Stuff In SFNative's Head

I've worked in the video game and television production fields which continue to be male dominated although more women are slowly climbing (not jumping) on the bandwagon. So I didn't know what to expect when I attended "Pixar's Leading Women" on Monday. Pixar is the famed Disney animation studio that gave birth to Toy Story, the industry's first full length CG movie. Pixar and Bay Area Women in Film and Media (BAWIFM) sponsored the event at Pixar's Emeryville location.


The faces of Art Directors, Editors and Photographers in the media have and continue to be predominately men with women usually delegated in an assistant or associate role. But the roles were reversed in every direction and turned upside down as eight successful women with solid and impressive backgrounds, averaging 13 years of Pixar tenure, shared the challenges and rewards of getting to where they are now. They all joined Pixar when it was just starting out in the 1990's, an unknown production house before the Disney backing, 500 miles away from the pressures and politics of Hollywood. Although these women started from the ground up whether as Production Coordinator or Digital Painter, they continued to hone their craft and learned and challenged themselves on the way up.

Animator Gina Santos, a 13 year veteran, quit her successful advertising job and earned her MFA degree in Computer Arts in the mid 1990's when desktop publishing was born. She found and followed her calling without regrets. "Follow your heart. I wanted it. I had to have it," Santos said of her major career transition. Her determination paid off. In 1996, Pixar hired her to do animation on Toy Story 2.

Santos is not alone. A majority of the panelists went against all odds to be here, fighting sex discrimination and lack of mentor and role model support in a male driven industry that was still in its infancy. Producer Galyn Sussman quit her Los Angeles graphics and development job 18 years ago to work for Pixar. She didn't have a job offer when she arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area but that didn't stop her from knocking on Pixar's door. A persistent 1 1/2 years later, Pixar finally hired her as Technical Director on commercial projects.

With various media, production and technical backgrounds, these women arrived in Pixar when the time was ripe for the picking. Pixar was a sponge of new ideas and opportunities and welcomed and nurtured bright eyed talent and ambition. Senior Producer, Darla Anderson is another Southern California transplant who moved up north to work at Pixar. She previously worked in television and film but was lured by Pixar's collaborative environment. "Unlike Los Angeles where it's mostly fear based, Pixar is faith based." Brenda Chapman, Pixar's first female Director, further elaborated that unlike other companies, "Pixar's executives are not involved in the creative process. There's no pecking order." She sees her boss as a partner not the be all and end all decision maker.