In a revealing Q&A session following a screening of Pixar’s Soul, director Pete Docter, along with co-director Kemp Powers and producer Dana Murray, offered insights into the intricate process of bringing this animated marvel to life. The conversation, excerpted from the National Board of Review, delves into the film’s design, musicality, and collaborative spirit, showcasing Pete Doctor’s vision and leadership in pushing the boundaries of animation.
The Evolution of Animation at Pixar: From Realism to Surrealism
Pete Doctor opened the discussion by highlighting the unique advantages of animation as a medium, a sentiment that has consistently driven his acclaimed career at Pixar. “One of the big joys for me in working in this business is to embrace stuff that is perfect for animation,” Docter explained. He reflected on how this philosophy spurred the concept for Inside Out, questioning, “how do we personify emotions as abstract as that?” With Soul, this ambition reached new heights as the filmmakers grappled with visually representing the ethereal concept of souls. Docter acknowledged the common misconception in the U.S. that animation is solely for children, firmly countering this notion by stating, “There’s no reason for that; you don’t go to a museum and say ‘oh, oil paintings, that’s for kids.'” He emphasized animation’s boundless potential and expressed gratitude for working at Pixar, a studio that empowers artists to “push the boundaries of that box.” Soul, in Docter’s view, was a definitive step in this direction.
The Collaborative Spirit: Pete Doctor and Co-Director Kemp Powers
The conversation then shifted to the collaborative nature of Pixar projects, specifically Kemp Powers’s journey to becoming co-director. Powers recounted his initial involvement as a writer, a common practice in Pixar’s filmmaking process. However, his deeper engagement across various aspects of production, from casting and character design to cultural consultation, set his trajectory apart. As Powers described, “I was definitely looped into to lots of other elements of the film that writers aren’t typically involved with, everything from casting to character design and set design to our culture trust, both internal and external.” It was this comprehensive contribution that led Pete Doctor and Dana Murray to offer him the co-director role. Powers’s initial question, “what does that mean?”, was met with the realization that he had been embodying the role organically throughout the film’s development. This unconventional creative process, even within Pixar’s innovative environment, underscored the evolving and adaptable leadership style fostered by directors like Pete Doctor.
Building Authenticity: The Role of Culture Trust
Dana Murray elaborated on Pixar’s commitment to cultural authenticity through their “culture trust,” an internal group composed of Black employees. This initiative, championed by Pete Doctor and the leadership team, was integral to ensuring the film resonated authentically with diverse audiences. Murray explained, “We have an internal culture trust which is a group of some of the black employees at Pixar that we bring along during the entire creative process of the film.” This group provided invaluable feedback at every stage, from storyboards and dialogue to music and character design. Their input ensured scenes felt culturally authentic and characters were respectfully portrayed. The diversity within the culture trust itself, encompassing varied genders, ages, and backgrounds, enriched the feedback process. While navigating diverse opinions presented challenges, Murray highlighted the ultimately “rewarding” nature of this collaborative approach in achieving a more nuanced and authentic film under Pete Doctor’s directorial guidance.
Music as the Soul of the Story: Jazz and Sound Design
Pete Doctor emphasized the pivotal role of music in Soul, not merely as a score but as an integral part of the narrative fabric. He praised sound designer Ren Klyce for connecting Pixar with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, whose sonic contributions transcended traditional film scoring. “What we learned in working on their music with them is that sonically it’s not just played on speakers up front. It becomes part of the experience; you’re in this scene,” Docter noted. The music became interwoven with the sound design, enriching the film’s atmosphere. This innovative approach also extended to the creative process, with Reznor and Ross providing musical cues during the writing and editing phases, a departure from the conventional post-production scoring process. This organic integration, spearheaded by Docter’s vision, allowed for a more symbiotic relationship between music and narrative. Furthermore, recording Jon Batiste’s jazz compositions prior to animation enabled animators to meticulously synchronize visuals with the music, mirroring the techniques used for dialogue and enhancing the film’s immersive quality. Pete Doctor then invited Kemp Powers to elaborate on the thematic resonance of jazz within the film.
Kemp Powers eloquently articulated jazz as “honestly the perfect metaphor for the central themes of our film.” He elaborated on jazz’s improvisational nature, drawing a parallel to life’s unpredictable journey: “Its’s improvisational, like life itself. You have to take whatever is thrown at you and turn it into something beautiful.” This thematic depth justified the central role of jazz in a film often perceived as being for children, a point Powers addressed by noting children’s positive engagement with the “performative aspects of jazz” during test screenings. Pete Doctor’s choice to center jazz was thus not only artistically driven but also narratively profound, enriching Soul‘s thematic resonance.
Visual Language: Lighting and Cinematography in Soul
Pete Doctor further detailed the visual craftsmanship of Soul, highlighting the influence of 1970s New York cinema on the film’s aesthetic. He credited DPs Matt Aspury (layout) and Ian Megibbon (lighting) for drawing inspiration from “iconic ones from the 70s,” aiming to replicate the film stock and lens choices of that era. The use of anamorphic lenses, recognizable by their background blurring effect, was a deliberate choice to establish a visual contrast between the gritty realism of New York City and the ethereal softness of the soul world. “We wanted the ethereal world to be clean and soft and fuzzy and this world is gritty and hard-edged,” Docter explained, emphasizing the intentional visual dichotomy.
Kemp Powers further acknowledged the significant contribution of cinematographer Bradford Young as a lighting consultant. Young’s expertise, particularly in lighting Black skin tones, was invaluable given the film’s diverse cast of characters. Powers noted, “Bradford is known, among many other things, for how well he lights black skin and black characters. We had a great variety of black complexions in the film so it behooved us to have him on board as a consultant.” Young’s influence extended beyond skin tones, introducing lighting techniques previously unexplored at Pixar, such as single-source lighting to create dramatic shadows. These techniques, inspired by Young and embraced by Pete Doctor’s team, contributed to what some perceived as a “photorealistic look,” despite the film’s fundamentally stylized animation. The nuanced lighting design, therefore, played a crucial role in shaping the film’s visual identity under Pete Doctor’s direction.
The Voice of Character: Casting and Performance
Dana Murray provided insight into Pixar’s voice casting process, emphasizing the priority of matching voice to character design. The casting department presents a wide array of voice samples without revealing actor identities, allowing filmmakers to objectively assess vocal suitability. Murray described the process: “we ask them to provide a ton of voices but we don’t want to know who the actors are, so we can listen to these while we look at the character design.” The ideal voice actor, according to Murray, is one who not only delivers scripted lines effectively but also improvises and injects spontaneity into their performance. These unscripted moments often yield the most comedic and authentic results, enriching character portrayals under Pete Doctor’s directorial vision. While Murray focused on the casting process, it is implicit that Pete Doctor, as director, plays a crucial role in guiding voice performances to align with his overall vision for character and story.
Conclusion
Pete Doctor’s insights from this Q&A session reveal a director deeply committed to pushing the boundaries of animation while grounding his artistic choices in profound thematic and emotional resonance. From the surreal depiction of souls to the gritty realism of New York, from the improvisational spirit of jazz to the nuanced lighting techniques, Soul stands as a testament to Pete Doctor’s visionary leadership and collaborative spirit. His dedication to authenticity, innovation, and meaningful storytelling solidifies his position as a leading figure in contemporary animation and a true master of his craft.
