How to Make a Masterpiece | Pete Docter
Pete Docter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and director of Soul, Up, and Inside Out, discusses his creative process, spiritual practices, and how to power through the pain of making original work. He shares insights on finding meaning beyond achievement and cultivating presence.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Introduction to Creativity and Pete Docter's Work
Describing the Movie 'Soul' and Its Core Question
Pixar's Creative Process: Embracing Failure and Collaboration
The Personal Journey and Answer from Making 'Soul'
Practices for Presence and Awareness in Daily Life
Pete Docter's Evolving Understanding of Spirituality and Christianity
World-Building: The Metaphysics of 'Soul' (Great Before, Mentors)
The Astral Plane and Lost Souls in 'Soul'
Consulting Mystics and Religious Experts for 'Soul'
Description and Themes of 'Inside Out'
The Question that Animated 'Inside Out'
Balancing Accuracy and Story Needs in Filmmaking
Pete Docter's Current Creative Process and Future Projects
5 Key Concepts
Storyboarding
At Pixar, this is a process where a movie is largely drawn out like a comic book, then combined with dialogue and sound effects to create a close approximation of the film. This allows filmmakers to watch and iterate through many versions of the story before animation begins, facilitating discovery and refinement.
Existentialism (in Soul)
As explored in the film 'Soul,' this concept suggests that while essence and purpose may exist, individuals must actively discover and bring their own meaning to life. This contrasts with the idea that one is born with an innate, pre-defined purpose, leading characters to find meaning in moment-to-moment experiences.
Astral Plane (in Soul)
In the world of 'Soul,' this is a mystical zone where terrestrial beings on Earth can connect to the 'Great Before' through deep focus, meditation, or being 'in the zone.' It's depicted as a state where the rest of the world fogs out, and one's consciousness transcends to 'somewhere else.'
Lost Souls (in Soul)
These characters in the film represent individuals who are disconnected from life, either by aimlessly wandering through existence or by becoming so intensely focused on a single passion (like science or animation) that it separates them from the broader, connecting experiences of life.
Memory (in Inside Out)
In the film, memories are represented as unchanging spheres, like looking at a book or a movie. This is a deliberate simplification for storytelling purposes, as scientific understanding indicates that real memories are constantly evolving and shifting over time.
10 Questions Answered
'Soul' is an attempt to investigate what life is all about, why we wake up in the morning, and if we are born with a purpose. The movie's simple pitch is about a soul who doesn't want to die meeting a soul who doesn't want to go live.
Pixar, operating with some autonomy in Northern California, is allowed to take risks due to past successes. The process involves starting with a question intriguing to the filmmakers, surrounding themselves with talented people, and embracing a process of repeated failure and iteration through storyboarding.
Pete Docter found that the answer lies in trying to be as present and appreciative for moment-to-moment things, rather than believing that accomplishing a single goal or 'X' will fix everything and bring ultimate peace.
He walks to work to unplug and be more cognizant, finds that drawing forces deeper observation, and has engaged in meditation and prayer, though he admits to struggling with maintaining these habits consistently.
His understanding has shifted from a more literal interpretation to one where the concept of God becomes bigger, more all-encompassing, and yet also more specific, feeling less like a single being and more like an all-pervading intelligence or energy, embracing mystery and depth.
In 'Soul,' raw, unformed souls are given personality attributes in the 'Great Before' through various pavilions. Mentors (souls who have lived on Earth) help new souls understand what they're in store for, guiding them until they are ready to go to Earth.
The concept was inspired by readings about meditating into an 'astral zone,' which felt like a place connected or closer to the 'Great Before.' It was then integrated into the story as a way for living earthlings to access this mystical space and impact the main characters.
The film was animated by Pete Docter's observation of his daughter transitioning from a happy, goofy, freewheeling kid to being much more sullen and quiet, prompting the question of what happens to childhood joy during this phase of growing up.
Yes, they consulted with experts in emotion and psychologists to make the film reflect their understanding of the emotional world as accurately as possible, particularly regarding the jobs, motivations, and interactions of the emotions.
The filmmakers intentionally 'fudged' the concept of reincarnation in 'Soul' so that viewers who believe in it feel it allows for it, and those who don't, also find their views accommodated, avoiding alienating half the audience.
21 Actionable Insights
1. Embrace Iteration & Failure
Acknowledge that creative work involves repeated attempts and failures; expect to make multiple versions of a project, learning and improving with each iteration.
2. Cultivate Presence & Appreciation
Shift focus from achieving a single goal to finding happiness in moment-to-moment experiences, actively trying to be present and appreciative of things you might otherwise overlook.
