Do you [Pixar] test screen work-in-progress films? And make changes based
on the reactions?
We do. It's a part of our process. And mostly because we spend four years
on these films, and you get so close to it that it's hard to find a fresh
audience within Pixar. I think it's really healthy to get the film out
there in time to change something if the audience isn't connecting with it
http://www.denofgeek.us/movies/16064/darla-k-anderson-interview-toy-story-3-pixar-test-screening-and-sequels
But, please, keep thinking that Pixar just makes whatever movie they feel
like making without worrying about if it will sell.
Jobs and Apple design guru Jony Ive initially designed an iPhone made
entirely from brushed aluminum; they had to be gently let down by Apple's
antenna experts that such a design would block radio waves, rendering the
device "a beautiful brick."
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/10/04/behind-the-scenes-details-reveal-steve-jobs-first-iphone-announcement
But, please, keep thinking that Jobs simply built the phone he wanted, and
not the phone he thought would sell.
In fact, the two examples you cited are far more like SpaceX than Blue
Origin. They're both successful in large measure because they're cool and
they have phenomenal production lines, in addition to making something
people want to buy.
On Sun, Jan 24, 2016 at 3:26 PM, Edward Wright <edward.v.wright@xxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
I'm interested in people who test their vision in the marketplace. I'm
less interested in people who just play with the neat toys for as long as
the money lasts.
I heard similar comments 40 years ago, when some companies started
building "toy" computers.
Trivial things happen when the boss gets to build what they want.
Interesting things happen when the boss builds what other people want.
Hmm. So, Steve Jobs was trivial; Steve Balmer interesting?
I saw a lot of "interesting" Microsoft products that were "just what
people wanted" during the Balmer era. Some of which I'm not able to talk
about. Probably not the same definition of "interesting" you're using,
however.
At Pixar, they say they don't make movies the audience wants to see --they
make the movies they want to see. Contrast that to the Eisner era at
Disney, where every decision was driven by focus testing and "creative
executives."
So, "Toy Story" trivial; "Pocohantas," and "Hunchback of Notre Dame," and
"Brother Bear" interesting? But which one made more money?
"Don't forget to leap before you look." -- Steve Jobs, trivial business
leader
