In the following weeks, I found myself going back through the list of Pixar's other films, each with their own different qualities. Watching these films with a fresh pair of eyes only greatened my appreciation for the animation medium.
Animation has the ability to affect people in ways in which a live action film necessarily could not. I cannot recall ever seeing a film that has made me laugh in one instance and then in the next struggle to hold back a tear or two. UP opens to the mishaps and adventures of the young Carl Fredrickson, not long after leading into a montage sequence of his entire life over a matter of minutes. These films are created for a family audience, yet deal with universal themes, which makes it accessible to anyone.
Visually speaking, Pixar films are simply incredible to look at. They have once more raised the threshold in the realism of their imagery. Aspects such as texturing and lighting in particular are far more photorealistic, yet this does not impede on the animated visual style. As I have been heavily involved in the lighting and texturing stages of production on Polished Off and SPLAY, it has become a routine for me to look back at stills from the film as inspiration. Especially the following images (for both night and day light setups)
I would be a fool to even think I could reach that level of quality, but I think it has been important to set myself a target, even if it may be an unrealistic one. This has definitely been a large driving force this year to get the look of the lighting and the texturing on the films as good as we possibly can.
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