Pixar Animators Visit Youth Beat!
Youth Beat’s Animation students recently met not one, but TWO storyboard artists from Pixar Animation Studios-- Christian Roman and Andrew Jimenez!
Both Christian and Andrew brought a wealth of experience and talent to share. Christian has been at Pixar Animation Studios since 2007 and worked on Toy Story 3 and 4, as well as Cars 3 and Onward, among others. Andrew has been at Pixar since 2000, and his work includes contributions to well-known Pixar works such as Monsters, Inc. to Finding Nemo, WALL E, The Incredibles, Finding Dory, and Coco.
The students were nothing short of ecstatic to get to meet these industry experts and get a behind-the-scenes look at the pitches, sketches, and animatics that brought some of their favorite Pixar films to life.
“I felt like V.I.P when Andy was explaining the process of the shots and sequences of The Incredibles!” explained Jamilah, one of the Youth Beat students. “We don’t get many chances to meet or talk to people from Pixar so it’s a good opportunity for us to understand the movie animating experience.”
Diego, another Youth Beat animation student, felt empowered by the visit. “Having Andy was really cool! It felt impossible to get near Disney or Pixar, but now that I have met Christian and Andy, even through Zoom, it makes me feel like I can work there someday!”
A clear highlight of Christian’s visit was the feedback he gave two students on the cereal commercial storyboards they’ve created as part of their Youth Beat animation class. Both loved hearing from him, and they’ve already made the edits Christian recommended. (And their commercials will premiere at Creating in Place: Take 2 in two weeks . . . get your FREE tickets now so you don’t miss out!)
Andy walked the students through how he created the animatic for Dash’s superpower reveal in the Incredibles by using a song, “Flight of the Bumblebee,” to carry the scene. He also provided a candid overview of his journey from film school, to working at an insurance company, to leaning on the friends he made in film school that opened doors for him at Pixar. It was a bit of information that really resonated with another student, Rosa.
“Andy emphasized collaboration and networking in animation careers,” explained Rosa, “and my classmates and I lean on each other a lot at Youth Beat for ideas, techniques, and inspiration. So his advice made me feel more confident in considering animation and art-related careers.”
In addition to meeting Christian and Andrew, Pixar supplied our students with Pixar’s first comic anthology "Foreword" -- a collection of stories and artwork by BIPOC Pixar artists that carries the message that we all have a voice; that anyone can be a storyteller.
Our animation students were THRILLED to receive the books and are feeling even more inspired to chase their dreams in the industry! We look forward to working more with the generous folks at Pixar to create more opportunities for Oakland kids to learn creative and important skills.