When a simple decision changed animation forever

Summary

视频脚本回顾了皮克斯动画的发展历程，从1986年的短片《锡玩具》到2015年的《头脑特工队》，展示了动画技术的进步和对人类角色的挑战。皮克斯最初并非以电影制作而闻名，而是在史蒂夫·乔布斯的领导下，从一个技术团队转变为娱乐公司。视频还探讨了动画中非生命元素的重要性，如《飞屋环游记》中的房屋和《心灵奇旅》中乔的房间，这些细节丰富了角色背景，增强了故事情感。皮克斯通过技术限制激发创造力，将日常场景转化为非凡故事，展现了动画与现实世界的新视角。

Takeaways

• 🎨 皮克斯动画技术的发展：从1986年的短片《锡玩具》到2015年的动画，展示了皮克斯在动画技术上的显著进步。
• 🏆 《锡玩具》是历史上第一部由计算机动画制作的奥斯卡获奖短片，标志着计算机动画时代的开始。
• 💡 皮克斯的创立与转变：最初是卢卡斯影业的图形小组，后来由于经济问题被史蒂夫·乔布斯收购并重新命名为皮克斯。
• 🤖 皮克斯的自我定位：皮克斯不认为自己是技术公司，而是以内容为产品，技术只是服务于故事讲述的工具。
• 🌟 动画中的非生命元素：动画不仅仅是赋予生命，还包括为缺乏生命的元素赋予意义，如《飞屋环游记》中的房子。
• 🔍 皮克斯对日常的探索：与迪士尼不同，皮克斯倾向于深入日常，通过不同的视角展现日常事物的非凡之处。
• 🚀 技术限制激发创造力：皮克斯的许多创意决策源于技术限制，如《玩具总动员》主要场景设置在房间内，易于动画制作。
• 🎬 早期计算机动画的挑战：《电子世界争霸战》是早期使用计算机图形的影片，虽然创新但行业对其应用前景持怀疑态度。
• 🔄 从实验到成功的转变：约翰·拉塞特在迪士尼的实验性动画《野兽国》虽然失败，但为皮克斯未来的作品埋下了种子。
• 🏠 环境与角色的关系：在《飞屋环游记》中，环境与角色紧密相连，通过环境设计反映角色的性格和情感。
• 🎼 《心灵奇旅》中的空间对比：通过对比生命与精神世界，展现了地球领域与精神世界的截然不同的视觉风格。

Q & A

皮克斯动画工作室在2015年和1986年的动画技术有何不同？

2015年的皮克斯动画技术更为先进，能够制作出更自然和有机的角色动画，例如婴儿。而在1986年的短片《锡玩具》中，动画技术相对原始，婴儿看起来有些怪异，因为当时制作人物动画非常困难。

《锡玩具》为何在动画历史上具有重要意义？

《锡玩具》是历史上第一部完全由计算机制作的奥斯卡获奖动画短片，标志着计算机动画时代的开始。

皮克斯动画工作室在成立之初是如何定位自己的？

皮克斯动画工作室在成立之初并不认为自己是一家技术公司，而是以内容为产品的娱乐公司，技术只是服务于故事讲述的工具。

史蒂夫·乔布斯是如何参与到皮克斯的？

史蒂夫·乔布斯是在乔治·卢卡斯因为离婚导致的经济危机而出售图形组时，购买了这个部门，并将其更名为皮克斯。

为什么皮克斯的早期作品常常聚焦于日常生活中的普通元素？

皮克斯的早期作品常常聚焦于日常生活中的普通元素，因为这些元素能够通过不同的视角展现出非凡之处，让观众以新的眼光看待周围的世界。

技术限制如何影响了皮克斯早期的创作决策？

技术限制实际上推动了皮克斯的创造力，例如《玩具总动员》主要场景设置在房间内，这是因为房间相对容易动画化，而且能够更好地展示角色和他们的亲密空间。

在动画电影中，如何通过背景来传达角色的情感和故事？

在动画电影中，背景不仅仅是场景，它还代表了角色的情感和故事。例如，在《飞屋环游记》中，房子的圆形元素传达了Ellie的圆润和温暖，而Carl的方形元素则代表了他的刚硬和孤独。