3. Surround Yourself with Trusted Collaborators
Seek out and work with incredibly talented people whose opinions you trust and with whom you are comfortable being vulnerable and embarrassed, as this is essential for the challenging early stages of creation.
4. Persevere Through Early Drafts
Recognize that first drafts or early versions of work will often appear ’lousy’; develop the experience to see the worthwhile core and resist the urge to judge and dismiss it prematurely.
5. Lower the Bar for New Habits
When forming new habits like meditation, start with a smaller, less ambitious commitment (e.g., three to five minutes instead of 30) to make it easier to maintain consistency and prevent giving up.
6. Reframing Missed Habit Days
Challenge the narrative that missing a few days means losing a habit; instead, view it as common and simply restart, understanding that the habit is still ‘always there’ and can be resumed.
7. Prioritize Personal Intrigue
Choose creative projects that genuinely intrigue you as a person and that you would personally want to engage with, as this deep interest will sustain you through the long commitment required for major works.
8. Embrace Discovery in Storytelling
Approach storytelling as a process of discovery rather than strict construction, learning from attempts and allowing the narrative to evolve through experimentation and testing.
9. Write Raw First Drafts
During the initial creative phase, put on ‘blinders’ to external judgment and write as rawly as possible, deferring worries about how people will react or misread your work until later stages.
10. Walk for Creative Thinking
Engage in walking to generate ideas and deepen thought, as it helps avoid distractions common at a computer; carry a pen and paper to capture insights that arise.
11. Unplug and Be Cognizant
Regularly disconnect from distractions like podcasts during activities such as walking, forcing yourself to be more aware and engaged with your immediate environment.
12. Keep a Sketchbook
Use drawing or sketching as a practice to observe things more deeply, as the act of rendering an object forces a focus on form and interaction that imprints it in your brain.
13. Integrate Meditation & Prayer
Recognize meditation and prayer as essential practices for mental well-being and personal growth, even if habit formation is a struggle.
14. Cultivate Openness to Diverse Perspectives
As you age, reduce the need to label beliefs as ‘right’ or ‘wrong,’ instead becoming more open to and energized by ideas from various traditions and understandings.
15. Allow Beliefs to Evolve
Understand that your personal beliefs and understanding of complex concepts are not static but are constantly shifting, growing, and deepening over time.
16. Ruthlessly Edit for Story Progression
Be prepared to discard sequences or scenes that, while interesting, do not actively further the main story or character journey.
17. Let Story Mechanics Drive Design
When building a fictional world, allow the practical needs of the story’s mechanics (e.g., how characters move from point A to point B) to influence and shape the world’s design and metaphors.
18. Conduct Thorough Research
Utilize research, including consulting experts and diverse traditions, not only to avoid offense but also to gain insights that are crucial for developing and enriching your story.
19. Aim for Emotional Truth
Even when creating fictional worlds, strive for the emotional statement of your work to represent the world in a semi-accurate and truthful way, avoiding artificial happy endings if they don’t feel genuine.
20. Embrace the “Sweaty Work”
Acknowledge that any creative endeavor involves a significant amount of disciplined, hard work that may not always be fun, and be prepared to show up and make progress consistently.
21. Reduce Anxiety for New Ideas
If possible, reduce the pressure to constantly generate the ’next big idea’ by having other fulfilling responsibilities or by reframing new ideas as ‘gravy’ to be filed away without immediate expectation.
6 Key Quotes
They're all a good idea until you have to tell someone else.
Joe Grant (via Pete Docter)
Creation is embarrassing.
Isaac Asimov (via Dan Harris)
Sadness is a key part of our existence. And sadness as an emotion plays a key role in helping us deal with the world.
Pete Docter
Every one of these emotions has this wonderful purpose for us and a reason for being there.
Pete Docter
These stories are not made, they're discovered.
Pete Docter
The emotional statement of the film should represent the world in some semi-accurate way, emotionally.
Pete Docter
1 Protocols
Pixar's Film Development Process
Pete Docter- Surround yourself with incredibly talented people.
- Allow yourself to make a lot of mistakes and be willing to fail and get back up repeatedly.
- Write and largely storyboard the movie, creating a 'comic book version' with dialogue and sound effects.
- Put the story reel in front of all other filmmakers for feedback and help.
- Iterate through six or seven radically different versions of the movie before animating.
- As a director, try to see through the 'weeds' of things getting in the way to identify the worthwhile core.
- Recognize that stories are discovered, not just made, learning from all attempts.
- Test different story versions to assess how people will react and how the emotional message will communicate.