Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label animation. Show all posts

The Penny on the Nightstand...A Lesson About Excellence from Pixar Studios

5:49 AM  Dale Hudson  

Last week I shared some thoughts about creativity from Ed Catmull.  Ed is the president of Pixar animation.

Today I'd like to share something I've learned from Ed about excellence.  It's called the PENNY ON THE NIGHTSTAND.

Pixar Studios has a commitment to excellence that can be summarized in a shaded penny.  Here's what that means.

For a movie they're producing, they will literally spend days or weeks crafting what is the equivalent of "a shaded penny sitting on a nightstand that you'll probably not even notice in the movie." 

They are that committed to excellence.

So what's your shaded penny?  The inside of a cabinet that a volunteer only occasionally sees?   A small word in a newsletter that's going out to parents?  An email that's only going to one person?  A corner in one of your rooms?

Remember...

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20 Things You Need to Know About Today's Kids

5:34 AM  Dale Hudson  

  1. They share information.  They are growing up with the electronic cut and paste and forward.
  2. They are multi-ethnic.  By 2050, there will not be a majority ethnic group in the United States.
  3. GM means food that is Genetically Modified.
  4.  “Dude” has never had a negative tone.
  5. Having a chat seldom involves talking.
  6. Gaga has never been baby talk.
  7. Their rites of passage have more to do with having their own cell phone and Twitter accounts than with getting a driver’s license and car.
  8. A tablet is not something you take in the morning.
  9. Plasma has never been just a bodily fluid.
  10. With GPS, they don't needed directions to get someplace, just an address.
  11. Their favorite feature films have always been largely, if not totally, computer generated.
  12. A Wiki has always been a cooperative web application rather than a shuttle bus in Hawaii.
  13. They have always been able to plug into USB ports.
  14. They absorb teaching methods that involve small-group collaborative learning rather than a passive listen-and-take-notes lecture.
  15. On average, at age 4, they will ask about 437 questions a day.
  16. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.
  17. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.
  18. They've always had hundreds of cable channels to choose from.
  19. Video games have always had ratings.
  20. History has always had it's own channel.
Your turn.  What are some other interesting things about today's kids?  Share your thoughts with us in the comment section below.
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