Jan 9, 2024

Oscar Nominee Interview: Director Brett Parker Talks Favorite Shot in "Pete" (Exclusive Interview)

We invited the makers of the 15 films nominated for this year's Academy Awards for Best Animated Short to share their favorite shots from their films and why. Each film is listed in the order the materials were received.

A 26-year Pixar veteran, he has worked on many of Pixar's most iconic films, including "Toy Story 2," "Monsters, Inc.", "Finding Nemo", "The Incredibles", "Ratatouille" and "Inside Out".

"Pete" is a true story about gender identity, Little League baseball, people who inspire change by being themselves, and the superheroes who make that change possible. The film was shown at Annecy and Tribeca, and won Best Animated Short at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival and Best Family Short at the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Below is Parker's favorite scene from the short and what it means to him:

This shot is my favorite in the film for several reasons. The narration and the images work in harmony to support the emotional impact of the scene. Emotionally, this is where Pete feels most alone. To reinforce this point, I added the children walking away at the head of the shot. They are no longer surrounded by their friends in the cul-de-sac and are being rejected by society for the first time as "Pete." I wanted to support this cinematically, so I brought the camera just close enough to read their expressions, then slowly pulled back to a wide shot so the audience could feel their isolation on the bench. Visually, the colors of the sky envelop them like a watercolor painting. To further support the emotional beat of the moment, we muted all colors and cut the music.

Read other entries in the series so far: