FROM THE OCEAN TO THE CLASSROOM

Exploring Disney Pixar’s Short Film Piper with Filmmakers Marc and Allan and SFFILM Education

Gosh, do we love what we do! Just recalling a day a few weeks back when we spent hours chatting all things Academy Award nominated short from Pixar, Piper. Our guests were director Allan Barillaro and producer Marc Sondheimer. Fantastic guys, and great filmmakers.

The day began with a multimedia presentation at the Alamo Drafthouse for 300 Bay Area students/teachers. Allan gave the students a little insight into the inspiration for the film. The short tells the story of a hungry sandpiper hatchling who ventures from her nest for the first time to dig for food by the shoreline. The only problem is, the food is buried beneath the sand where scary waves roll up onto the shore.

“We enjoyed seeing how deeply one needs to study the ocean, the sand, how bubbles reflect light and then pop, how the sound effects and theme song went from scratch ideas to full orchestra, how quick sketches turn into fully rendered characters. How composition frames positive and negative spaces. It was all just so fascinating.” — San Francisco Teacher

The audience then got to view the film, which was followed up by a behind the scenes look at how the whole thing came together. Marc and Allan covered a wide range of topics including: computer science, narrative storytelling, art history, musical composition, and even coastal wildlife biology. No rock unturned with Pixar. We finished things off with a Q & A, giving the students a chance to discover even more about the animation process.

“My students came home excited to create. They were able to expand their understanding of the creative process and wanted to apply it to projects they were already creating as well as new projects.” —San Francisco Teacher

In the afternoon, we took Allan and Marc over to a class of 4th & 5th grade students at Jefferson Elementary where, along with the regular presentation, Allan was also able to give the kids a bonus drawing demonstration.

“These special events, outside of the classroom, are what students will remember. Fortunately this program, like all the SFFILM programs I have attended, are full of important information and insight about film and animation making. And it doesn’t feel like work.” —San Francisco Teacher

Educational opportunities like this one are also available outside of our SFFILM Education programming. This year’s Festival features two masterclasses with Pixar artists. There will also be an opportunity to see the newest short from the studio, Lou, during our Shorts 5: Family Films program at the Castro on April 15th. Director Dave Mullins and producer Dana Murray will be in attendance at the screening.

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