Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1585
When Pixar wanted a new short fi lm to show with its then upcoming CG feature Wall-e, animator Doug Sweetland jumped at the opportunity. e result is a fi ve-min- ute 'toon called "Presto," a short fi lm about a rabbit that pulls a magician out of its hat. It's diff erent from anything Pixar has produced in the past, and it's the fi rst short Pixar has produced on a rigid deadline. "Normally, shorts are not primary proj- ects," Sweetland says. "When a feature needs resources, the short goes on hold. But, one of the tests with 'Presto' was to see if we could do the fi lm without interruptions." ey did, but it took some clever tricks on the part of the production crew to make it happen. "Our original schedule had us fi nishing before the peak usage of labor on Wall-e occurred," says Richard Hollander, producer. "We lost that battle and became lock-step to Wall-e. It made for a slightly terrifying ending. But, the company was going to make this short happen." Pixar green-lit the idea in March and, by September, had nailed the story. "Anima- tors work on parts, never on the whole," Sweetland points out. "Our discipline is to take a piece and make it as rich as possible. But I had been applying that discipline to the story, which is a really bad idea. I thought I wanted two sympathetic leads. I kept creating colorful, clever bits that didn't work as a cohesive whole. Changing Presto to a classic antagonist was a huge tidal shift for me, but it was the key." It also fi t with Sweetland's inclina- tion to make a fi lm that would be more cartoony than other Pixar shorts. For in- spiration and reference, he assembled a reel of Tex Avery, Tom and Jerry, and Bugs Bunny cartoons. " ey all speak with basically the same vocabulary," says Sweet land. " ere's an economy to the shots that's incredible. ere's even a quote from [William] Hannah or [Joseph] Bar- bera that's something like, 'You see a cat, you see a mouse, it's an instant setup.' " The Setup Sweetland wanted the setup for "Presto" to be as quick and clear as in those cartoons, but, a bunny and magician aren't natural antagonists. "We probably worked on the opening, from the time when they're in the dressing room to when they're on stage, more than any other shots," he says. To create the rivalry, Sweetland used animation and production design. In the dressing room, Presto, an elegant magician dressed in a tuxedo, frowns as he cleans the inside of a purple wizard's hat, but smiles when he dusts his top hat. He places both hats on a table near an enormous carrot. Sitting nearby is a cage, and inside, Alec, a white rabbit, wiggles in excitement. Presto opens the cage door and puts the purple hat on Alec. Alec reaches for the car- rot. Presto pulls the struggling rabbit back by its tail. Alec runs in place and stretches its Pixar developed new motion-blur techniques to create the illusion of speed without losing a cartoony look. In this shot in the fi lm, you can see blurring around the rabbit Alec's hands and feet as the animal tries to grab the carrot, but you can always see the outline of the hands and feet. February 2009 22 ■ ■ ■ ■ CG Short Films