Ronnie del Carmen: "We make their life a little harder."

Ronnie del Carmen giving out some story wisdom on Pixar in a Box. This is from the storytelling chapter about obstacles.

I love the devilish smile Ronnie has on his face while he talks about throwing rocks at his characters. This is something I have had trouble with in the past. When creating characters I usually start to really like them, and I really don’t wish them any harm. (I guess I’m just a big softy underneath) But a story where everything just goes smoothly is boring: story is conflict so you need to go out and mess up their lives… 

The (free!) Khan Academy Pixar in a Box course is primarily aimed at children but do not underestimate these lessons. I’m doing these exercises, am having a lot of fun, and, man am I learning a lot!