks, but provides the possibility of recovery if some kind of failure occurs. We have to constantly check all our assumptions, and look for cracks in the company that may be harmful.
In the past two years, we have had the opportunity to test our principles more globally. After the merger of Pixar and Walt Disney in 2006, Bob Eager, who led Disney Animation, asked me, John Lasseter, and other senior Pixar managers to help rebuild the studio. The success of our measures suggested that I should apply my principles and beliefs to create a strong and creative organization.
People usually see creativity as a separate idea of ​​the final product: a movie about toys, dinosaurs, or love. Nevertheless, a huge number of people who work together, solve many problems and tasks in related areas, are involved in making the film. And the initial idea is just one step in this long and difficult journey, which usually lasts about four to five years.
The film combines tens of thousands of ideas. They are everywhere, performed by each line, character, background, in characters, camera positions, in color and lighting, and individual frames. The director and other production leaders do not build the film only on their own ideas; each member of the creative team of 200 to 250 people makes their proposals and brings something to the overall process. Creativity must be present at every stage of development. A lot of ideas are sorted, and among them seek out those that are suitable for creating and continuing the story. It’s like an archaeological dig: you don’t know where and at what point you can find something valuable.
People want to see something new every time they go to the cinema, and this is a big risk for us. We are talking about new unexpected ideas and whether they will be accepted by the public. Our latest movie “WALL-E” is a story about a robot love in a post-apocalyptic world full of rubbish. The previous film “Ratatouille” is about a rat that wants to become a chef. We did not know at the initial stage of development whether these films would be accepted or not, but we relied on someone’s wild idea and decided to try.
In order to act in this way, we, as studio leaders, must resist the natural desire to reduce the risk or avoid it altogether. In the film industry, many are guided by the principle that it is safer to copy success, and not try to create something new. That's why you see so many similar movies. And this explains why there are very few good films. If you want to create something original, you have to take the risk and be able to recover if the organization fails. And what is the key to rebuilding the company? Only talented people! Contrary to the belief of the head of a well-known film company, finding good and talented people is not so easy.
And most importantly, talented people should be able to work effectively in a team. Things like trust and respect the studio management is not able to simply "give out" to their subordinates, they appear with time. What we can do is create an environment in which trust and respect can develop, as well as conditions for unleashing creativity. If you meet these conditions, the result is a friendly team, where creative people are loyal to each other, everyone feels like a part of something special and amazing, their fire attracts like a magnet to other talented people. I know that what I describe contradicts the usual foundations and methods that are common in the film industry, but I believe that creating a creative team is very important.
My belief that good people are much more important than good ideas should not be surprising. I had an amazing opportunity to work with amazing people at the beginning of the development of computer graphics.
It all started at the University of Utah with people like Jim Clark, who organized Silicon Graphics and Netscape, John Warnock, who founded Adobe and Alan Kay, one of the developers of object-oriented programming. We were funded by the US Department of Research, and the professors gave us room for study and creativity.
At the New York Institute of Technology, I headed a new computer animation laboratory and one of the first workers in it was Elvi Ray Smith, who made a breakthrough in computer graphics. This led me to realize that there is nothing wrong with hiring people who are smarter than you.
Then George Lucas hired me as the head of the computer animation department at Lucasfilm to bring computer graphics to the movies and, in the future, to the games. These studies were exciting and went beyond a single film. George did not try to limit us and keep the technology for himself, allowed us to publish our research and share experience with other institutions. This is what made it possible to attract the best people in their field, such as John Lasseter, the animator from Walt Disney, who was very impressed with the new features.
And finally, Pixar began its independent life in 1986, when Steve Jobs bought the Lucasfilm computer department. Steve gave us a base and formed a great leadership team. Some of us have been holding each other for decades, dreaming about making such films, and we still enjoy working together.
