Sep 10 7:30 PM
Featured Presentation: "The Pursuit of Awesomeness"
with "Kung Fu Panda" Directors, John Stevenson & Mark Osborne

    The feature-length animation film "Kung Fu Panda" turned out to be more successful than the directors of the film and Dreamworks expected; especially in China. The risk the filmmakers had to deal with in the process of making this particular film was how to create an animated film that was culturally sensitive and entertaining while at the same time respecting the Panda which represents national identity/pride for the Chinese.
    The filmmakers' self-analysis on their success of Kung Fu Panda included thorough research on Kung Fu itself and their ability to create a thick-headed yet empathetic Panda character as non-Chinese. Their capability to make a Martial Arts animation film as a genre has been recognized by the Chinese, thanks to their efforts on educating the animators with intensive Kung Fu lessons. Both directors agreed that they dared to come up with the idea of having a Panda as an unheroic character because they themselves don't have such strong ties to the animal, whereas a Chinese filmmaker would not have been able to touch a Panda as an animation protagonist because of the cultural pressure.
    As a writer-director, I was reminded of the importance of these four aspects to be a successful director; 1) be a collaborative team player and a leader simultaneously 2) be able to catch/discover and adopt the actors' improvisations 3) share the progress of your piece with every single member in your team 4) be open to critical feedback and willing to say, "I don't know" to things that you don't know.
    John Stevenson and Mark Osborne shared their experience working in a Studio system. Their joke on how the idea of making Kung Fu Panda arose was that the studio executives put a world atlas in front of them along with the papers of different names of animals and genres of film, then picked each kind and combined them. As a result, they came up with China, panda, and martial arts. Then the studio picked the two directors and they were involved in an "arranged marriage" before they knew it. Both directors were laughing and making jokes while telling this part; however my impression was that the jokes had some truth to them. During the entire Q&A, both directors had a hard time sharing the microphone even though there were actually two mics. It struck me to see how they weren't even able to let each other speak to answer the questions and yet they made a profitable film together as co-directors.
    One lesson I took very seriously out of this session was their advice for future directors; "You have to be able to claim yourself as a director wherever you go, whoever you talk to. Nobody's going to make you a director. You have to make yourself a director. And if you're going to do it, you have to do it sooner than later." I've been a writer-director for short films but I was never confident in calling myself a director in the past. I learned that lesson. And I am practicing it in this very report.  




Sep 14 0:00 AM
Screening "The Pixar Story"

    The Pixar Story is a documentary film about how Pixar was born and has evolved ever since. This film made me feel more excited about being at MDM because I could see a lot of parallels between Pixar and MDM.
    Pixar's prosperity results from the three following components. 1) the studio's foresight to invest in arts and technology equally and to encourage synergy between them 2) attracting talents from all different kinds of background 3) prioritizing people/human resources before anything else
    There's no better way to describe what MDM is all about than the above characteristics. This film confirmed for me that I am doing the right thing at the right place.