《头脑特工队》中的Joe的房间是如何反映他的个人特征和背景的？

Joe的房间充满了直线和立方体形状，这与精神世界的柔软形态形成对比。房间中的每一个元素，如乐器、墙上的海报、杂乱的布局等，都暗示了他的生活、兴趣和经济状况。

为什么说皮克斯的动画电影中的背景是“活”的？

皮克斯的动画电影中的背景不仅仅是静态的场景，它们通过细节和设计传达了角色的情感和故事，使得背景仿佛具有生命一样，能够与观众产生共鸣。

《玩具总动员》中，如何通过动画技术来展示角色与环境的互动？

在《玩具总动员》中，动画技术被用来展示角色如何在他们的房间内移动和互动，通过角色与环境的互动，观众能够感受到角色的孤独和被困的感觉。

皮克斯动画工作室如何通过技术来增强故事讲述？

皮克斯动画工作室通过使用先进的计算机动画技术，创造了逼真的背景和环境，这些技术不仅增强了视觉效果，还帮助讲述更深层次的故事和角色发展。

Outlines

00:00

🎨 皮克斯动画技术的演变与挑战

第一段主要讨论了皮克斯动画公司在不同年代的动画技术发展。从1986年的短片《锡玩具》中略显怪异的婴儿动画，到2015年更为自然和有机的动画效果，展示了动画人物的复杂性。《锡玩具》作为第一部获得奥斯卡奖的电脑动画作品，标志着动画新时代的开始。视频还提到了皮克斯的起源，最初是卢卡斯影业的图形小组，后因经济问题被史蒂夫·乔布斯收购并更名。乔布斯和约翰·拉塞特共同梦想着制作第一部电脑动画故事长片，但面临技术和资金的挑战。此外，还探讨了动画中非生命元素的重要性，如《飞屋环游记》中的房屋，它们不仅是背景，还承载着情感和故事。

05:00

🌆 动画背景与角色的互动及其意义

第二段深入讨论了动画中的背景元素如何与角色互动，以及这些元素如何影响故事叙述。以《玩具总动员》为例，说明了如何在有限的资源下推动创意，以及如何通过技术限制来重新定义日常空间。提到了《电子世界争霸》中的计算机动画背景为动画场景提供了新的可能性，尽管当时业界对此并不看好。还回顾了约翰·拉塞特在迪士尼的早期尝试，以及这些尝试如何为皮克斯后来的作品埋下种子。最后，通过《心灵奇旅》中乔的房间作为例子，展示了如何通过背景中的元素传达角色的个性和故事背景，以及这些元素如何与电影的主题和信息产生共鸣。

10:01

🏠 乔的房间：细节中的故事与情感

第三段专注于《心灵奇旅》中乔的房间这一特定场景，分析了房间中的各种细节如何揭示乔的性格、爱好和生活状态。房间内的直线和立方形状与灵性世界的柔软形态形成对比，强调了现实世界的质感。通过房间中的乐器、墙上的海报、弯曲的灯具和堆放的盒子等元素，观众可以推断出乔的生活和情感状态。这些细节不仅为角色增添了深度，也使观众能够更加投入地理解和感受角色的故事。

Keywords

💡皮克斯动画

皮克斯动画是一家著名的动画电影工作室，以其创新的计算机动画技术而闻名。视频中提到了皮克斯在2015年和1986年制作的动画，展示了其动画技术的发展。皮克斯动画在视频中代表了动画技术的进步和创新精神。

💡奥斯卡

奥斯卡奖是电影界最高荣誉的象征，视频中提到了《锡玩具》是第一部获得奥斯卡奖的计算机动画短片。这表明了动画界对皮克斯动画技术的认可和其在电影史上的重要地位。

💡计算机动画

计算机动画是一种使用计算机生成图像的技术，它允许创作者制作出逼真或超现实的动画效果。视频中讨论了计算机动画的起源和发展，以及它如何改变了动画制作的方式。

💡史蒂夫·乔布斯

史蒂夫·乔布斯是苹果公司的联合创始人，视频中提到了他购买了卢卡斯影业的图形小组，并将其更名为皮克斯。乔布斯的这一举措对皮克斯的发展和计算机动画产业产生了深远的影响。

