Thread by @michaelrianda

What I Learned from Chris Miller + Phil Lord on #TheMitchellsVsTheMachines

Lots of ppl asked what I learned from my literal heroes from making a film with them for a year: A TON

These are the Top 10 Lessons I learned that I will never forget:

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1. Fight Against Formula in Every FRAME!

Me+@Roweyourboatz shared this core value with Chris + Phil.

BUT-

The DEGREE to which they examine EVERY single moment + iterate until there's NOT ONE "stock" decision left- truly surprised me!

From Big Ones:
They were the BIGGEST supporters to have Katie draw on the screen, creating 2D/3D hybrids.

The studio occasionally wavered- but Chris+Phil fought hard for it saying "This is what makes the film unique! If we're just copying other movies- why even make it?"

Another: The art style we wanted to push + we thought we pushed the tech as far as we had the budget for.

They saw this + said "Pretty good- but could it look more like the stuff you love? The job isn't to hit the budget- it's to make something great."

Which is the best note ever- because it gave us permission to go further and forget about budget.

So then @lindseyolivares + her team and @mlasker + his team- invented new technology until the frame looked EXACTLY like our paintings.

Another One:

We had a chase scene in Act 2 that wasn't great.

Instead of just punching it up, @chrizmillr stumped for it to become a stick shift lesson.

It made the scene ABOUT Rick+Katie (our core relationship) so it was essential AND made the movie more unique.

To Small Moments:

Aaron+Katie used to fist bump+ say "Ride or Die" but Chris+Phil said: "How could their fist bump be more unique to them?"

So we came up with this Raptor Bash.

Suddenly this moment(+relationship) was more specific, memorable + unique!

We had a Katie-drawn Bomb Symbol on the USB to make it stick in your head.

Phil pushed to make even THAT more memorable- and i was like "This? Seriously?"

But he pitched this new one that felt like it was from Katie's imagination.

And the movie got 0.05% better!

Each of these decisions doesn't make or break the movie- but putting that thought into EVERY DECISION + having the HIGHEST standards + trying to INVENT + surprise in EVERY SINGLE MOMENT does!

Turning a million screws a tiny bit in the right direction really adds up!

2. Let the Emotions Play!

Our 1st screening worked well emotionally- but we needed to level up.

An incredibly simple solve from C+P:

Lengthen the emotional shots.

Let the audience see the character EXPERIENCE the emotions on their face.

It awakens the same in the audience.

Example:
Our VERY first version of Rick + Katie singing Live Your Life with eachother. (Brilliantly storyboarded by @billybobmartinz)

It's wonderfully boarded but- (my fault) we weren't really FEELING the connection between Rick + Katie cause they never look at eachother!

C + P showed us you needed more eye contact and to lengthen shots to make the audience FEEL those moments even more. (Even at expense of schedule+$)

Phil pitched them singing to eachother + Rick catching Katie + it unlocked the scene!

The final with those shots:

They also encouraged live action-style "coverage."

Meaning cutting to other characters who aren't speaking to see how they feel.

This builds an emotional reality and makes you lean in and care more about the characters.

(Because they care about eachother!)

Example.
Before:

After:

Having those quick shots of Aaron and Linda reacting realistically to their family fighting- REALLY sells to the audience that this moment was real.

It makes you feel like 15% more engaged- and again- making TONS of those little changes- really makes a BIG difference.

These may seem like small changes- but added up they make a HUGE difference in how engaged we were (and audiences were) while watching the movie.

You could really FEEL it in screenings.

To Be Continued!

4. ALWAYS be on Offense!

There were points where i figured- this scene feels great- let's just maintain what's great about it.

But Chris and Phil- until the FINAL mix were always:
"Try these 40 new ideas"

Sometimes they don't work- but many will + now the movie is better!

The shot of Rick catching Katie below is an example: C+P pitched it the night before a screening at 8pm.

I figured it was WAY too late for new ideas+the scene already worked- we had bigger problems.

BUT we found a way (Thnx to the great @Hannahannac9t)+ the scene got better!

Another cool example:

This scene with appliances used to just made scary noises. But the scene felt a little bland.

So on the last days before the movie was locked we brainstormed like 40 threatening things a blender could say- picked the funniest and put it in the movie.

