0:00:09.331,0:00:12.048
I am Ricky Nierva and I am an artist.

0:00:12.048,0:00:14.459
I am very very lucky to say that I am

0:00:14.459,0:00:16.655
a production designer [br]at Pixar Animation Studios,

0:00:16.655,0:00:19.937
which is one of the best [br]animation studios in the world.

0:00:20.675,0:00:23.832
It is hard to believe, [br]but I've been in the industry,

0:00:23.832,0:00:26.606
animation industry, [br]for almost 20 years now.

0:00:26.606,0:00:30.140
And one thing that really terrifies me,

0:00:30.140,0:00:31.981
other that being on the stage right now,

0:00:32.627,0:00:34.602
is this. Right here.

0:00:35.355,0:00:37.972
This blank sheet of paper.

0:00:37.990,0:00:41.719
This is very very intimidating [br]to an artist, I think.

0:00:41.719,0:00:45.968
Its emptiness could be very intimidating.

0:00:45.968,0:00:48.247
There is so many opportunities,

0:00:48.247,0:00:52.323
so many possibilities [br]of what could be on this thing.

0:00:53.338,0:00:55.367
You know, I have a little, a quick story[br]

0:00:55.367,0:01:00.334
about a theater and [br]a director at a theater,

0:01:00.334,0:01:04.490
where the director came to work, [br]during rehearsals,

0:01:04.490,0:01:07.098
the director opened the door [br]to the theater

0:01:07.098,0:01:08.563
and noticed, on the stage,

0:01:08.563,0:01:12.161
that the dancers [br]were basically doing nothing.

0:01:12.161,0:01:16.334
Some dancers were stretching, [br]some dancers were,

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you know, reading a book or something,

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but they were basically doing nothing.

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And the director, bewildered,

0:01:23.283,0:01:25.290
walked down to the front of the stage

0:01:25.290,0:01:30.810
and he noticed the choreographer [br]had his head in his hands[br]

0:01:30.810,0:01:33.917
and he looks at the choreographer [br]and angrily says:

0:01:33.917,0:01:35.702
"What 's going on here?"

0:01:35.702,0:01:37.818
And the choreographer [br]looks at the director and goes:

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"Nothing is happening. It's nothing, [br]you know, it's just not working. Nothing."

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And the director looks at the choreographer [br]and says:

0:01:46.938,0:01:49.163
"Well do something, so I can change it!"

0:01:49.163,0:01:50.703
(Laughter)

0:01:50.703,0:01:54.211
So, being a production designer

0:01:54.211,0:01:56.619
is a very intimidating thing.

0:01:56.619,0:02:00.540
A production designer [br]is basically in charge

0:02:00.540,0:02:02.291
of the overall look of the film.

0:02:02.291,0:02:05.142
And that's very scary because

0:02:05.142,0:02:07.328
at Pixar a colleague has said to me,

0:02:07.328,0:02:10.541
his name is Jason Deamer, [br]he's an art director at Pixar,

0:02:10.541,0:02:15.793
has said: "Pain is temporary, [br]suck is forever".

0:02:16.100,0:02:17.493
(Laughter)

0:02:18.108,0:02:23.078
So, I'm gonna do, the theme here is

0:02:23.108,0:02:26.027
"Uncharted Waters" and do something crazy

0:02:26.027,0:02:27.961
and I just said "suck",

0:02:27.961,0:02:31.355
so I'm gonna do something [br]that hopefully doesn't suck too badly

0:02:31.355,0:02:34.722
and I'm gonna make this [br]more relaxing to me.

0:02:34.722,0:02:37.208
So I'm going to just--

0:02:38.683,0:02:41.251
OK, that sucked but,

0:02:41.251,0:02:44.320
there's a point behind this.

0:02:46.749,0:02:48.848
Basically, where do you begin, right?

0:02:50.601,0:02:53.969
Apple and Pixar founder Steve Jobs

0:02:53.969,0:03:00.990
has said, let's see here,

0:03:01.285,0:03:04.586
"Design is not just what it looks like [br]and feels like,

0:03:04.601,0:03:06.804
design is how it works."

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Film making is a purely collaborative

0:03:10.529,0:03:13.647
art form, and that's why [br]I love it so much.

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To make a film's design work,

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the art must support the story.

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and at Pixar we try to tell [br]the best stories that we possibly can.