💡动画背景

动画背景是动画电影中角色所处的环境，它为故事提供了视觉和情感的背景。视频中讨论了皮克斯如何通过动画背景来增强故事的情感深度和视觉吸引力，例如在《飞屋环游记》中通过房子的老化来传达角色的情感。

💡动画人物

动画人物是动画电影中的主要角色，它们通过动画技术被赋予生命。视频中提到了动画人物的制作难度，尤其是在表现人类特征时，同时也强调了动画人物与其背景之间的相互关系。

💡技术限制

技术限制指的是在动画制作过程中由于技术能力的限制而面临的挑战。视频中提到了皮克斯在早期如何通过技术限制来推动创意和创新，例如在《玩具总动员》中选择在室内环境中设置故事以简化动画制作。

💡日常生活

日常生活是视频中讨论的一个重要主题，皮克斯动画常常将非凡的故事置于日常环境中，使观众能够在熟悉的场景中发现不同寻常的故事。例如，《虫虫危机》将故事设置在后院的昆虫世界中。

💡动画元素

动画元素指的是构成动画电影的所有视觉组成部分，包括角色、背景、道具等。视频中特别提到了那些缺乏生命的元素，如家具和建筑，它们在动画中同样重要，为角色和故事提供了支持。

💡故事叙述

故事叙述是动画电影中传达故事情节和主题的方式。视频中强调了皮克斯将自己定位为一个娱乐公司，其技术是服务于故事叙述的。故事叙述是动画电影成功的关键，它使观众能够与角色和情节产生共鸣。

💡创意

创意是动画制作中不可或缺的元素，它涉及到如何将一个想法转化为视觉作品。视频中讨论了创意如何在技术限制的推动下达到最大发挥，以及皮克斯如何通过创意来重新定义日常空间，使其变得非凡。

Highlights

皮克斯在2015年的动画电影中对婴儿的动画表现与1986年短片《锡玩具》中的动画技术进行了对比，展示了动画技术的进步。

《锡玩具》是第一部由计算机动画制作的奥斯卡获奖作品，标志着动画新时代的开始。

皮克斯最初并非以电影制作公司为人所知，而是作为卢卡斯影业的图形小组，后被史蒂夫·乔布斯收购并更名。

史蒂夫·乔布斯对皮克斯的愿景是制作第一部完全由计算机动画制作的长片。

皮克斯不将自己视为技术公司，而是以内容为产品的娱乐公司，技术仅服务于故事讲述。

动画中非生命元素的重要性，它们为动画角色提供了背景和环境。

皮克斯动画中对日常生活场景的深入探索，使其变得非凡。

技术限制如何推动创造力，皮克斯早期电影的背景设置多在室内，易于动画制作。

《电子世界争霸》是早期使用计算机图形的先驱，展示了计算机动画的可能性。

迪士尼动画师约翰·拉塞特在迪士尼工作期间，对计算机动画的潜力感到兴奋。

拉塞特因实验性质的动画项目在迪士尼被解雇，但该项目为皮克斯后来的作品埋下种子。

皮克斯电影中对环境和设置的探索，以及它们如何重新定义日常空间。

《飞屋环游记》中对角色和他们亲密空间的描绘，反映了角色的孤独和被困。

《心灵奇旅》中对生命与精神世界的对比，以及它们在动画中的表现形式。

乔的房间在《心灵奇旅》中的描绘，展示了角色的个人生活和背景故事。

动画中的环境细节如何向观众传达角色的性格和生活状态。

皮克斯动画中对现实世界的重新诠释，以及它们如何通过新视角展现日常物品。

Transcripts

[Music]

