Sketchy Characters
Storyboarding a career at Pixar
Visitors to Pixar’s Emeryville, Calif., campus who hope to catch a glimpse of the animation studio’s next killer project better prepare to have their hopes dashed. The studio is so secretive about work in progress that BU Today reporters, there to interview story artist Christian Roman, were not allowed to go anywhere without an escort and were forbidden to discuss what movie Roman is currently storyboarding (based on Pixar’s lineup of films, it could be Inside Out or Finding Dory, among others). Because he wasn’t allowed to show us his office, Roman met with us in the neutral space of a conference room, where several easels were purposely devoid of any hint of ongoing or upcoming work.
Meanwhile, on the floor below, a sun-splashed atrium displays the studio’s past glories, some plated in 24-karat gold. There are Academy Awards for Best Animated Picture for Finding Nemo (which took in $936 million at the box office globally), for The Incredibles ($631 million), for Ratatouille ($623 million), for WALL-E ($521 million), for Up ($731 million), for Toy Story 3 ($1 billion), and for Brave ($538 million). Since its creation in 1979 as an offshoot of Lucasfilm, Pixar has made 14 feature films and earned more than $8.5 billion. It is arguably the most successful animation studio in the history of film, neck and neck with the “House of Mouse”—parent company Disney.
Roman (CFA’91), who arrived at Pixar seven years ago, is one of 50 story artists hired to make sure that success continues.
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