The Pixar success

Nowadays it is very hard for companies, of any kind, to be successful in all the projects that they began. Pixar is a unique company that in the last 2 decades has changed the way movies are made and how tu run a company. I think they have achieved this because of the core value of team work.

To achieve a good team work it’s basic to have a good communication. Hear what others need is very important. If Lasseter wouldn’t hear what the employees need to be creative they will never do those amazing movies. It’s also very important that the employees express their ideas. The example of the creator of the shortfilm of the clouds portraits this very well. Another important point is the feedback that they receive, this close the communication circle. The recommendation that the guy of ths cloud short film received helped him to make a better movie.

Team work wouldn’t be possible without trust. Before anything employees should trust in their work. If the director of Monster Inc. didn’t believed in him he will have never made his first movie. Also they need to trust in their teammates. When Lasseter decided to give another guy the opportunity to direct a movie he was showing trust in his co-workers. But I think the fact that Pixar directors trust in the employees work makes the whole thing better. Even though Pixar installations are a playground they trust that the work will be done in time.

The last point, but not the less important is the loyalty. First of all to Pixar. Lasseter had the opportunity to go to work to Disney when Pixar was almost on the ground but he stay to build the company. Also the loyalty to their projects. Disney wanted to buy all the rights of Pixar movies, a lot of money for Pixar, but they decide to keep the rights because they love the characters and stories. And another important aspect is the loyalty that the people have to their teammates. Pixar animators will always stick with their co-workers in bad and good times. Lasseter and his friends have been together for 20 years.

After watching Pixar Story I realized how successful the company was, yes I’ve watched the movies and all but never truly think how big they were. I love the way they work in chilled offices and with very funny people. The relation between that and a good work makes that the whole Pixar team achieve the goals they have, that team work is the key for Pixar to be successful. 

Run Lola Run: In space and time

Run Lola Run

The course of a store, a tale or a life is decided by one simple equation: space + time, This simple parameters could change life as we now it if we have just moved one of them and in Run Lola Run it’s not the exception. Timing (space+time) is the thing that changes everything.

The directions or paths that you take in “space” will define what events will take place. The way in which we take the paths also define the events. For example if Lola have chosen to go by taxi to meet with Manni, she will never have the encounter with the woman with the baby or the ambulance. The reasoning to go to some places define the course of events. When Loal decides to go with her father to get the money it0s a clear example, what would have happened if she has went with her grandma? Another thing that’s important to know are the places where we move, it helps to take decisions. If Lola wouldn’t know the city she would never arrive where Manni was.

Time is the other part on the equation to decide the course of a story. The speed how we move define how fast we arrive or the time it takes to get a place. It would be very different the ride if Lola was walking instead of running, for example to get the ambulance. Also the obstacles that we find during a ride define the time on it. The car that hits Lola it’s a good example of how it affects. A very important issue with time is that we always are ruled by it. Lola is always looking to the hour to define her actions, for example when she stops to ask the old lady the hour.

At the end, the relation between space and time is the key to every action in hour life. It will define who will meet. For example: Lola crashing with the guy who stole the bag full of money. It also defines where we will meet some people. Lola finding Manni inside the store or outside the store. And they also decide what will the people we met will be doing. Lola running into his father and his lover, or his father outside the bank getting in the car.

You can call it destiny or timing but I think theta time and space define every little thing we do in our life. Sometimes for good and sometimes for bad, but every action would led us to a time and space.

Character map

The taxi driver girl

Mask

Chill out girl

Taxi Driver

Sister

Fear

Be alone

Don’t acomplish goals

Be what other expect her to be

Strong Traits

Confident with herself

Relax

Responsible

Dark side

Diva

Old

Basket Case

Trouble traits

Loose mouth

Irreverence

Bad manners

Admired traits

Success

Independence

Wealthy

Papalote Night

I think it would be great to go to papalote museo del niño on the thursday special nights

Romeo

Even though Romeo is a well known character and a lot of people could tell you how he is, I think his part in the movie keeps the essence but change some stuff that, for me, made him a little bit boring in the book but more interesting in the movie, so that’s why I like more his part in the movie.