so this is what Pixar animated a baby

like in 2015 and this is what they did

three decades earlier in 1986 in the

short film tin toy as you can see the

animation of the baby is a bit creepy

and that makes sense

because you know animating people is

hard it was a much more organic kind of

character skin facial animation even

though when you look at it today you

sort of has a weird looking baby and

believe it or not it was the beginning

of it all and the Oscar goes to Tin Toy

John ler and William Reed it's the first

Oscar winner ever to be animated by

computer and it could be the beginning

of a new age for animation what's

happening in the world of animation and

this marvelous relationship between film

and computers producing anim

but the computers didn't create the

films people did we'd like to thank

those people at Pixar the thing is that

back then Pixar wasn't Pixar and

probably none of the people around had

heard of the brand name it was a company

without movies because when they wanted

to make one great but you know to do

this on a grand scale it's going to take

at least you know $ 30 $40 million

investment which we don't have if you

don't live under a rock you'll know this

guy but you might not know that he was

the one who founded Pixar it was just

then that it was not known as Pixar but

as the graphics group of Lucas film

which due to its low profitability and

the economic crisis Lucas was going

through because of his divorce ended up

being bought by Steve Jobs and renamed

as we know it today and Ed told me about

his dream which was to make the first

computer animated feature film someday

and we bought the computer division from

from George this time it was no longer

just a team of techies looking to

explore CG effects but trying to fulfill

that dream of making movies inside a

computer we don't view ourselves as a

technology company our product is

content we're an entertainment company

and all this technology really is just

in the service of the storytelling right

but okay I know I started this video

talking about how hard it is to animate

humans but there's already a ton of

people talking about that so let's

switch it up and talk about something

different because the definition of

Animation is to give life to but today I

want to shift the focus to the elements

in the frame that lack life because

those animate characters would be

nothing without their backgrounds is not

only a set it actually comes to

represent Ellie who passes away so her

presence is felt through the whole film

uh through that house we're on our way

Ellie she is very rounded shapes and so

a lot of things associated with her are

these circles Carl is more square

pictures of Carl will be in square

frames pictures of Ellie are in circular

you get you get the we thought about how

not only how humans age but how also how

materials and houses age and that's what

I want to talk about today so here's a

video exploring the inanimate elements

of animated

movies you see I always thought Pixar

took an almost opposite approach to

their movies in their early years

compared to Disney Disney was an

invitation to step away from the

ordinary and travel to the extraordinary

to Alice's Wonderland to Neverland to

Maleficent Castle

it's

incredible but Pixar is the opposite in

a way you think it's over getting closer

to the ordinary and Diving so deep into

it that it starts to become

extraordinary I mean there's nothing

more grounded than some bugs that could

be in your backyard oh no oh no I'm lost

where's the light it just went away it's

an invitation to see what's around us

through a different lens but this gets

more interesting when you learn about

the story behind the process because you

realize that many of these decisions

were born out of technical limitations

what you

doing this particularly draws me in

because you would normally think that

having abundant resources No Limits and

total control is what enables pure

unrestrained creativity from artists but

I recognize that I'm a fan of those

inverted situations where a lack of

resources pushes creativity to its

maximum after all Toy Story is mainly

set in rooms not in castles or enchanted

forests because these are easy easier to

animate although to be honest the first

animated background wasn't in an

animated

[Music]

movie This Is It come

on technically you know it it was the

first movie to use computer Graphics

extensively tro was one of the first

films to have more than 20 some minutes

computer generated footage at the time

it was an innovation that was difficult

to stomach you know I think word for

that kind of stuff used to be neat this

is neat stuff I love this movie I got

into it right away we have this enormous

panoply of background and the computer

Universe the the Landscapes and so forth

that is just so terrific to look at but

the truth is it offered new

possibilities for creating animated

scenes and it would give us the ability

to do something that was almost it was

very difficult to do in 2D and that is

actually go into the scene however the

majority of the industry didn't have

high expectations since there were very

few applications for it in Tron it

worked because the movie was set inside

a video game and these Graphics enhanced

the experience but it was hard to see

how it could be applied outside of that

context unless of course you were a

Disney animator my background is from is

a Disney animator I I worked at the

Disney Studios for a number of years and

got my training there so at that time

John Lasser who would later direct many

Pixar films was working as an animator

at Disney for me this was some of the

very first computer animation I had ever

seen I was working at the Disney Studios

I was an animator on Mickey's Christmas

Carol when Tron was being produced

computer animation excited me so much

not excited about what I was seeing but

the potential I saw in all this I was

just amazed by it and this led to the

creation of the first short film using

this process produced and animated by

John and directed by the more

established Glen Kean and we started

thinking wouldn't it be cool if we had a

background that was moving like Tron did

but we animated the character by

[Music]