(Again, not the biggest laugh in the movie or anything- but better than what was there before.

Always asking how can the screw be turned towards surprise and delight)

Another moment added WAY too late:

This was just a shot of the car but i think @philiplord pitched the car saying "Hello Mark" + it made us all laugh.

So I recorded it and threw it in- and it made the effects team laugh so they re-rendered the shot to animate to the line.

Constantly looking out for improvements at EVERY POSSIBLE stage- has made me a much better filmmaker and has shown me you can ALWAYS improve the movie.

If 1 extra shot will make the movie better- it's worth begging for- if 1 dialogue line will make a scene more alive- it's...

worth adding! Plus, it's FREE to TRY all of these ideas. You just need to work with people who have the time and patience to let you try.

And if it works and you put it in the movie- then the movie gets better! One little moment at a time.

5. The Actors Are Some of Your Greatest Collaborators!

Both the animators + voice actors have SO MUCH to bring to the movie...

If you ask them to!

One of C+Ps greatest strengths is inviting their collaborators to invent + bring 100% of their selves to the project!

Example:

C+P are willing to spend a whole 3 hour recording session on 1 or 2 scenes- to just riff+find stuff+ let actors creativity shine through. Schedule be damned!

It was in one of these sessions that Danny McBride riffed this entire "No Eye Contact" scene.

Not only does this bring great new moments to the movie...

It ALSO makes the acting feel more alive+unique- since the actors are thinking creatively + not afraid to deviate from the script!

@becbenit, Abbi, Maya and so many others added great lines to the movie!

Same for animators- I got hung up on copying storyboards like TV at first- but SO often if you give animators time to invent- they come up with GOLD!

This moment was pitched by Alan Hawkins- originally a hug- but this idea felt more unique+sweet+ we'd never seen it in a movie!

It's not a free for all- but if you tell artists what they creative target is- they can hit it HARDER than you ever imagined!

Example:
How can you make robots move in the least human+ most threatening way possible?

The results can dazzle you!

The end goal is to make your movie feel more alive! Especially in animation- which is so slow and tedious- that anywhere that LIFE can be added- it MUST BE!

And your collaborators are the people who will inject the film with that life!

More coming tommorow am

6. Don't Waste Time Arguing Which Idea is Better- Just TRY BOTH QUICKLY!

It's faster + more illuminating to write/board quick ROUGH versions of a scene than to sit around+ argue which one would be better.

Then you can debate between REAL scenes- not just imagined ones.

If you can HEAR or WATCH the scene quickly- you can experience it like an audience + judge it objectively.

Then you all can decide WITH CLARITY what the right move is.

Here's an idea we all loved where Katie's cat filter appeared on screaming faces during a robot attack.

That was funny- but when we watched it next to the family trying to mimic the Poseys, there was no contest

In this version- it's much more about the family + their unity- which was more important to the story + funnier!

If we didn't try both quickly- we might still be arguing.

So instead of making one and never knowing if it was the right version- we know exactly what was right!

Me+Jeff knew to do this with writing- but C+P showed us you can do it with editing too- making quick rough versions of several ideas became the norm+ led to many discoveries!

They showed us you can be rougher + dirtier than i ever thought possible- like to save a story artists time- you can even try building a scene out of old storyboards + black cards with words on them.

I thought this would get me thrown in director jail or something.

But it's a great way to QUICKLY try out ideas.

First we tested out the idea to see if it broadly worked- and if it did- THEN we would work on it until it was great

It saves time making a perfect version of the WRONG scene.

7. Quantity... THEN Quality

If you're looking for the right solution to something:

Instead of crafting ONE PERFECT IDEA in 8 hours- 25 imperfect ideas in 1 hour will get you there faster.

This is one that i already believed in and C+P confirmed + enabled it in me hahahaha.

Here's some examples- our great editor/writer/geniuses @JollyLads did LOTS of missions like this- where the job was- "could this line be funnier?"

Here's an example:

Those are all great- but none stuck.
That SAME process led to lots of lines that DID make it in like "Deregulate Tapioca"

There were 20 options including "Imprison the Elderly" but this one was the funniest.

Also when actors are TONS of great improv- it's hard to keep track of it all.