And only when the Pixar company was in crisis when creating “Toy Story 2”, I began to form an understanding of how to create and organize a creative team. In 1996, while we were working on our second film, The Life of Bugs, the idea arose of making a sequel to Toy Story. We had enough technical directors to create the second film in parallel, but all the creative people who created the first “Toy Story”, including John, who directed, writer Andrew Stanton, editor Lee Ankrich and screenwriter Joe Runft - they all worked on “Life Zhukov". So, we needed to form a new creative team that had not yet participated in the creation of such films. However, we reasoned that this is normal, because John, Lee, Andrew and Joe also never participated in the production of animated films before “Toy Story”.
Disney, which at that time distributed and financed our films, initially set the course that “Toy Story -2” will be sold only as a home video and will not be distributed to cinemas. It was in some way a successful model, which meant that the quality and price of the project would be lower. However, it was unpleasant for us that there would be two different quality standards in our studio and after some time at Disney agreed to release the second part of “Toy Story” for film distribution. But creative project management was still a problem for us.
At the initial stage, we draw a storyboard, which we mount to the music and dialogue. We call it “story reel”. The first versions are very raw, but they give an idea of ​​the difficulties and tasks to be solved. Then we make changes and with each new version the story is getting better. In the case of the creation of “Toy Story - 2” we had a great movie idea. However, the first story reel was not as we would like, and it did not improve over time. Despite this, directors and producers did not attempt to drastically change anything ...
But the “Life of Bugs” was completed. John, Andrew, Lee, and Joe were freed and led the creation of “Toy Story 2”. By this time, 18 months had passed since the start of production, and only eight remained to finish the film and meet the deadline. Knowing that the future of the company depends on them, the whole team worked in a frantic mode. In the end, with the support of the new leadership, they were able to complete the film on time.
How did John and his team save the film? The problem was not the initial idea. The main character of the film, a cowboy doll named Woody, was kidnapped by a toy collector who was going to sell it to a toy museum in Japan. At the climax of the story, Woody had to decide whether to go to Japan or try to escape and return to his master, Andy's child. Well, but you can guess that he will return to the child, this plot is easy to predict. And if you can easily predict the outcome, then this is not at all interesting! Therefore, the problem was to bring in an element of drama and make the audience believe that there really was a choice. The first team that worked on the film could not solve this problem.
The second group decided to add some elements, such as the fears of toys and show the attitude of people towards them. As a result, the story of the Jesse doll. Jesse is a cowboy girl doll that was supposed to go with Woody to Japan. She really wants to leave and explains everything to Woody. Her story is heard by the audience in the touching song “When she loved me” (When she loved me). She was a favorite toy for one girl who grew up, and threw out Jesse. In fact, children grow up, their life changes and something sometimes leaves. From this point on, the audience understands that there really is a choice, and it captures people. These elements allowed the story to come alive.
“Toy Story - 2” was a crucial and critical moment for Pixar. At that moment, I clearly understood the truth about the superiority of people over ideas: if you give a good idea to a mediocre group, they will only develop it, but if you give a mediocre idea to a great team, they will correct it or throw it away and find something new.
We also learned another important lesson: the quality bar should be the same for each film we produce. Each person in the studio sacrificed his time to correct “Toy Story - 2”. We stopped all other work, asked people to stay after work and worked very hard. It was unacceptable for us to be known about our company as mediocre and dishonest. As a result, the quality turned out to be great, and many companies wanted to cooperate with us, produce DVDs, toys and other things with our characters.
Of course, many managers spend a lot of money on finding good employees, but how many of them understand the importance of creating an environment in which people can work effectively in a team and support each other? After all, a monolithic team is much better than the sum of individual pieces. This is how we try to work.
The creative team must be in harmony with the creative leadership. This obvious truth is missed in many film studios, and, probably, things are also in other industries. Our philosophy is this: you find talented people, provide them with a good working environment so that everyone can honestly and openly express their ideas, support and trust them.
