The Art Of John Lasseter
an independent study by: angela frugone
In my independent study, I decided to study animation with a focus on John Lasseter. John Alan Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is an American animator, film director, screenwriter, producer and the chief creative officer of Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and DisneyToon Studios. He is also the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering. John Lasseter has been a part of the team that produces timeless classics again and again. Although Pixar says there is not one way to produce a great story, there can be common threads between his movies that are favorable to audiences worldwide. After researching Lasseter’s storytelling techniques through aesthetic and technical design, this essay will explore what about John Lasseter singular in his craft.
Pixar has revolutionized the world of computer animation, creating the first feature length computer animated movie, Toy Story. After watching a couple of seminars, there is a six sentence template that carries through all of the stories. This template consists of: “Once upon a time there was…..Every day…..One day…..Because of that……Because of that….Until finally…”Along with a thematic script for each movie, Pixar also creates a color script as well. Colors in the scene should be reflective of the mood:
However, something that differentiates Disney movies from Pixar movies are the questions they ask. Although both start their stories with “once upon a time,” Disney continues recounting a story while Pixar says “what if?” These fundamental thematic elements are very prevalent in each of John Lasseter’s movies that he has directed. Although John Lasseter has executively produced almost every film that Pixar has created, I chose to focus on the ones he has directed. I have found that something very evident in John Lasseter’s films are that the protagonists are two mismatched pair of partners that overcome their differences and go on a journey to find their “calling.”
One technical aspect of John Lasseter’s films that is very important is the use of lighting. Lighting in animation is extremely pertinent in adding depth and realism in a scene to keep it from looking too sterile.
As one can observe, lighting is utilized below to a large extent in this screencap of Toy Story. Strips of light are cast on the characters. Although the strips of light were not synthesized by the light emitting from “outside” of the window, they were generated using a cookie. Cookies are often used to change the shape of a light so it matches a detail “painted” in the scene. Additionally the blind slits are illuminated from the bottom to convey a glow, adding to the illusion that there is lighting coming from beyond the window. The lighting really molds around the characters, giving them a more realistic toy aesthetic.
In this scene, lighting is used to represent the dramatic tone of the scene. A darkened background puts an emphasis on mood and focuses attention on the face in the foreground. There is a shadow of Woody to the slight left of him. This is to re-establish to the audience the scale of which Woody; is a toy in a human’s world. It reinforces the perspective of a toy. There is a vignette used in the scene as well. By definition a vignette refers to a masking device, often with soft edges. By adding a vignette, it forces the audience to look at facial features. Facial features and expressions are very important in this particular movie because the basis of the cinematic piece is to add life to inanimate objects. In a behind- the- scenes video for Toy Story, I learned that the animators were having a hard time in making the audience believe that the toys actually had feelings and emotions and had an internal monologue. In the famous scene “You are a toy!” Woody is shown darting his eyes back and forth. John Lasseter said that’s the moment he knew how to give the toys thoughts. So in the aforementioned screencap, the eyes are the focal point of the scene. That’s why the emphasis on the face is so important here; because it continues the narrative of the inner life of a toy. One thing that is recognizable and distinguishable in John Lasseter’s films that can contribute to making them more popular, is the compassion in his characters. His characters show a compassion and empathy. In “A Bug’s Life,” Pixar noted that “The story needed a single hero with an empathetic point of view.” Therefore, there should be an emotional attachment between the protagonist and the audience. “And of course, eyes have an incredible capacity for relaying emotional messages.” The viewer is constantly aware of where the eyes are looking, what they’re looking at, and what emotion they’re feeling while they’re doing it.
Another example of John Lasseter’s eyes as a storytelling method is in A Bug’s Life. Contrast in lighting emphasizes Hopper:
There is a fast fallout from key light to fill light in this photo. One can also see there is a light that illuminates the background, creating a soft outline around Hopper, adding depth to the scene. The right eye is very important in the characterization of Hopper. The film over Hopper’s eye adds to his creepiness, heightened with the hard lighting and dark shadows. Referring back to the previously mentioned color script, color plays a big aspect in this scene as well. The color blue has negative connotations relating to manipulation and untrustworthiness, which highlights the characterization of Hopper.
Another aspect of John Lasseter’s films that are consistent throughout is the casting. The one voice actor that had starred in every Pixar film and is recognizable by most die-hard Pixar fans is John Ratzenberger. He’s put his talents to use in a variety of roles from Hamm the Piggy Bank in the “Toy Story” series to, his personal favorite, P.T. Flea in “A Bug’s Life.” Another voice actor who also lent their talent to both “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life” is Richard Kind. Richard Kind played Molt in the latter and the Bookworm in “Toy Story 3.” Voices sometimes can be more familiar than faces, so maybe it can be argued that familiarity in the voice contributed to the overall popularity of the film. Additionally, another actor that voiced in various Pixar movies in addition to is Joe Ranft. He voiced Lenny the Binoculars in “Toy Story” as well as Heimlich in “A Bug’s Life.”
After analyzing the Lasseter style of storytelling, there are certain things that I can pick out to become a better filmmaker and incorporate into my “Lasseter” short film. I need to make a buddy film where two protagonist go on a journey to find themselves. I learned that you must make the audience care and one can do that by making either the character or the situation appealing. I must make a large emphasis on lighting and how that affects the story. I also know I should put a large emphasis on the emotions of the human face and how there can be an absence of dialogue and how that shows the compassion of the characters.. With this basis of criteria within his work, it’ll help me make a short film utilizing his techniques.
