CNBC (USA) Pixar Special !!!

[edDV]

Just saw the first airing.

Don't miss it. Will be repeated tonight.

Although I was in the 720x480/576 D1 (and analog) side of the business in the 80's/90's, I knew and interacted/hired/supported many of the people in this story. Don't miss it.

Every SIGGRAPH was the cutting edge back then.

Loved the 2D kicker.

[lordsmurf]

Damn, don't have cable.
Would have loved to see it. (Have a copy, by chance?)

[edDV]

Damn, don't have cable.
Would have loved to see it. (Have a copy, by chance?)

I'll mail you an h.264 if you send an email addy.

[yoda313]

You know I had seen the preview and meant to record it. Perhaps it will repeat or does cnbc offer streaming online?

[edDV]

You know I had seen the preview and meant to record it. Perhaps it will repeat or does cnbc offer streaming online?

"The Pixar Story" will be repeated Sunday 5PM PDT and twice on Monday. It is a great behind the scenes show!

[yoda313]

Sunday 5PM PDT

That's 8pm eastern right?

Thanks for the info I'll try to remember to set it this time.

Also did I hear correctly that PIXAR was originally part of Lucasfilm LTD prior to its Lucas Digital division? Or did I not get that part right on some other documentary I remember awhile back?

[edDV]

Sunday 5PM PDT

That's 8pm eastern right?

Thanks for the info I'll try to remember to set it this time.

Also did I hear correctly that PIXAR was originally part of Lucasfilm LTD prior to its Lucas Digital division? Or did I not get that part right on some other documentary I remember awhile back?

8PM east

They started as a computer effects group inside Lucasfilm. Their first film project was a camera move sequence in a Star Trek movie working with ILM. George Lucas didn't want to fund their dream of a full 3D animated movie so he spun them off as a separate venture. They then changed the name to Pixar. Eventually they got their major funding from Steve Jobs.

[yoda313]

Their first film project was a camera move sequence in a Star Trek movie working with ILM.

Was that the Genesis sequence in Star Trek 2 that they later reused in Star Trek 3 and various reuses in other Star Trek Spinoffs?

Eventually they got their major funding from Steve Jobs.

Ugh.... Now I have to give Apple credit for something I like???? Yechh......

Edit - by the way I did set it to record tomorrow night - two hours - I'll have to catch the rest of it Monday night....

[edDV]

Their first film project was a camera move sequence in a Star Trek movie working with ILM.

Was that the Genesis sequence in Star Trek 2 that they later reused in Star Trek 3 and various reuses in other Star Trek Spinoffs?

Eventually they got their major funding from Steve Jobs.

Ugh.... Now I have to give Apple credit for something I like???? Yechh......

Edit - by the way I did set it to record tomorrow night - two hours - I'll have to catch the rest of it Monday night....

Yes Genesis.

The investment was Jobs own money, not Apple. Jobs became Chairman of the Board of Pixar and eventually negotiated the Disney acquisition of Pixar. That resulted in Jobs being the largest single stock holder in Disney. Jobs is on the Disney Board.

[lordsmurf]

As much negative things as somebody could say about Jobs...

... the Eisner legacy is far worse. (That guy's a real bastard.) Iger's just an extension of Eisner, as far as I can tell.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/iger-wins-over-wall-street-and-main-street

Although I don't know what would have been worse -- him or would-be CEO Meg Whitman. (The bitch that used to run eBay.) She was apparently a front-runner, too. As was Jobs!

I wonder what Disney would have been like with Jobs at the helm. Could he have been both at Apple and Disney at the same time? If not, then what would Apple have been like now? (I'd imagine unchanged!)

[yoda313]

Could he have been both at Apple and Disney at the same time?

I could just see the new corporate logos in that scenario.

Mouse ears on the Apple and Mickey holding an apple

[edDV]

Jobs was fired by Apple soon after his private investment in Pixar. Toy Story came out in 1995, two years before Jobs was re-employed by Apple. As much as I've had issues with Apple, I think Jobs' performance at Next and Pixar shows personal risk/performance. He learned the real world struggle during those years. I think the whole iPod/iPhone/iPad story resulted from his external experience.

I'm far from an Apple fanboy but I respect Jobs for keeping the show going. He has achieved comparable status to Edison, Ford and Gates.

[lordsmurf]

Hmmmm.... Edison? I don't know about that one.

Ford and Gates, yeah, I can go for that.

[edDV]

I once saw a bio profile show on Edison. Maybe it was PBS American Experience. Anyway, Edison was a showman promoter similar to Jobs and had a full team of Woz type engineers.

[lordsmurf]

I just think of Edison as an inventor of multiple things.

I think I'd put him up there with Einstein before I would with a bunch of CEOs.

[olyteddy]

I once saw a bio profile show on Edison. Maybe it was PBS American Experience. Anyway, Edison was a showman promoter similar to Jobs and had a full team of Woz type engineers.

Edison was an idea stealing Egomaniac...Oh I see the relationship to Jobs now...

[edDV]

I once saw a bio profile show on Edison. Maybe it was PBS American Experience. Anyway, Edison was a showman promoter similar to Jobs and had a full team of Woz type engineers.

Edison was an idea stealing Egomaniac...Oh I see the relationship to Jobs now...

Yup. And Westinghouse was the Microsoft of those days.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westinghouse_Electric_%281886%29

[lordsmurf]

Interesting. I'd forgotten all about that.

[edDV]

That "War of Currents" article left out an important issue as to why the USA settled on 120VAC 60Hz and Europe and most of the rest of the world went to higher 230VAC and 50Hz. The answer is Butte, Montana copper reserves and the direct rail connections to major USA cities and export markets.

Because of all the electrocution fear mongering by Edison and because copper was cheap and plentiful, the USA opted for safety and thicker gauge copper wiring. Most of the rest of the world had to import copper and weren't as safety minded. By increasing voltage, the amount of copper needed for house and commercial building wiring drops by a square root. Also 50Hz allowed for lower cost generation.

These decisions directly affected regional TV formats. We still struggle with 50/60 Hz issues as a consequence of Edison's hype about AC current.