After “Toy Story - 2,” we changed our development department. Now, instead of looking for new ideas for films, the department had to collect small “incubation” groups in order to help the studio generate, develop and complement its own ideas. Each such group usually consists of a director, screenwriter and several artists. The goal of this approach is to find people who will work together effectively. At this stage, it is still impossible to judge the quality, the material is quite raw, many problems and questions remain. But you can assess how the group works and how effectively it solves the tasks set before them. The management ensures that these groups develop and function.
In the leadership of the cooperation of two people is especially important. The director and producer should be strong partners. They not only strive to make a great movie, but also follow the deadlines, budget and people. (Good artists are able to stop in time). When making a film, we leave the choices and decisions to the main creative individuals in production and are not trying to trim something for ourselves.
In fact, even when there are obvious problems, we do not undermine their authority and leadership, but support. One good example, our director can ask at any time for help from a brainstorming group. (This group is specially created to solve difficult problems). If this does not help, then we can add another person to the project management - a writer or a co-director to strengthen the creative team.
What does the director need to become a successful leader? Of course, the director must be a master in the story narrative. This means that he must bring together thousands of ideas and undermine them under one vision, as well as perfectly understand what his employees can do and what not. He should have maximum information and opportunities for work, but should not indicate how to do something. Every person should be given the opportunity to contribute his own, even a small idea or solution.
A good director should not only have an excellent analytical mind, but also be able to involve his staff in the analysis, and somewhere rely on their life experience. The director should be an excellent listener and listen to all the proposals. He appreciates all the ideas and contributions of each employee, even if this idea is not used. And he always chooses the best.
Another important quality of a good studio is equality among the employees. Under these conditions, all people are interested in doing their job to the maximum. They really feel that here is one for all and all for one. A good example of such a strategy is the work of the brainstorming group.
This group consists of John and eight other directors (Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Brenda Chapman, Lee Ankrich, Gary Reedstrom and Brad Lewis). If the need arises, then this group is collected and shown to them the current version of the film. Then follows a two-hour discussion on how to make the film better. And while there is no quarrel, quarrels or something like that - everything happens in an atmosphere of respect and trust. Everyone understands that it is much better to understand and correct the problem at the beginning of the path than when it is too late.
The leadership of the film receives the result of the discussion in the form of advice, there are no mandatory instructions, and the brainstorming group has no leadership authority. This creates trust and helps guide film making. When we gave this group leadership over the project, nothing worked, but all we had to do was to say: “on an equal footing, only advice is needed”, as soon as all the work became much more efficient.
This group appeared when creating “Toy Story”. When a crisis was brewing in the production of the film, a group of four people was assembled - John, Andrew, Lee and Joe. Since they respected each other, they could have very heated discussions, always remembering that their emotions belong to the story being created and do not become personal. Over time, other people joined us, and today they are a group of people who can always rely on each other.
The habit of working together every day in our company concerns not only management. A good confirmation of this is the daily views, which we call dailies, during which each studio employee receives feedback on what he does in the project. These rules are based on principles that John saw in other large companies, such as Disney, ILM, Lucasfilm.
In the process of work, obstacles are sure to arise and something must always be remembered. First, when people in the process of work overcome difficulties, they begin to think creatively. Secondly, the director should direct the creative team and follow the process. Thirdly, people learn from each other. And, finally, people really want their work to be done well, and that a situation does not arise when, having invested a lot of work, a person realizes that his work is not at all what the director wanted to see. Constant monitoring of the process allows you to avoid such situations.
It is also important that people of different professions communicate on equal terms. The obstacle here is in the natural emergence of classes and divisions, since organization is still a structure. Some people may feel that their work is much more important than others. Another obstacle is the differences between professions or even just the physical distance between offices. In creative companies like ours, all these barriers must be destroyed.
Walt Disney understood this principle very well. He believed that the constant change of the company, the introduction of innovations and the combination of advances in technology and art can yield astounding results. Many look back at the company's early period and say: “Just see what artists were!”, But do not pay attention to the fact that there were technological breakthroughs - the first color, the sound in animation, the first use of xerography, etc.
