A sneak peak of how The Good Dinosaur story was developed and I get to draw Arlo the dinosaur #GoodDinoEvent

 ****Disney provided me with an all-expense paid trip for me to cover this great event ****

As a part of an event at Pixar Studios, I was able to meet up with The Good Dinosaur Screenwriter Meg LaFauve and Story Supervisor Kelsey Mann to see how the story gets developed and boarded, and I learned learn how to draw my own Arlo! We all know how much work goes into making a Pixar film, but now we were going to find out how the story develops. We were very fortunate to have this sit down, and in the actual story room that the writers for The Good Dinosaur used. This is the room where they made the movie, an idea for the movie might have come from someone who was sitting in the very chair I was sitting. That is pretty amazing, this was the room that build the DNA for The Good Dinosaur!

 From the very beginning of the days at Disney Studios with Walt Disney there were story rooms, this was a place where the Disney team would fill a room full of story boards, individual little drawings to get the movie started.  According to Kelsey Mann  “As story board artists, our job is to take the beautifully written words and translate them into the visual medium which is the film, When we get to draw we see if the movie is working, we see if the script is working”. 

When the writers are happy with the scrip that is when they go and shoot the movie. This is how things have worked for many years at Pixar, things have not changed much over the years.  This is how is was until very recently when Cintiq’s came into their lives. A Cintiq is basically a small tablet computer that is really high tech. The artists now use their Cintiq’s and the program Pitch Doctor to story board, with this program, you can create new boards and quickly draw, with this system you can draw and erase just like drawing on paper, the artist can flip and flop, scale and rotate what they are drawing easily. 

You can go anywhere and draw with paper, and the artists wanted to capture what was great about the past, the camaraderie and the hand drawn pictures with today’s technology, that turned into the modern day storyboard room. The current rooms are places where the Cintiq’s are available for all in the room, and there is also plenty of old fashioned paper to go around for the artists. Everything that is drawn in paper form is sent to the Pixar Archives, I will be sharing more about the Pixar Archives in an upcoming post be sure to stay tuned!

For story boarding the first step is to get together and talk about what you want the movie to be. Read the script out loud, then start drawing the scene on the Cintiqs. Meg was brought into the storyboard room at times to get the feel of the characters to help her with the writing of the movie. Meg will craft a script for a scene, then the group in the storyboard room will go back and forth say what they like and express their new ideas, they do this process until Pete is happy with the outcome and gives them the go ahead.

The director let them have a good amount of say, according to Kelsey Mann  “Pete allowed everyone to bring more to the table in order to get the A+ (film) he relied on those around him and trusted them,”.  Meg LaFauve said  “It was Pete’s (Sohn) movie and just like any artist as a writer I have to own it enough to feel. So I can express and find the characters in the scene, but it ultimately goes back to Pete it is his vision”. 

"Meg, being a screenwriter and story supervisor are you the main person at Pixar that writes all of the scripts?" Meg answered, “ Each movie has a writer, and I was The Good Dinosaur’s writer. Storyboard artists are writers too, I have much respect for them. They can do the discovery process and they can add in a joke or an emotion and was not there, it is all about plussing and making the movie better, there are no owners it is Pete’s and we are all trying to dig it out.” The small amount of the film I got to see was amazing, and I can see that these writers and animators plussed everything they could and came out with a movie that looks spectacular. 

After we chatted Kelsey Mann gave us a little lesson on how to draw Arlo. We all had our professional Pixar animator paper and a Sharpie, then the lesson began. Kelsey instructed us to draw circles, more circles, a straight line here a straight line there, and then another line and before you knew if viola! I drew my own Arlo, and I think I did a pretty good job. Can you tell from the pictures below which is mine? Ok, I am sure you can tell mine is at the top, I am not ready to quit my day job and run off to become an animator, but it was still pretty good for just one lesson.

 

For a huge Disney/Pixar fan like me it was such an honor to be able to get to see all of the back stage works for The Good Dinosaur, from the brainstorming, to the models, to the research, I will look with a new found admiration whenever I watch a Pixar film. The Good Dinosaur is in theaters this week! It hits theaters on 11/25/15! Are you planning to see The Good Dinosaur with your family? My family and I are planning to go after we do some Black Friday shopping, it will be great to be able to sit relax and enjoy this masterfully made Pixar film.

        

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The Good Dinosaur is in Theaters on 11/25/15

Are you planning to see The Good Dinosaur with your family?

 ****Disney provided me with an all-expense paid trip for me to cover this great event **** 

Disclosure: The reviews and or opinions on this blog are my own opinions . No monitory compensation was received. I was not required to write a positive review. Your experience may differ. The opinions I have expressed are my own I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsement and Testimonials in Advertising .

