

Pixar films don't get finished, they just get released - b3n
http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/06/pixar-films-dont-get-finished-they-just.html

======
gamache
A manager asked a programmer how long it would take him to finish the program
on which he was working. ``It will be finished tomorrow,'' the programmer
promptly replied.

``I think you are being unrealistic,'' said the manager, ``Truthfully, how
long will it take?''

The programmer thought for a moment. ``I have some features that I wish to
add. This will take at least two weeks,'' he finally said.

``Even that is too much to expect,'' insisted the manager, ``I will be
satisfied if you simply tell me when the program is complete.''

The programmer agreed to this.

Several years later, the manager retired. On the way to his retirement
luncheon, he discovered the programmer asleep at his terminal. He had been
programming all night.

 _The Tao of Programming, 5.2_ <http://www.canonical.org/~kragen/tao-of-
programming.html>

~~~
huhtenberg
When I was just starting in the software development business, I worked under
a project manager who liked to say - "in order to get a realistic estimate of
a completion time, take what the programmer said, multiply by two and shift to
the next time period" meaning that 1 day translates to 2 weeks, 2 weeks to 4
months, etc. Cynical, but accurate :)

------
chops
That's just about the coolest response to a letter one could hope for - the
kinda thing you frame and show your friends (or in this case, highlight on a
blog).

Handwritten is awesome as it is, but the little sketches give it such a great
personal touch. Very classy.

~~~
iman
Here's another great letter of similar style by the creator of ren and stimpy:

<http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/01/your-pal-john-k.html>

(I like how the pixar guy said that it's all about having a good story, while
the ren & stimpy guy says that good drawing is more important than the story)

~~~
Psyonic
I realize this isn't proof of anything, but Pixar is a hell of a lot more
successful than Ren & Stimpy. Perhaps that means something.

~~~
aohtsab
I don't think either's success can be compared accurately — one is a behemoth
of a company and the other operates on a much, much smaller scale.

Besides, Ren & Stimpy did garner a sizeable cult following (not including
myself) — and quantifying interest in a cult classic isn't as simple as
tracking purchases.

Perhaps a better comparison would be Pixar vs. Nickelodeon.

------
JeanPierre
When I saw this title, I was sure I've seen a statement like that before. I
looked it up, and true enough, Paul Graham wrote this in his essay "Design and
Research":

 _"Indeed, there is even a saying among painters: 'A painting is never
finished, you just stop working on it.' This idea will be familiar to anyone
who has worked on software."_

~~~
nostrademons
My boss was giving a retrospective on one of our projects, and included a
slide that was headlined, "Design expands to fill all available time." He and
our product manager got into an argument over whether that was really true or
not, and various tweaks to the wording that would make it true if not. The
argument ended when I pointed out that the fact that we'd been arguing over it
for an hour was a pretty good indication that it was correct, and that the
presentation was in five minutes so he better decide one way or another soon.

------
tjmaxal
This just makes me smile. It's nice to see good things being done by good
people.

------
ajj
Being a PhD student, that touches a sensitive nerve. They say a dissertation
is never finished, its abandoned!

~~~
johnswamps
The saying is much older than that. "Art is never finished, only abandoned"
seems to be widely attributed to de Vinci and "A poem is never finished, only
abandoned" to Paul Valery.

------
far33d
Pete Docter is one of the nicest guys alive. I am in no way surprised that he
took the time to write back a handwritten note.

------
petercooper
It is showing that Pixar shares Steve Jobs with Apple. "Great artists ship."
Quite!

~~~
qohen
The quote is: "Real artists ship". E.g.
<http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?story=Pirate_Flag.txt>

~~~
petercooper
You're right, and I really knew that, I say now as I look back at my post with
a puzzled expression.. thanks! :-)

------
michaelcampbell
So it's like all software, then...

~~~
Splines
Given the other comments in this thread, it's like any other creative work,
though I'd argue that the creativity in software is not always visible on the
surface (granted, IANAA).

------
leej
i think software analogy is not quite right. after sw is released next
iterations or "sequels" are generally refinement of the first. movies are not.

------
papachito
That could be said for any artwork.