At Pixar, we believe in the power of technology and art, constantly trying to apply the best technology at the moment. John has a saying: “Technology inspires art, and art promotes technology.” For us, these are not just words, this is the style of our work.
There are a few rules that we follow in our company:
1) Structures in an organization should be closely interrelated.
Hierarchy and communication in an organization are two different things. Employees of any department should easily communicate with another department to solve questions and problems. This means for managers that there is nothing terrible if they learn about some changes not in the first place, but only at general meetings. In the process of work, a lot of problems arise and for their solution no special permission from the management is needed, in this it is sometimes worth trusting your employees.
2) All ideas should speak freely.
When making a movie, something constantly changes. We try to always have a fresh look at the problems, for which we attract different people of completely different professions, and we get many points of view. All current work is available for criticism of any studio employee; managers can always write by mail what you don’t like and why.
3) We continue to monitor developments in universities.
And for this we assist computer graphics artists, publish their work and research, and participate in research conferences. These connections are of great importance, through them we attract new talented people. All this further confirms our position that people are more important than ideas.
We also strive to remove barriers between individual disciplines and professions. To do this, we arrange internal courses of study, which we call the University of Pixar. It helps to prepare and develop professional skills among employees. There are optional activities that allow people of different professions to meet and evaluate the work that each of them does. Some relate to our production directly (scripting, drawing, modeling), and some - not (for example, yoga). Both newcomers and world-class masters who wish to improve their skills can meet in classes. Pixar University helps them in this, and generally learn together - it's fun ...
The layout of our buildings serves the same purpose. Most of them carry an industrial purpose, but not all. For example, in the center between the buildings we have a closed courtyard with a cafeteria, a conference room, and bathrooms. The result of this situation is difficult to underestimate.
Watching the ups and downs of many computer companies made a strong impression on me. Many companies possessed tremendous abilities and conceived great products. They had the best developers, technology, experienced management. However, at the zenith, they made such ridiculous decisions that ruined their company completely. How could such clever people make such a mistake and not stand? I repeatedly ask myself the question: “If we are always so successful, is there no danger of blindness?”
Many people from those companies were not able to value themselves and change. When Pixar became an independent company, I decided that we would be different. Yes, it is always difficult and inconvenient for an organization to evaluate and analyze itself. It is difficult to be objective in this. Complacency has to constantly struggle and reveal problems, even when your company is successful. Communication, the influx of new forces, healthy criticism - all this will only contribute to proper development. A very important part is a strong leadership, it contributes to the stability and confidence of employees in the team.
One of our first films, “The Life of Bugs,” was very successful, but I noticed that success too turned my head to many employees. Later, I very often observed that people learn a lot when analyzing errors, but they really don’t like to spend them. Management wants to praise people more, employees love to talk about what was right and good, than about mistakes. People try to avoid unpleasant topics.
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Ed Catmell, one of the creators of Pixar Studios and the current President of Pixar and Disney Studios, talks about the principles that allowed us to create a cohesive team, create a creative atmosphere and cope with extreme situations.
Translation: Alexander Lvov
Found here
')
“The main secret of creating popular films from Pixar studio is the right approach to solving problems within the production.”
Ed catmell
A few years ago, I talked with the head of one of the leading film studios, who was convinced that the main problem was not to find good people, but to find good ideas. After this conversation, I often asked representatives of various studios the question of what was more important - people or ideas. To my amazement, about half answered that more important than the idea. With this, I fundamentally disagree. I think this opinion was due to a misunderstanding of creativity in general. The importance of the idea is too much exaggerated in creating the final product. And this leads to misunderstanding how to manage production in critical situations.