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You know, the first time I got [br]to production design

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was on the movie "Up",

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and for those that have not seen it,

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you need to leave right now and watch it.

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(Laughter)

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But I apologize if I ruin [br]the film for you,

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when I say, it's about a story, about a man

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named Carl Fredricksen.

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And Carl Fredricksen, [br]in the beginning of the film,

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we meet him as a very young child

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and he meets the love of his life, [br]her name is Ellie,

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they fall in love, they get married,

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they go through all the trials [br]and tribulations of life.

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You get to a point were they get old

0:04:03.892,0:04:05.904
and Ellie dies.

0:04:05.904,0:04:07.606
Again, I'm sorry if i ruined it for you,

0:04:07.606,0:04:11.205
but, that's in the first five minutes [br]of the movie

0:04:11.205,0:04:14.233
and I think it's the most beautiful [br]five minutes of the movie.

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It's a really powerful setup

0:04:19.366,0:04:22.218
to Carl Fredricksen's story.

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And then Carl, basically, at that point

0:04:26.980,0:04:29.214
starts being boxed in,

0:04:29.214,0:04:31.399
starts being stuck in his ways.

0:04:31.399,0:04:34.172
He's basically unchanged man.

0:04:34.172,0:04:38.290
So, the approach I took to designing that

0:04:38.290,0:04:40.291
is all based upon that idea,

0:04:40.291,0:04:44.443
and if you bear with me here,

0:04:44.443,0:04:47.252
I'm gonna show you a bit about how I think

0:04:47.252,0:04:53.425
about designing for that movie.

0:04:53.425,0:04:55.827
And it all started with this.

0:04:58.282,0:04:59.707
A simple square.

0:05:01.408,0:05:02.960
Basically, I go to work,

0:05:02.960,0:05:04.279
I draw that, I show the director

0:05:04.279,0:05:06.560
and then I go home and

0:05:06.560,0:05:07.606
turn on the Internet.

0:05:07.606,0:05:08.439
OK that was a joke.

0:05:08.439,0:05:09.996
(Laughter)

0:05:09.996,0:05:14.022
It takes some time to translate the jokes, [br]I'm sure.

0:05:14.022,0:05:18.551
No, it starts with a simple idea,

0:05:18.551,0:05:19.470
the square.

0:05:19.470,0:05:24.310
And the square to me, while I'm designing,

0:05:24.310,0:05:28.163
it's static, it's not dynamic,

0:05:28.163,0:05:31.155
it's solid and stable,

0:05:31.155,0:05:35.799
but it's also basically boxed in.

0:05:35.799,0:05:38.395
So, as I'm thinking of these things [br]while I'm designing

0:05:38.395,0:05:39.833
on the shape,

0:05:39.833,0:05:41.915
things come together.

0:05:46.636,0:05:50.241
And all of these ideas,

0:05:50.241,0:05:53.237
and here's some square glasses,

0:05:53.237,0:05:55.835
is supported by that square.

0:06:02.458,0:06:05.240
He's got square ears,

0:06:06.570,0:06:09.861
and this is basically Carl Fredricksen

0:06:09.861,0:06:12.767
see, hold your applause, I'm not done yet.

0:06:12.767,0:06:15.911
(Laughter)

0:06:16.722,0:06:18.945
He's got a square body.

0:06:22.113,0:06:26.490
Uncharted waters, I don't normally [br]draw in front of people like this.

0:06:28.428,0:06:32.449
So, you're getting first time stuff [br]going on here.

0:06:32.449,0:06:34.138
He's got square hands,

0:06:34.138,0:06:36.248
a lot of squares to support that simple,

0:06:36.248,0:06:38.069
simple idea.

0:06:47.417,0:06:48.730
Carl Fredrickson.

0:06:48.730,0:06:56.337
(Applause)

0:06:56.420,0:07:01.734
So, another character that takes Carl [br]through his journey

0:07:01.734,0:07:03.695
and actually tries to change him

0:07:03.695,0:07:05.811
and make him a more [br]well-rounded character,

0:07:05.811,0:07:08.788
is a character named Russel.

0:07:08.811,0:07:14.743
And what's simpler shape [br]that contrasts that square

0:07:14.743,0:07:16.415
but a circle?