*Exclusive* a behind the scenes look at of the making of the Pixar movie The Good Dinosaur #GoodDinoEvent

 ****Disney provided me with an all-expense paid trip for me to cover this great event **** 

Have you ever wondered what goes into making an animated movie? This is something I was always curious about, I knew it took a lot of people power and a lot of work, but I never imagined all that went into the making of a Pixar animated movie. On my recent press trip to the Pixar Studios, I was able to sit down and get the backstage look at how an animated feature is made with some of the talented, The Good Dinosaur crew including Sharon Calahan, Director of Photography/Lighting, Effects Supervisor Jon Reisch and Sets Supervisor David Munier, each gave us a look into how they were a part of making The Good Dinosaur come to life!

So how do you start to plan a movie like this? With all of the amazing landscapes and shots of the movie, where do you get your ideas? Well first and foremost for Pixar you get to go on an actual adventure!  We were treated to a color scripts final picture progression presentation hosted by The Good Dinosaur’s, Director of Photography/Lighting, Sharon Calahan. Sharon was excited to share some more stories about the research trips for The Good Dinosaur.

Chatting with Riley's First Date? Director Josh Cooley & Producer Mark Nielsen #InsideOutBloggers

  

****Disney provided me with an all-expense paid trip for me to cover this great event **** 

Have you seen the smash Disney/Pixar hit Inside Out?  Then you know how great it is to have Riley and her emotions back for the short Riley’s First Date?  This adorable short is a must see, and is included in the DVD extras of Inside Out, this movie is available in stores and online everywhere! To celebrate the release of Inside Out on DVD I recently sat down with Riley’s First Date? Director Josh Cooley and  Producer Mark Nielsen to see how they felt about making this short and much more.

                                           photo taken by Silvia Martinez -mamalatinatips.com

Looking into the world of The Good Dinosaur with Animators Kevin O’Hara & Rob Thompson and Production Designer Harley Jessup #GoodDinoEvent

How do you make a movie about dinosaurs without ever seeing an actual dinosaur in the flesh, as a living breathing creature? On my recent press trip visiting Pixar for The Good Dinosaur, we met with Animators Kevin O’Hara & Rob Thompson and they gave us an animation demo that highlighted the reference used by animators to inform the movement of the dinosaurs. The animation of a human is easy for an animator, this is something they do every day without too much study. But a dinosaur? How do they do it? 

According to Rob Thompson, “When we started working on The Good Dinosaur, the challenge was, how can you be a dinosaur? It is not like you can go outside and watch a dinosaur, you can’t go to the zoo and observe them with your own eyes. But you can go see elephants. We did research trip down to the zoo to observe the elephants, to get the scale of these dinosaurs, to pull what we could from the elephants. To get the walk correct. How does an elephant walk? What is the gait of an elephant walk? Kevin broke down what it is to be an elephant, and to walk like one. ” 

I find the fact that they used elephants as the “dinosaur” movement fascinating. I would have never have thought of studying an elephant. According to Kevin O’Hara “The elephants were massive and roughly the same size as Arlo the young dinosaur, that came in handy.” But…Kevin O’Hara said that  “One of the most scariest things to an animator is a quadruped. Because of the four legs. There is so much going on you could easily get lost. There is nothing simple about a quadruped walk.”

Interviewing Riley and her Dad, the talented actors Kaitlyn Dias and Kyle Maclachlan from the Inside Out, and the new short “Riley’s First Date?” #InsideOutBloggers

 ****Disney provided me with an all-expense paid trip for me to cover this great event ****  

Growing up is a part of life, we all grow up and learn to like new things, make new friends and discover the person we are meant to be with. It is a part of life. The movie Inside Out gave us a peek at how the mind of a young girl might deal with all of the emotional feelings that help us get through the day. Well what happens when Riley starts to grow up more, and has new life experiences, how will her emotions take these new experiences? Well we can find out a little bit more with the new short included in the Inside Out DVD, the short “Riley’s First Date?” .

 “RILEY’S FIRST DATE?”. Director Josh Cooley, along with “Inside Out” filmmakers Pete Docter (“Up,” “Monsters, Inc.”) and Jonas Rivera (“Up”), introduced the short, which revisits Riley, now 12, who is hanging out with her parents at home when potential trouble comes knocking. Mom’s and Dad’s Emotions find themselves forced to deal with “Riley’s First Date?” The short will be included as a bonus feature in the digital HD & Blu-ray releases of Disney·Pixar’s “Inside Out,” which will be available on Blu-ray Nov. 3, 2015. 

Riley’s First Date? Is a fun look at how a first “date” may be. As you can see by the quotes, and the question mark this may or may not be a real date… But it can sure feel that way with your emotions. This mini movie, starred all of your favorite characters from the movie Inside Out, From Riley and her emotions to Mom and Dad and their emotions. All your favorites  are back!  The short brought me back to my childhood when I brought a boy home (as a friend) to study for a upcoming test…

My parents started acting strange much like Riley’s in this short. There was no AC/DC rocking out with my study partner and my dad though…  My daughter is nearly 11 and just the thought of her dating…. Oh I can’t even imagine how my husband would react to her first boy “friend” or her first “date”, it will be interesting that is for sure! I will make sure I keep with my own personality and try not to act “cool” because it just does not work. Fo shizzle!  I don’t want to spoil this short for you all, but you have to see Riley’s First Date?  I laughed and laughed it was adorable.