On September 5, 2014, Ed Catmull, the President of Disney Pixar Animation Studios, discussed creativity with hundreds of Church employees in the Conference Center Theater.
Catmull co-founded Pixar Animations and served as President until Disney bought Pixar in 2006 and became president of Disney Pixar Animation Studios. He’s also received 5 Academy Awards for his creative film achievements.
Learning to See
Dr. Catmull discussed the cultural mindset of his youth and how his parents and grandparents lived through the Great Depression and World War II. Two icons that revolutionized America’s thought and his mindset as a youth were Walt Disney and Albert Einstein.
I always wanted to become an animator, but I didn’t know how to become like Disney animators so I switched over to Physics.
After the audience chuckled, he continued,
People think there is something incongruous between art and science. That just isn’t true. Art isn’t about being able to draw. It’s about learning to see… which is also the basis for science.
By learning to see, he felt he discovered many great truths, but then realized they were already written throughout the annals of time. Dr. Catmull said he assumes everyone is creative, because everyone can solve problems.
Creativity is Problem Solving
Creativity, Inc discusses blocks to creativity. Catmull shared 4 blocks with the audience:
1. Barriers to honesty
2. Fear of failure or mistakes
3. Protect things that are new
4. Things we don’t know
By not affecting behavior, creative people become deluded and uncreative. The fundamental question then is, “What are those blocks diluting creativity?”
Our actions and decisions do affect the future… so our obligation is to do good things. Our job is to remove barriers… to allow people to do good things. I believe most people want to do good, so we need to allow them to do it.
Catmull pushed the boundaries of creativity in the film industry for 30 years. His dream to create the first computer animated film began during his time at the University of Utah and culminated in Pixar’s “Toy Story”.
