12 Things You Didn't Know About Pixar

2. Pixar Employees A Critical “Braintrust” To Improve Its Films

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Ever wondered how Pixar has managed to put out so many brilliant films over the years? The answer might be a lot simpler than you'd expect.

The company has what's known as a “Braintrust”, a group of five influential figures and higher-ups who offer brutally honest critiques of on-going projects. Of course, these men are regularly involved in the projects on some level too: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich, and Joe Ranft.

Whenever a director or team is feeling lost or uncertain, the Braintrust will offer its critique of the story with the caveat that none of their advice need necessarily be taken, but as a way of getting the director to re-evaluate the project and its potential problems/solutions from a fresh angle. Having five people so versed in successful storytelling assess every single narrative is clearly a great way of ensuring success.

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Contributor

Commonly found reading, sitting firmly in a seat at the cinema (bottle of water and a Freddo bar, please) or listening to the Mountain Goats.