In terms of technology and artistry, Pixar studio is unique in its kind. In the 90s, we were known as pioneers in the field of computer animation. Our development came to a climax in 1995 with the release of the world's first full-length computer animation film “Toy Story”. Over the next 13 years, we released eight other cartoons: “The Life of Bugs”, “Toy Story - 2”, “Monsters Inc.”, “Finding Nemo”, “The Incredibles”, “Cars”, “Ratatouille”, “WALL- And ”that also became blockbusters. Unlike most studios, we never bought scripts or ideas from outside. All our stories, worlds and characters were created directly by our artists. And when creating films, we continued to expand the boundaries of computer animation, registering many patents in the process.
I'm not stupid enough to say that we will never make a mistake, but I do not think that our success is simply a great success. Rather, it is the result of strict adherence to certain principles and rules that allow you to manage talents and cope with critical situations. Pixar is a whole balanced society. We put priority on long-term relationships and retain some strong beliefs, such as, for example, talent - this is rare. Or again: planning does not prevent risks, but provides the possibility of recovery if some kind of failure occurs. We have to constantly check all our assumptions, and look for cracks in the company that may be harmful.
In the past two years, we have had the opportunity to test our principles more globally. After the merger of Pixar and Walt Disney in 2006, Bob Eager, who led Disney Animation, asked me, John Lasseter, and other senior Pixar managers to help rebuild the studio. The success of our measures suggested that I should apply my principles and beliefs to create a strong and creative organization.
What is creativity?
People usually see creativity as a separate idea of ​​the final product: a movie about toys, dinosaurs, or love. Nevertheless, a huge number of people who work together, solve many problems and tasks in related areas, are involved in making the film. And the initial idea is just one step in this long and difficult journey, which usually lasts about four to five years.
The film combines tens of thousands of ideas. They are everywhere, performed by each line, character, background, in characters, camera positions, in color and lighting, and individual frames. The director and other production leaders do not build the film only on their own ideas; each member of the creative team of 200 to 250 people makes their proposals and brings something to the overall process. Creativity must be present at every stage of development. A lot of ideas are sorted, and among them seek out those that are suitable for creating and continuing the story. It’s like an archaeological dig: you don’t know where and at what point you can find something valuable.
Risk taking.
People want to see something new every time they go to the cinema, and this is a big risk for us. We are talking about new unexpected ideas and whether they will be accepted by the public. Our latest movie “WALL-E” is a story about a robot love in a post-apocalyptic world full of rubbish. The previous film “Ratatouille” is about a rat that wants to become a chef. We did not know at the initial stage of development whether these films would be accepted or not, but we relied on someone’s wild idea and decided to try.
In order to act in this way, we, as studio leaders, must resist the natural desire to reduce the risk or avoid it altogether. In the film industry, many are guided by the principle that it is safer to copy success, and not try to create something new. That's why you see so many similar movies. And this explains why there are very few good films. If you want to create something original, you have to take the risk and be able to recover if the organization fails. And what is the key to rebuilding the company? Only talented people! Contrary to the belief of the head of a well-known film company, finding good and talented people is not so easy.
And most importantly, talented people should be able to work effectively in a team. Things like trust and respect the studio management is not able to simply "give out" to their subordinates, they appear with time. What we can do is create an environment in which trust and respect can develop, as well as conditions for unleashing creativity. If you meet these conditions, the result is a friendly team, where creative people are loyal to each other, everyone feels like a part of something special and amazing, their fire attracts like a magnet to other talented people. I know that what I describe contradicts the usual foundations and methods that are common in the film industry, but I believe that creating a creative team is very important.
The origins of our company.
My belief that good people are much more important than good ideas should not be surprising. I had an amazing opportunity to work with amazing people at the beginning of the development of computer graphics.
It all started at the University of Utah with people like Jim Clark, who organized Silicon Graphics and Netscape, John Warnock, who founded Adobe and Alan Kay, one of the developers of object-oriented programming. We were funded by the US Department of Research, and the professors gave us room for study and creativity.
At the New York Institute of Technology, I headed a new computer animation laboratory and one of the first workers in it was Elvi Ray Smith, who made a breakthrough in computer graphics. This led me to realize that there is nothing wrong with hiring people who are smarter than you.
