The Making of Pixar's Bao: a Production Panel

Summary: “Bao” tells the story of an aging Chinese mom suffering from empty nest syndrome who gets another chance at motherhood when one of her dumplings springs to life as a lively, giggly dumpling boy. Dive into the production process of Pixar’s latest animated short, with a cross-disciplinary group of artists who brought first time director, Domee Shi’s vision to life. We’ll explore the early inspiration for the story, survey the art that inspired the look and cinematography of the short, examine the efforts that went into bringing graphically appealing characters to life, and discuss the challenges of creating a culinary delight for the eyes.

Speaker(s):

Domee Shi, Pixar Animation Studios, United States of America
Domee Shi began as a story intern at Pixar Animation Studios in 2011, and was soon hired as a story artist on the Academy Award©-winning film “Inside Out.” She has then worked on feature films “The Good Dinosaur,” “Incredibles 2” and the upcoming “Toy Story 4.” In 2015 she began pitching ideas for short films, and soon wrote and directed “Bao,” A whimsical story loosely based on her experiences growing up as an only child, in the Chinese community in Toronto, Canada, “Bao.” Domee graduated from the animation program at Sheridan College where her love of storytelling and animation blossomed.

Ian Megibben, Pixar Animation Studios, United States of America
Ian Megibben joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2006, and has worked on several Academy Award©-winning films. As director of photography, Ian supervised the lighting for Pixar’s first television special “Toy Story of TERROR!” and the Disney•Pixar feature film, “Finding Dory.” Most recently, he served as supervising technical director and director of photography, lighting for Disney•Pixar's latest, theatrical short "Bao.” Ian oversaw all the technical artists and technical directors, balancing visual, production, and technical goals for "Bao." Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Ian earned his degree in Film Production, with an Animation Minor at Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

Rona Liu, Pixar Animation Studios, United States of America
Rona Liu began at Pixar Animation Studios in June 2011 as a sketch and shading artist in the Art department, where she was responsible for designing the colors and textures that go on characters, environments and props in a film. Most recently, Liu stepped up to act as Production Designer on Pixar’s newest short film, "Bao." After graduating from Los Gatos High School, Liu pursued her passions at the Art Center College of Design and first got a job in Disney Consumer Products as a character art intern before joining Pixar.

Patrick Lin, Pixar Animation Studios, United States of America
Patrick Lin joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1997 as a Camera & Staging Artist, working on thirteen Pixar features including six Academy Award®-winning films. Lin was also the Director of Photography-Camera for two critically acclaimed theatrical shorts, “The Blue Umbrella” and “Bao.” Lin started his career as a Camera Assistant at Midland Productions, and was later promoted to Director of Photography. Born and raised in Hong Kong, Lin’s visual style's influenced by Hong Kong, Japanese and American pop culture and cinema. He developed his passion for visual storytelling and cinematography while pursuing his film degree at California College of Arts.

Mara MacMahon, Pixar Animation Studios, United States of America
Mara MacMahon joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2016 as a character modeling and articulation TD for “Cars 3.” She most recently worked on Disney•Pixar's theatrical short "Bao,” and the upcoming feature from the Academy Award®-winning Toy Story series, “Toy Story 4.” MacMahon worked at DreamWorks Animation and Sony Imageworks, as well as in the videogame industry at Toys for Bob and Tiny Co. Her prior work includes the films "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2" and "Trolls” and videogames "Skylanders" and "Avengers Academy." Mara has a dual degree in Biology and Illustration from Washington University in St. Louis.