Romeo keeps the essence of a romantic but it’s not boring. In the book he is always crying but in the movie he is more like a pensive guy. When he is in the beach walking and smoking it’s very good example of that. The romantic lines in the book seemed to be very tired but even though in the movie are the same; he managed to make them more interesting. The dance and holding hand with Juliet in the party looked more fresh and dynamic. I think DiCaprio take off a lot of the boring romantic aspects of Romeo, he is very slow. For example, in the movie, when he vists her at the pool, he wants to make out with her and in the book it takes four hours just to declare his love.

The relationship with his friends in the book is very tense but in the movie it’s fantastic. They talked about girls and life like brothers. When they are playing pool it’s a good example of that. Romeo and Mercutio, in the book were friends but no as close as we see in the movie. The part of the movie when Mercutio arrives with the invitations and how he talked to Romeo let us see that they were close. The way how Romeo defends his friends in the book it’s just like if he was doing it just because he has but in the movie we see that he really care about them. Like the scne when he defends his friend before Teobald kills him.

The characterization of Romeo makes him more close to us. In the book I imagine Romeo wearing tight pants and very feminine but in the movie it’s just the opposite; smoking and a black suit. Also in the book I imagine him in the party with a white girly suit but in the movie the costume was great. The metaphor that the knight costume makes is awesome; he is fragile but strong at the same time. Di Caprio managed to take a step out of the hopeless romantic that the book give, yes he is in love but he’s no suffering all the time. He hangs at the beach, he goes to parties , he rides in the car.

I think it’s very hard to change how people see Romeo but the movie present us  few changes that makes him a more interesting character. He’s romaticism is not boring, the relationship with his friends it’s funnier and the way he looks it’s not so girly and that’s why I like the part of the movie.

Freytag Pyramid: Amelie

Exposition

They present us a brief sequence of what happened when Amelie born.

Amelie parents are shown: both very serious and can’t show affection also we get to know her only friend (beside imagination) Cachalote a golden fish.

Now we are in the future and get to know more about Amelie: she is a waitress, she only sees her father in weekends and she is single.

Inciting-incident

 Amelie is watching television and they present the death of Lady Di, she let fall something to the ground, when she goes to pick it up, she discovers a secret hole with a box. She decided to found the owner of that box.

She starts the quest to find the owner on the box, in the meantime we get to know a lot of people in the neighborhood and in the café where she works. She finally reaches the owner of the box and realizes that helping people give her a great satisfaction.

Rising Action

Amelie starts a new enterprise: mind in others business to help them: she helps the jealous man and the lady of the cigarettes to get together, she helps the boy that sells fruit makinf fun of his boss.

Amelie encounters with Nino, the guy of the photo album. He go but leaves his phot album, Amelie discovers that he is “researching” a “man ghost”. So she decides to solve the problem of the man.

Climax

First she tell Nino to go to the fair so he can recover the album, he goes and Amelie “plays” with him, he recovers the album but don’t know who is Amelie.

Nino starts tracking Amelie and reaches the café where she works: in that moment he discovers who is Amelie and she falls in love but run away.

Then she realizes that there’s no ghost man, he is simple the one that repairs the photo booth. So she decided to call Nino to show that.

Falling Action

Amelie continues tu help a lot of people but in particular: the painter, is happier because Amelie makes to him videos about the Tour of France.

She tells Nino to go to the train station: she prepares everything for Nino to meet with the photo booth guy so he can understand that there’s no ghost.

Nino is sees Amelie in the train station but she run away.

Moments of last suspense

The painter makes a video to Amelie telling that she must stop helping others and needs to fight for what she wants or her life would be ruined

Nino searches for Amelie in the café, she talks with another waitress. She tells him where he can reach Amelie. Amelie thinks Nino wants that woman so she leaves.

Resolution

Nino go to Amelie’s house and kissed her, they are happy.

Other characters of the movie also are happy: Amelie’s father decides to go to a trip and the sad writer now is fulfilling with what he does.