Then George Lucas hired me as the head of the computer animation department at Lucasfilm to bring computer graphics to the movies and, in the future, to the games. These studies were exciting and went beyond a single film. George did not try to limit us and keep the technology for himself, allowed us to publish our research and share experience with other institutions. This is what made it possible to attract the best people in their field, such as John Lasseter, the animator from Walt Disney, who was very impressed with the new features.
And finally, Pixar began its independent life in 1986, when Steve Jobs bought the Lucasfilm computer department. Steve gave us a base and formed a great leadership team. Some of us have been holding each other for decades, dreaming about making such films, and we still enjoy working together.
And only when the Pixar company was in crisis when creating “Toy Story 2”, I began to form an understanding of how to create and organize a creative team. In 1996, while we were working on our second film, The Life of Bugs, the idea arose of making a sequel to Toy Story. We had enough technical directors to create the second film in parallel, but all the creative people who created the first “Toy Story”, including John, who directed, writer Andrew Stanton, editor Lee Ankrich and screenwriter Joe Runft - they all worked on “Life Zhukov". So, we needed to form a new creative team that had not yet participated in the creation of such films. However, we reasoned that this is normal, because John, Lee, Andrew and Joe also never participated in the production of animated films before “Toy Story”.
Disney, which at that time distributed and financed our films, initially set the course that “Toy Story -2” will be sold only as a home video and will not be distributed to cinemas. It was in some way a successful model, which meant that the quality and price of the project would be lower. However, it was unpleasant for us that there would be two different quality standards in our studio and after some time at Disney agreed to release the second part of “Toy Story” for film distribution. But creative project management was still a problem for us.
At the initial stage, we draw a storyboard, which we mount to the music and dialogue. We call it “story reel”. The first versions are very raw, but they give an idea of ​​the difficulties and tasks to be solved. Then we make changes and with each new version the story is getting better. In the case of the creation of “Toy Story - 2” we had a great movie idea. However, the first story reel was not as we would like, and it did not improve over time. Despite this, directors and producers did not attempt to drastically change anything ...
But the “Life of Bugs” was completed. John, Andrew, Lee, and Joe were freed and led the creation of “Toy Story 2”. By this time, 18 months had passed since the start of production, and only eight remained to finish the film and meet the deadline. Knowing that the future of the company depends on them, the whole team worked in a frantic mode. In the end, with the support of the new leadership, they were able to complete the film on time.
How did John and his team save the film? The problem was not the initial idea. The main character of the film, a cowboy doll named Woody, was kidnapped by a toy collector who was going to sell it to a toy museum in Japan. At the climax of the story, Woody had to decide whether to go to Japan or try to escape and return to his master, Andy's child. Well, but you can guess that he will return to the child, this plot is easy to predict. And if you can easily predict the outcome, then this is not at all interesting! Therefore, the problem was to bring in an element of drama and make the audience believe that there really was a choice. The first team that worked on the film could not solve this problem.
The second group decided to add some elements, such as the fears of toys and show the attitude of people towards them. As a result, the story of the Jesse doll. Jesse is a cowboy girl doll that was supposed to go with Woody to Japan. She really wants to leave and explains everything to Woody. Her story is heard by the audience in the touching song “When she loved me” (When she loved me). She was a favorite toy for one girl who grew up, and threw out Jesse. In fact, children grow up, their life changes and something sometimes leaves. From this point on, the audience understands that there really is a choice, and it captures people. These elements allowed the story to come alive.
“Toy Story - 2” was a crucial and critical moment for Pixar. At that moment, I clearly understood the truth about the superiority of people over ideas: if you give a good idea to a mediocre group, they will only develop it, but if you give a mediocre idea to a great team, they will correct it or throw it away and find something new.