So it's amazing to have smart, funny people like our editors to try out their pitch at the best improv-

Here's an example of Fred Armisen's stuff!

This takes longer and is harder- but ultimately makes the movie better and more alive!

But we were able to try + fail 100s and 1000s of times in private, so we could succeed in public when we showed it to the world.

Someone pointed out that this type of experimentation ISN'T free- and that's true.

But whatever you're making- at whatever scale- you should build in the time for experimentation.

It's more expensive but- it's ultimately worth it.

These movies take SO long to make- and are using SO many peoples work hours- you should fight to make them great!

8. Do It First. Ask Forgiveness Later.

If you ask permission for bold ideas you will probably just get stymied in meetings + doubt- but if you JUST do it and it works + you show ppl- they'll be excited!

As long as you + your bosses are aligned in the mission: "We all want people to laugh and cry and love this movie right?"

If you all have the same mission- and your bold ideas WORK and make people laugh+cry+love the movie- then you'll all win!

When our LGBTQIA+ crew talked about how meaningful it would be for Katie to be confirmed as queer on screen, we worked with them to make it feel authentic.

We didn't set up a big meeting with the studio + ask permission we just put it in the movie.

Then we showed it to the studio- along with these amazing letters from @raptorclaws+ the entire crew of LGBTQIA+ artists that made up "Team Katie"

After hearing the letters- no one wanted to be the person to REMOVE anything from the movie.

It's a delicate balance, obviously the studio are your collaborators and you want to work WITH them.

BUT! It's also your job to give them the best movie possible!

So instead of arguing about hypothetical versions- just prove your point on the screen!

That way, everyone wins!

9. Land the Emotions.

This is just... the most important thing in filmmaking.

If the audience doesn't care... all your effort is for nothing.

This is something @Roweyourboatz + I knew broadly- but C+P helped us find the emotion in EVERY SINGLE SCENE.

For example- the Mark + Pal scenes in our movie used to be just about mocking tech companies.

They were boring. You could FEEL people checking out in test screenings.

We tried to solve it in 100 different ways- none of which worked.

It wasn't until we made the scene about Mark+Pal's RELATIONSHIP+EMOTIONS that anyone cared about it.

When Pal felt ABANDONED because this relationship that she valued was BETRAYED- the audience could connect and people started CARING.

No matter how in tune you are to the emotions of your scenes- you could always go deeper and be more sensitive.

It will pay off huge i promise.

10. The Real Dirty Secret

Really when you get down to it- the method boils down to one simple thing:

Work Your Ass Off and Have Insanely High Standards.

There's unfortunately no getting around it.

In that way we were a perfect fit with C+P- because that was our approach before they were around.

We wrote manifestos + had crazy goals for ourselves. Like "Try to Make the Greatest Animated Movie of All Time."

They were the perfect pair to help us TRY to reach for that.

Here was our big checklist- written before C+P came.

We tried to be really honest with ourselves while making COMPLETELY impossible goals.

Here's some other wacky meters i had on my whiteboard:

-The Yukk-o-Meter: How many reliable laughs we got. (Over 50 was the goal- this is at about 41)

-The Tear-o-Meter: What percentage of the audience cried.

We made these after reading that Marcia Lucas re-edited the climax of Star Wars OVER+ OVER until the audience CHEERED when Han Solo showed up.

I was BLOWN away you could call your shot like that!

I wanted to do that! So we made all these meters- intending to fill them up.

If we didn't hit our wildest targets- it's not for lack of trying.

I would psychotically make a checklist every single morning- i have literally 100s of these, maybe over 1000

Working with Chris + Phil was amazing because they confirmed all our theories and said "you're going in the right direction, keep going!"

But most importantly, they held us to our own insanely high standards.

And we'll always be grateful.

It's not often that you meet your heroes and they kindly + respectfully coach+ mentor you into making your project WAY better than it ever would have been.

I don't know if that's ever happened before- but... i'm glad it did here and i'll always be grateful.

Thanks dudes.

But even with all our work- the movie wasn't made by me or @Roweyourboatz or Chris or Phil:

The movie was made by 688 amazing artists- the movie would be nothing without them.

And if there's one thing you take away from this thread- trust+empower your collaborators.

Thanks for reading!