Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Making the Animated Short: An Interview with
Andrew Jimenez, Pixar Animation Studios
Andrew Jimenez went to San Diego State University. His fi rst big break was on
The Iron
Giant
after which he moved to Sony Pictures to work on the fi rst Spider-Man movie
as a story reel editor and storyboard artist. That job led to a move to Pixar with Brad
Bird to be a co-director of photography on
The Incredibles.
Most recently, Andrew, along
with Mark Andrews, directed the Academy Award-nominated short,
One Man Band.
One Man Band,
directed by Andrew Jimenez and Mark Andrews, Pixar Animation Studios
Q: What makes a good story for an animated short?
Andrew:
Feature fi lms and shorts are two completely different types of stories. When
Mark Andrews and I were trying to come up with the idea for
One Man Band
, even when
we were considering very un-fl eshed-out ideas, it was clear that, OK, this idea belongs in
a feature fi lm and then this idea belongs in a short fi lm.
It's a strange analogy to make, but a good short fi lm is like a good joke. It has a great
setup, gets to the point, and pays off right away. And it doesn't demand too much in
terms of where the story has to go. It gets to the idea right away. You get it. Even if it
takes you somewhere different from what you expected, it gets
there
right way, too. It's
just very simple. And it's about one idea. It can have multiple characters, but it has to
be very clear, because in 3 or 5 minutes you don't have time to really develop all these
side stories and other plot lines.
To use the “joke” analogy again, if my timing isn't perfect and I go on a little bit too
long, I can ruin it. I also think it's almost a little bit harder to tell a short fi lm story,
because you don't have the luxury to develop anything deeply, but yet it should be as
meaningful.
It's funny because so many short fi lms aren't short anymore. I think the biggest pitfall is
that they are always the fi rst act of a feature fi lm, or they seem to be used as a vehicle
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