We also learned another important lesson: the quality bar should be the same for each film we produce. Each person in the studio sacrificed his time to correct “Toy Story - 2”. We stopped all other work, asked people to stay after work and worked very hard. It was unacceptable for us to be known about our company as mediocre and dishonest. As a result, the quality turned out to be great, and many companies wanted to cooperate with us, produce DVDs, toys and other things with our characters.
Of course, many managers spend a lot of money on finding good employees, but how many of them understand the importance of creating an environment in which people can work effectively in a team and support each other? After all, a monolithic team is much better than the sum of individual pieces. This is how we try to work.
The power of creativity.
The creative team must be in harmony with the creative leadership. This obvious truth is missed in many film studios, and, probably, things are also in other industries. Our philosophy is this: you find talented people, provide them with a good working environment so that everyone can honestly and openly express their ideas, support and trust them.
After “Toy Story - 2,” we changed our development department. Now, instead of looking for new ideas for films, the department had to collect small “incubation” groups in order to help the studio generate, develop and complement its own ideas. Each such group usually consists of a director, screenwriter and several artists. The goal of this approach is to find people who will work together effectively. At this stage, it is still impossible to judge the quality, the material is quite raw, many problems and questions remain. But you can assess how the group works and how effectively it solves the tasks set before them. The management ensures that these groups develop and function.
In the leadership of the cooperation of two people is especially important. The director and producer should be strong partners. They not only strive to make a great movie, but also follow the deadlines, budget and people. (Good artists are able to stop in time). When making a film, we leave the choices and decisions to the main creative individuals in production and are not trying to trim something for ourselves.
In fact, even when there are obvious problems, we do not undermine their authority and leadership, but support. One good example, our director can ask at any time for help from a brainstorming group. (This group is specially created to solve difficult problems). If this does not help, then we can add another person to the project management - a writer or a co-director to strengthen the creative team.
What does the director need to become a successful leader? Of course, the director must be a master in the story narrative. This means that he must bring together thousands of ideas and undermine them under one vision, as well as perfectly understand what his employees can do and what not. He should have maximum information and opportunities for work, but should not indicate how to do something. Every person should be given the opportunity to contribute his own, even a small idea or solution.
A good director should not only have an excellent analytical mind, but also be able to involve his staff in the analysis, and somewhere rely on their life experience. The director should be an excellent listener and listen to all the proposals. He appreciates all the ideas and contributions of each employee, even if this idea is not used. And he always chooses the best.
Equality.
Another important quality of a good studio is equality among the employees. Under these conditions, all people are interested in doing their job to the maximum. They really feel that here is one for all and all for one. A good example of such a strategy is the work of the brainstorming group.
Group brainstorming.
This group consists of John and eight other directors (Andrew Stanton, Brad Bird, Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Brenda Chapman, Lee Ankrich, Gary Reedstrom and Brad Lewis). If the need arises, then this group is collected and shown to them the current version of the film. Then follows a two-hour discussion on how to make the film better. And while there is no quarrel, quarrels or something like that - everything happens in an atmosphere of respect and trust. Everyone understands that it is much better to understand and correct the problem at the beginning of the path than when it is too late.
The leadership of the film receives the result of the discussion in the form of advice, there are no mandatory instructions, and the brainstorming group has no leadership authority. This creates trust and helps guide film making. When we gave this group leadership over the project, nothing worked, but all we had to do was to say: “on an equal footing, only advice is needed”, as soon as all the work became much more efficient.
This group appeared when creating “Toy Story”. When a crisis was brewing in the production of the film, a group of four people was assembled - John, Andrew, Lee and Joe. Since they respected each other, they could have very heated discussions, always remembering that their emotions belong to the story being created and do not become personal. Over time, other people joined us, and today they are a group of people who can always rely on each other.
Dailies
The habit of working together every day in our company concerns not only management. A good confirmation of this is the daily views, which we call dailies, during which each studio employee receives feedback on what he does in the project. These rules are based on principles that John saw in other large companies, such as Disney, ILM, Lucasfilm.
