In this weeks blog I will be examining what is known as second product syndrome and how it impacted the decision making process at Pixar. One of the common problems with companies who are extremely successful with an opening product is translating that success into long term success. More often than not companies fizzle out after one hit because their mission all along was a fixation on that one idea, not a long term approach for company longevity. Additionally, these companies often don't have a full concept of why their first product was successful.

Fortunately for Pixar they had a number of elements working in their favor which would help establish them as the factory which produced hit movies. First, they were led by Steve Jobs who was very experienced in the business sector. To his own admission, his company, Apple, was one of those that suffered second product syndrome. This experience as well as the experiences of collegues enabled him to approach their second project in a much different way. No longer was there the idea that "well this worked in Toy Story so we should use this element and this element and this element in order to be successful". Instead it was a much different approach where everyone at Pixar didn't want to stick with the status qua.

Pixar's next project was A Bug's Life and it required a whole new way of perceiving story and creating a new and exciting world. Perhaps the thing that separates Pixar from its' competition is the dedication to story and the commitment to going beyond what even the animator's believe to be possible. John Lasseter was really the one pushing the animator's to make everything bigger and better in this film. For the scenes with thousands of ants, John was told that you could only code one hundred unique characters, and he ignored that notion and believed in his staff. Additionally, A Bug's Life stands out because the amazing accuracy and detail work that went into creating the film's world. Staffers at Pixar got minicams and used them at the gardens in front of Pixar to determine what the world looks like from a bugs perspective. When we talk about second product syndrome and why Pixar wasn't a victim of it, it becomes very clear, once we see how this film was made. Pixar remained a success because they pushed themselves to be better and to reinvent the concept of computer animation. Additionally, they did this to strengthen the story and to strengthen the world of their film. The end result being a film that was both a commercial success and a critical success.