0:07:16.415,0:07:18.865
So, I'll get here

0:07:21.889,0:07:26.809
So, the circle symbolizes positivity [br]and moving forward.

0:07:26.809,0:07:28.409
It's a very dynamic thing,

0:07:28.409,0:07:31.683
It's all of these things that

0:07:31.683,0:07:36.409
need to help Carl get more well-rounded.

0:07:36.409,0:07:38.610
So Russel was based upon this idea.

0:07:41.732,0:07:43.901
It's kind of like a balloon shape.

0:07:44.266,0:07:48.036
And Russel, is this wilderness explorer.

0:07:50.297,0:07:55.487
A very positive kid.

0:07:55.487,0:08:00.703
And he's got all these circular motifs [br]all around his body.

0:08:11.361,0:08:12.887
Like that.

0:08:12.887,0:08:15.249
And he has, well, I'm not done yet.

0:08:15.249,0:08:16.867
(Laughter)

0:08:16.883,0:08:19.939
I wanted to show you all the details [br]around his body,

0:08:19.939,0:08:21.261
which are very circular.

0:08:21.261,0:08:23.130
And we think about all theses things,

0:08:23.130,0:08:25.562
you know, he's got this sash,

0:08:25.562,0:08:28.118
and part of the story

0:08:28.118,0:08:31.946
is that he's collecting all of these badges

0:08:31.946,0:08:33.971
as a wilderness explorer

0:08:33.987,0:08:35.465
and it's all these circular things

0:08:35.465,0:08:38.313
and each badge has a story,

0:08:38.313,0:08:40.532
but right here is this empty one.

0:08:40.532,0:08:43.184
He's trying to get the [br]"Assisting the elderly" badge,

0:08:43.184,0:08:45.343
and by design it's over his heart.

0:08:45.343,0:08:54.053
And one of these things is that [br]they would work with each other.

0:08:54.053,0:08:55.650
You have the square and the circle.

0:08:55.650,0:08:57.780
But for Carl there's also a story point

0:08:57.780,0:09:01.971
of this circular symbol right over his heart,

0:09:01.971,0:09:04.148
and that's the Ellie badge.

0:09:04.148,0:09:06.271
So you need to watch the movie in order to

0:09:06.271,0:09:08.178
understand what's going on there.

0:09:08.329,0:09:12.892
But, you know, we think about all of these things

0:09:12.892,0:09:19.211
as we design and it's a very long process.

0:09:19.211,0:09:21.036
You know, it takes an average of four years

0:09:21.036,0:09:23.326
to make an animated film at Pixar.

0:09:25.602,0:09:29.771
And we also, while we are thinking [br]of making the movie,

0:09:29.771,0:09:32.773
we have fun putting these simple shapes

0:09:32.773,0:09:34.357
all over the movie.

0:09:34.357,0:09:36.353
So you can see here, where Carl wakes up,

0:09:36.353,0:09:39.852
on his side of the bed [br]are the square symbology,

0:09:39.852,0:09:42.601
and on her side is this circle symbology.

0:09:42.601,0:09:46.409
And so, you know, it's fun to do this

0:09:46.409,0:09:50.163
and we have kind of these ideas,

0:09:50.163,0:09:53.857
but the main point is to not see it

0:09:53.857,0:09:55.260
while you are watching the movie,

0:09:55.260,0:09:57.430
but you should feel it.

0:09:57.430,0:10:00.279
If we do our job right, [br]you don't notice this stuff,

0:10:00.279,0:10:02.270
but you feel it.

0:10:03.642,0:10:05.240
It's also here,

0:10:05.240,0:10:07.938
in picture frames around the house.

0:10:07.938,0:10:10.927
If Carl is by himself, he's in [br]a square picture frame.

0:10:10.927,0:10:13.948
If Ellie is in the picture frame by herself, [br]she's in an oval picture frame.

0:10:13.948,0:10:16.472
Someone asked: "What if they're [br]in the picture together?"

0:10:16.472,0:10:18.788
Well, it's a square frame with an oval mat.

0:10:18.788,0:10:20.886
(Laughter)

0:10:22.196,0:10:25.386
You can see in this image, [br]Russel is literally

0:10:25.386,0:10:28.666
separated from from Carl with lighting.

0:10:28.666,0:10:31.296
It's just cut right through the shot.

