The wait is almost over! Inside Out 2, the sequel that has been eagerly anticipated by Disney and Pixar fans for nearly a decade, is just around the corner.
Inside Out 2 takes us back into the mind of a teenage Riley, where the headquarters are being demolished to make way for something entirely unexpected: new emotions! The familiar team of Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), and Disgust (Liza Lapira) who have been running the show, are in for a surprise when Anxiety makes her entrance. And it seems she’s not the only new emotion. Maya Hawke voices Anxiety, with Ayo Edebiri as Envy.
Geeks of Color was invited to an advanced media day at Pixar Studios to talk with the team behind the project and how they brought this to life. Kelsey Mann is stepping into the director’s chair for Inside Out 2, bringing his unique vision to the beloved franchise originally helmed by Pete Docter. Although this marks Mann’s directorial debut for a feature-length film, he’s no stranger to Pixar, having contributed his talents to various projects. Among his credits are the Monsters, Inc. short Party Central, which Mann wrote and directed, and involvement in films such as The Good Dinosaur, Onward, Luca, andTurning Red.
I shadowed Story Artist Becca McVeigh through the story pitching process. McVeigh navigated us through her creative process from scene allocation to directorial presentation. We saw how “The Alarm” scene unfolded, with the Emotions awakening to the console beeping. Mann provided valuable feedback that sparked an interesting exchange, giving us insight into the collaborative process required to bring the movie to life.
Once an animated scene is completed, it undergoes a crucial final review by senior animators for meticulous polishing. This step, aptly named the animation polish review, entails the animators and the team working on a specific shot meticulously going over any notes and changes before seeking final approvals. During this process, we had the privilege of witnessing the birth of one of the very first scenes featuring Riley in the car, preparing to play hockey with her friends.
Next, we went into character development with Production Designer Jason Deamer and Character Art Director Keiko Murayama. To kick off the conversation, they spoke about creating the characters. They then delved into the concept of Shape Language, dissecting the unique forms of Emotions, such as Anxiety, tightly wound, and Joy, with a star-burst essence. However, one of the biggest hurdles in crafting the sequel was maintaining the original film’s look and feel, which took about a year and a half of refinement to achieve perfection.
After the story pitch, we sat through an edit session, during which Maurissa Horwitz, the lead editor for Inside Out 2, showed us how the editors piece together a scene. I thought I was a decent video editor, but seeing how meticulous and detailed their process was made me want to go back to school. From the sound effects to picking the right music, all the details in an animated film are seriously no joke.
Our group then had the opportunity to participate in a voice recording session with one of the senior recording engineers. We voiced a scene featuring the character Joy and gained insight into the process of bringing these characters to life. Voice recording might be in my future.
The final stop was Virtual Camera Set Scout. Adam Habib, Ryan Heuett, and Sunguk Chun saw how being on a digital set in a Pixar film can parallel being on a physical set in a live-action movie. The team used a tablet on a handheld rig, which functions just like a camera, allowing the director and editors to move around anywhere on the set to find the right shot. I was amazed by this technology because I always thought animation was mainly done through computers, but I needed to be corrected. We also got to test the rig and move around within Inside Out, which inspired me to create something using a virtual camera one day.