On Parachutes
In an interview, John Lasseter said that, whenever Pixar sets out to make a new film, that the team doesn't necessarily know how it's all going to turn out. He compared it to jumping out of a plane and stitching together the parachute as you fall.
I didn't quite understand that quote at the time, though I was fascinated by it. That notion stayed with me. Just the thought of this huge film, this massive machine, not knowing its own outcome was astonishing. It was scary. More importantly, it was thrilling.
I didn't begin to see what that quote truly meant until we set out to make our own feature, "Down and Yonder." Were we prepared? Well, we were as prepared as we thought we possibly could be. But there's always variables out there, things you can't prepare for because they remain hidden until right before they strike. Obstacles come, but you work through them. You rely on the thing that made you want to make a film in the first place: your creativity.
If our time with Down and Yonder has taught us anything, it's to prepare as best you can. Read. Study. Practice. But, beyond that, sometimes you just have to take a deep breath, leap, and begin building that parachute.
And hope that the ground doesn't come too soon...
