Background Car Disney Pixar Article
Pixar Cars – Direction
‘Cars’ is a very personal venture for Academy Award winning director John Lasseter, who is the major guiding force behind the movie, overseeing its development from conception of the storyline to the ultimate realization of the cinematic product. His passion for car-racing is given due expression as he combines it with his personal philosophy to make ‘Cars’ his very own brainchild.
John Lasseter conceived the initial vision of the movie during a conversation with co-director Joe Ranft in 1998. The idea was born out of his passion for cars and animation, and he could not resist the temptation to bring the two together in a feature animation using cars as characters. While watching a documentary called ‘The Divided Highway’, they began to understand how the interstate highway causes smaller towns along its path to fade into oblivion. Therefore, they had the notion of revolving the plot of ‘Cars’ around Route 66, the famous highway which represents the spirit of the American journeyman. Michael Wallis, author of the book ‘Mother Road’ and Route 66 expert, was approached to add more depth to their research.
Compared to past Pixar movies, ‘Cars’ is considered the most challenging venture of all. In the effort to construct a believable environment totally inhabited by cars, the production team had to overcome great technological obstacles. John had insisted that the characters were to be presented as true to life as possible, which meant the crew had to find a way to make characters’ metallic surfaces show reflections. This was the first time in the history of Pixar movies a method called “ray tracing” was applied, and this technique enabled the cars to aptly reflect the surroundings they pass. However, success was only made possible through tremendous patience in the rendering of films, which requires a grueling 17-hour effort for one frame of film.
The other thing that John required of the production team is to maintain a realistic visual manipulation of car materials, so that the wrecking of cars will look believable during crash scenes. A series of animated crash-testing was done to determine how the bodies of the characters would react in ways more consistent to the true effects of crashing, and subtle swerve motions were also applied to add more vigor to their movements. The wheels were also given treatment so they could be used as hands to aid the characters.
John Lasseter was clearly involved in every aspect of production, guiding the crew through the process of development of characters and sharing his vision with them from the beginning to the end. He approached all tasks with a positive spirit, and believed that in animation, anything he imagined can be brought to life. According to the crew, his passion for cars is infectious and inspiring, as he went about communicating feverishly with artists to translate his emotions and ideas to great success.
‘Cars’ is a superbly well-directed film that brings movie-goers on a journey to a world of believable fantasy. It is a delightful feast of visuals and sounds that come with an underlying philosophy of humility and compassion which provides a solid ground for a great moral.
