Khan Academy on Virtual Cameras

An introduction to virtual cameras.  How they use them to teach.  With influences by Pixar and others.  See also, Pixar in a Box.

Success of Pixar

In Innovation Excellence:  Piece on the success of Pixar.  Intriguing view about how a company can produce value through innovation.

" ... Yet in his memoir, Creativity, Inc., Pixar founder Ed Catmull writes that “early on, all of our movies suck.”  The trick, he points out, is to go beyond the initial germ of an idea and undergo the time consuming and laborious work it takes to get something “from suck to not-suck.”

That takes more than talent, it takes a deeply collaborative process that has been honed over decades.  At the center of that process—and all creative processes, in fact—is productive feedback.  While at most places, feedback is often a fairly informal, freewheeling exercise, at Pixar, it is a highly disciplined affair.  And that, as it turns out, makes all the difference. ... " 

The graphic shows Pixar in a Box, the tag below has more on that and past mentions of Pixar here.

Pixar and Inspirational Mathematics

Hard to convince kids that mathematics is relevant?  Or anyone of any age?  Here Kahn Academy shows how math is used at at Pixar to create effective and beautiful media.  Share it with your kids.  Inspire someone!

" ... To help educate anyone and everyone (but especially aspiring animators and storytellers), Pixar has teamed up with Khan Academy, an online classroom that provides free mini-lectures and in-browser activities, to make Pixar in a Box. The new curriculum will walk users through the math used to create the different technical stages of a Pixar movie’s creation from making the grass in Brave to final rendering for Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. ... " 

ChoreMonster's Gamification Works for Pixar

Have mentioned ChoreMonster here a number of times.  A very creative startup by a former  colleague.

ChoreMonster lands Disney deal to promote 'Inside Out'  
(May require registration)

Cincinnati startup ChoreMonster has landed a partnership with one of the world's biggest media companies and will help it promote a new feature film.

ChoreMonster in Over-the-Rhine is working with The Walt Disney Co.'s Pixar to promote "Inside Out," a movie that takes place inside the mind of a young girl who has just moved to a new city. The movie – planned for release June 19 – focuses on the girl's emotions. Those feelings act as the story's main characters.

ChoreMonster uses the web and mobile applications to help make chores fun for children and easy for parents to track and reward their behavior.   ....  "