James Dean

The star of Rebel without a Cause was an american actor born in 1931. Before Dean started his career as an actor he was very successful in his high-school years as an athlete specially in basketball but alter he finished high school and moved to California, he enrolled to UCLA and to study drama but he drop college to be a full time actor. He started with small television parts and then in Broadway but his career will be launched to the stardom with his part on East of Eden but is more remembered by his role in “Rebel without a Cause” as 17 year old Jim Stark, new kid that arrives to a new school and challenged every authority or social rules.

Dean also had another passion: car racing. He was known for buying cars and running in Palm Springs competition, he found dead when he was racing on his cursed “Little Bastard” and have an accident.

James Dean now it’s an icon of pop culture: a lot of teenagers now feel related to him in the point where no one can understand them.

Forrest Gump: why is it a fantastic movie

Nowadays filmmakers rely on teen stars, a lot of VFX or sequels to make successful movies, at least in box office. But I think that the reason for a movie to be great is to have a great story. And that’s why I think Forrest Gump is a fantastic movie.

One of the main reasons why I think it’s awesome it’s because it has a simple history. It portraits the life of a “different” man and how he managed to achieve his goals. Who would have thought that Gump would earn the Congress Medal of Honor? We also get to know his love life and the upside downs in his relationship with Jenny, like the times in college when she was with other guys. It helps a lot to the movie the way it’s told: the flashbacks and the “present” time make it dynamic and you never get bored. You can be seeing Forrest sitting on a bench and in a second you are in Vietnam.

The characters in a movie are an essential part of a good story and in Forrest Gump they are not the exception. We meet very different ones and all the paths they follow. Forrest in the army or playing ping-pong, Jenny as a hippie or Lt. Dan in post war. Also we see how they share experiences even though they are very different. Forrest and Bubba were the poles but they built a great friendship. Another thing that is fantastic about the characters is that all of them reach to a catarsis not just Forrest. Jenny quit the sex, drugs and travel world to make a family and Lt. Dan learn how to live outside the army.

Mixing pop-culture events with Forrest Gump life earns thumb up. It makes the audience feel relate with what’s happening in the movie. Many people have a lot of memories about John Lennon and the late 60’s movement. It also gives an opportunity to new generations to know history facts. When Forrest calls to complain about the lights in a building it’s a great reference about Watergate. The uses of very discreet VFX to put Gump in real life footage give the movie a plus. It’s very funny to see him telling to J.F.K that he has to pee.

Forrest Gump has all: a simple story, variety in characters and the link between reality and fantasy and in the end all of that give us a great story and that’s why I think Forrest Gump is a Fantastic movie.

Follow your instincts and you will find peace

When I was in my last semester of High school I made the decision to pursuit what I think it was my real passion, music. I told to my parents that I would not go to a regular “college” that I wanted to be a musician. It really surprised me that they supported me in 100%, not a lot of people who choose that path have their parents by their side.

At the moment everything was going perfect, I was taking an induction course to Engineering in audio and music production and I really liked all the stuff that we were going to cover; but in the inside I had a strange feeling, emptiness.  Back in Tec my friends were already in classes and they were delighted; I was happy for them but still can’t understand why I was uneasy if I was doing what I wanted. One night I stayed up till sunrise thinking about my decision and if it was correct, I reached to the conclusion that if I wasn’t enjoying what I do it can’t be my real passion; so I followed my instinct, even if that means that I would be quitting to my dream.

The next step was to choose a new career, engineering’s were my first option because all my friends were there, but in reality I hated all the theoretical classes and the rigid way of thinking. At last I checked LCC and I really liked it so I signed in. First semester was horrible: I quit my dream and all my friends mocked me because of my career; day and night I asked myself if this decision was worst than the other.

Finally I make through the first and second semester, but with doubts. It was until my Photgraphy class that all made sense to my mind: an old passion that I have was rising again and in the next media classes I started to discovered that I was good making films and editing, I’ve discovered my REAL passion. Now I’m working a lot to fulfill my dream and have my own production company.

I think that even though it was very hard and sad to leave something that I wanted a lot like music it was worthy because I founded that making films was better for me; I followed my instinct and founded peace.