0:10:31.310,0:10:34.121
And all of these things [br]support that simple idea,

0:10:34.121,0:10:36.571
basing upon that simple idea [br]of circle and squares.

0:10:36.571,0:10:40.121
You can see the circular motif [br]all around his design

0:10:40.121,0:10:43.281
and his very colorful, [br]very saturated color.

0:10:43.281,0:10:44.650
And Carl's desaturated.

0:10:45.045,0:10:47.422
So he's trying to get [br]color back into Carl,

0:10:47.437,0:10:50.200
he's trying to get him more well rounded.

0:10:51.754,0:10:55.015
Very clearly it's in the prop design.

0:10:55.015,0:10:56.345
Carl and Ellie's chair,

0:10:56.345,0:10:57.544
you can see the circle and square

0:10:57.544,0:11:01.747
shape vocabulary there, shape language.

0:11:01.747,0:11:04.675
And at the end of the film, after Carl [br]has gone through his adventure,

0:11:04.675,0:11:08.272
you can see that he's [br]a more softened character.

0:11:08.272,0:11:09.703
He's more well rounded.

0:11:09.703,0:11:10.756
You know, he's tanned,

0:11:10.756,0:11:12.920
he has more life in him.

0:11:12.920,0:11:16.362
And the idea of this, is that

0:11:16.362,0:11:19.294
it's a process of making things simple.

0:11:19.294,0:11:21.842
But we all know that simple is

0:11:21.842,0:11:23.382
not necessarily simpler.

0:11:25.572,0:11:28.582
Pablo Picasso, the famous artist has said:

0:11:28.594,0:11:32.034
"It has taken me four years [br]to paint like Rafael,

0:11:32.034,0:11:35.124
but a lifetime to paint like a child."

0:11:35.124,0:11:36.844
You know, kids have an amazing

0:11:36.854,0:11:41.854
directness to the way they draw [br]and express themselves.

0:11:41.854,0:11:45.457
This is a beautiful drawing [br]by my daughter Olivia,

0:11:45.457,0:11:47.781
who's actually in the audience right now.

0:11:47.781,0:11:55.743
(Applause)

0:11:55.754,0:11:56.974
Sleeping, bored.

0:11:56.974,0:12:00.484
(Laughter)

0:12:00.484,0:12:02.176
Uncharted waters, [br]this is what it's all about.

0:12:02.176,0:12:03.492
(Laughter)

0:12:03.492,0:12:05.315
She's never gonna forget that.

0:12:05.336,0:12:06.731
I'm never gonna forget it.

0:12:06.731,0:12:08.821
Oh my gosh, this is amazing.

0:12:12.529,0:12:17.459
Let me tell you about how amazingly [br]full of life she is.

0:12:18.101,0:12:19.888
(Laughter)

0:12:19.903,0:12:23.279
No, she drew this drawing and, you know,

0:12:23.279,0:12:25.996
young kids, they just jump in.

0:12:25.996,0:12:28.022
They're joyful when they create.

0:12:28.022,0:12:29.857
You know, Eugene was talking about that,

0:12:29.857,0:12:31.699
about the kids,

0:12:31.699,0:12:34.999
very young kids will just dive in.

0:12:34.999,0:12:37.655
You know, they're not afraid [br]of that blank piece of paper.

0:12:37.655,0:12:40.740
They can't wait to fill [br]that blank piece of paper.

0:12:40.740,0:12:44.764
They simplify down to it's purest essence.

0:12:44.764,0:12:47.768
You know, pure drawing [br]comes from the soul.

0:12:47.768,0:12:49.094
It comes from deep inside of you,

0:12:49.094,0:12:50.798
and that's how you can communicate.

0:12:50.798,0:12:52.835
You know, I've been drawing,

0:12:52.835,0:12:54.074
my first drawings are when

0:12:54.074,0:12:55.938
I think I was three years old.

0:12:55.938,0:12:58.403
I asked my mom: [br]"Who did these drawings on my bed?"

0:12:58.403,0:13:00.143
and she said: "You did".

0:13:00.143,0:13:01.539
"You found a permanent marker,

0:13:01.539,0:13:02.696
you destroyed your bed,

0:13:02.696,0:13:04.412
and then you went to the walls.

0:13:04.462,0:13:05.904
You kept going around the house".