Obstacles
In the process of work, obstacles are sure to arise and something must always be remembered. First, when people in the process of work overcome difficulties, they begin to think creatively. Secondly, the director should direct the creative team and follow the process. Thirdly, people learn from each other. And, finally, people really want their work to be done well, and that a situation does not arise when, having invested a lot of work, a person realizes that his work is not at all what the director wanted to see. Constant monitoring of the process allows you to avoid such situations.
It is also important that people of different professions communicate on equal terms. The obstacle here is in the natural emergence of classes and divisions, since organization is still a structure. Some people may feel that their work is much more important than others. Another obstacle is the differences between professions or even just the physical distance between offices. In creative companies like ours, all these barriers must be destroyed.
Technology + Art = Magic
Walt Disney understood this principle very well. He believed that the constant change of the company, the introduction of innovations and the combination of advances in technology and art can yield astounding results. Many look back at the company's early period and say: “Just see what artists were!”, But do not pay attention to the fact that there were technological breakthroughs - the first color, the sound in animation, the first use of xerography, etc.
At Pixar, we believe in the power of technology and art, constantly trying to apply the best technology at the moment. John has a saying: “Technology inspires art, and art promotes technology.” For us, these are not just words, this is the style of our work.
Organization Rules
There are a few rules that we follow in our company:
1) Structures in an organization should be closely interrelated.
Hierarchy and communication in an organization are two different things. Employees of any department should easily communicate with another department to solve questions and problems. This means for managers that there is nothing terrible if they learn about some changes not in the first place, but only at general meetings. In the process of work, a lot of problems arise and for their solution no special permission from the management is needed, in this it is sometimes worth trusting your employees.
2) All ideas should speak freely.
When making a movie, something constantly changes. We try to always have a fresh look at the problems, for which we attract different people of completely different professions, and we get many points of view. All current work is available for criticism of any studio employee; managers can always write by mail what you don’t like and why.
3) We continue to monitor developments in universities.
And for this we assist computer graphics artists, publish their work and research, and participate in research conferences. These connections are of great importance, through them we attract new talented people. All this further confirms our position that people are more important than ideas.
We also strive to remove barriers between individual disciplines and professions. To do this, we arrange internal courses of study, which we call the University of Pixar. It helps to prepare and develop professional skills among employees. There are optional activities that allow people of different professions to meet and evaluate the work that each of them does. Some relate to our production directly (scripting, drawing, modeling), and some - not (for example, yoga). Both newcomers and world-class masters who wish to improve their skills can meet in classes. Pixar University helps them in this, and generally learn together - it's fun ...
The layout of our buildings serves the same purpose. Most of them carry an industrial purpose, but not all. For example, in the center between the buildings we have a closed courtyard with a cafeteria, a conference room, and bathrooms. The result of this situation is difficult to underestimate.
Stay fit
Watching the ups and downs of many computer companies made a strong impression on me. Many companies possessed tremendous abilities and conceived great products. They had the best developers, technology, experienced management. However, at the zenith, they made such ridiculous decisions that ruined their company completely. How could such clever people make such a mistake and not stand? I repeatedly ask myself the question: “If we are always so successful, is there no danger of blindness?”
Many people from those companies were not able to value themselves and change. When Pixar became an independent company, I decided that we would be different. Yes, it is always difficult and inconvenient for an organization to evaluate and analyze itself. It is difficult to be objective in this. Complacency has to constantly struggle and reveal problems, even when your company is successful. Communication, the influx of new forces, healthy criticism - all this will only contribute to proper development. A very important part is a strong leadership, it contributes to the stability and confidence of employees in the team.
Debriefing
One of our first films, “The Life of Bugs,” was very successful, but I noticed that success too turned my head to many employees. Later, I very often observed that people learn a lot when analyzing errors, but they really don’t like to spend them. Management wants to praise people more, employees love to talk about what was right and good, than about mistakes. People try to avoid unpleasant topics.
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Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/44875/
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