hand what you're seeing is that first

test a short film adapting Where the

Wild Things Are as you can see the

background is 3D while the characters

are done in traditional 2D animation and

believe it or not even though it looked

great for its time it was one of the

reasons Lasser was fired from Disney

because the experiment was a financial

failure since it didn't prove to reduce

costs but what interests me about this

project is how it somehow plants the

seed for many of Pixar's Future Works

because it's essentially a chase that

starts in an ordinary room in other

words it redefines everyday space

through a new lens and it's undeniable

that over time Pixar has explored

different environments and settings but

I appreciate that in many of their films

they still return to that initial seed

Where it All Began we make sure that you

know from shot after shot after shot the

audience feel that car was really got

trapped within that same environment and

we want the camera to reflect his uh his

isolation and he's being trapped within

his house we Fram Carl inside inside

doorways and things squares within

squares with characters and their

intimate spaces it's nothing our

butterfly curtains couldn't fix I read

somewhere that an empty room is an

opportunity where did you read that but

my favorite example of this I just got

to get back in my body and really bring

it tonight how come this part is is

Joe's room in

Soul 2 you see the whole movie centers

around the contrast between life and the

spiritual world can't crush a soul here

that's what life on Earth is for if one

realm features abstract elements soft

textures radiant figures curved shapes

and evokes a profound sense of

impersonality you see that dance that's

what I'm talking about the other the

Earthly realm is characterized by

straight lines Square forms rough

textures and intricately detailed

hyperrealistic

environments and this logic also applies

to the space that interest me Joe's room

as one would expect straight lines and

cubic shapes also fill the space

contrasting with the soft forms of the

spiritual World basically everything is

made up of cubes and squares right now

I'm going to go in and I'm going to

scratch up the sofa wait wait a minute

that's my but this time the lines are

slightly crooked because they're not

aiming for the perfect Aesthetics of up

but something more realistic that

reminds us of our

world and what I really like about this

set is the amount of information it

gives us about Joe we can obviously

infer he loves music and it also hints

at his backstory suggesting that music

serves as a reminder of his father with

an instrument that belonged to him

looming large in the room as a powerful

presence but the point is that the room

is entirely monothematic in its content

just compare the pictures on its walls

which feature no photos and focus

entirely on music to the walls of the

barber shop Hey Joe what are you doing

here on a weekday where the images on

the walls have diverse themes and

textures with an infinite variety

ranging from diploma photos of cars

boxing images basketball team posters to

Family Photos it's a collage of the

barber inner world how come we have

never talked about your life before you

know Rex well I'm glad you did this time

looking good

brother our minds unconsciously start

working like a detectives where every

element is a clue for us SC she's here

for a list and we could even go deeper

the Crooked lamp tells us he's a

careless guy which is reinforced by the

laundry basket on the floor the multiple

stacked boxes show he prioritizes

Comfort over Aesthetics The Damp stains

or the worn edges of the walls or the

worn areas around the switches indicate

he isn't someone who particularly cares

about Home Maintenance or the fan

indicating he doesn't have air

conditioning giving you an idea of his

economic level we could say the sunken

sofa in the middle implies he always

sits alone or the shelves bending under

the weight speak of his neglect or lack

of money to get better Furniture as you

can see we can say a lot of things and

you could probably say even more maybe

coming to different conclusions from the

same Clues because the meaning of these

objects isn't linear and that's part of

what's

interesting and even the color palette

with its earthy tones and aged textures

conveys a sense of Decay but that's

exactly what I appreciate about this set

despite this the visuals remain

beautiful and resonate with the movie's

message and Pixar

Spirit seeing reality through new eyes

it doesn't matter if they are toys your

closet door bugs or a leaf falling onto

your your hand