0:13:07.002,0:13:09.706
And my mom, instead of getting angry,

0:13:09.721,0:13:11.941
she brought home paper for me to draw

0:13:12.310,0:13:14.662
on the paper instead of her walls.

0:13:14.662,0:13:16.931
So I'm very very thankful and appreciate

0:13:16.931,0:13:20.011
that she's an enabler and [br]she supports my addiction,

0:13:20.065,0:13:22.231
and, OK that was a joke.

0:13:22.231,0:13:25.783
I love my mom for doing that, really.

0:13:25.783,0:13:30.356
I would get completely lost [br]when I was a child,

0:13:30.356,0:13:32.864
and it's called "Getting in the zone"

0:13:32.864,0:13:34.690
where the world would just disappear,

0:13:34.690,0:13:37.688
and I would make sound effects [br]and I would just

0:13:37.688,0:13:40.861
completely lose myself and, you know,

0:13:40.861,0:13:43.659
as an artist, that's the thing [br]you try to strive for.

0:13:43.659,0:13:45.261
You know, getting in that zone.

0:13:45.261,0:13:49.923
Kids also, in terms of drawing, [br]they get to the heart of it.

0:13:49.923,0:13:53.458
My youngest daughter [br]who's also in the audience,

0:13:53.458,0:13:55.756
Lilly. She's not sleeping. Is she?

0:13:55.756,0:14:06.492
(Laughter) (Applause)

0:14:06.492,0:14:08.155
She's gonna kill me.

0:14:09.368,0:14:12.127
Oh my gosh, my kids are gonna kill me.

0:14:12.127,0:14:14.862
(Laughter)

0:14:14.862,0:14:17.632
Lilly, when she was around four years old,

0:14:17.632,0:14:18.461
she's about five,

0:14:18.461,0:14:20.581
maybe actually when she was [br]about three or four,

0:14:20.581,0:14:25.597
she drew this amazing drawing [br]of our pet dog right here.

0:14:25.597,0:14:27.625
Our dog, Kika.

0:14:27.625,0:14:29.922
Kika is a little Doxin, [br]a little wiener dog.

0:14:29.922,0:14:31.257
And I looked at the drawing,

0:14:31.257,0:14:32.601
I loved it, but I said

0:14:32.601,0:14:37.129
"Hey, Lilly, dogs only have four legs".

0:14:37.129,0:14:40.316
And she said "She's running, papa".

0:14:40.316,0:14:42.203
(Laughter)

0:14:42.203,0:14:46.120
Isn't that amazing? [br]That is so amazing to me.

0:14:46.120,0:14:47.796
And there's cave drawings, you know,

0:14:47.796,0:14:51.517
where there's animals running, [br]and there're multiple legs.

0:14:51.517,0:14:54.829
It's like the first animation, in a cave.

0:14:54.829,0:14:59.428
So, you know, it's just so inspirational.

0:14:59.428,0:15:02.400
I look at kids' drawings and that pure,

0:15:02.400,0:15:06.551
that purity in this things [br]that Ι just feed from.

0:15:06.551,0:15:09.862
And the last thing is,

0:15:09.862,0:15:12.596
ultimately kids are not afraid [br]of making mistakes.

0:15:12.596,0:15:16.830
My goal is to continue to draw

0:15:16.830,0:15:20.143
so some day I will be able [br]to draw like a child.

0:15:22.773,0:15:29.446
So, my last point is, [br]let's come back to this.

0:15:34.506,0:15:38.252
I would say if anything [br]you get out of this talk

0:15:38.542,0:15:42.112
is- don't be intimidated [br]by the blank sheet.

0:15:41.760,0:15:45.760
You know, start with something.

0:15:45.760,0:15:48.365
Start with a scribble, [br]start with something.

0:15:48.365,0:15:50.268
"Fail early, fail often"

0:15:50.268,0:15:52.733
That's a saying that we have [br]at the studio.

0:15:52.733,0:15:59.003
But you need to be brave [br]and take risks.

0:16:02.741,0:16:04.531
I'm gonna create something [br]out of this here.

0:16:06.481,0:16:07.708
Lets see--

0:16:23.828,0:16:28.003
It's a duck holding its egg [br]close to its body.

0:16:28.003,0:16:31.596
(Laughter)

0:16:31.596,0:16:51.179
(Applause)

0:16:51.179,0:16:52.154
Thank you.