How can I get a job in computer animation at Pixar?

What are the mimimum professional requirements to get a job into any big ANIMATION studios like DREAMWORKS,PIXAR....etc?

• my younger brother is in 11th science.He is excellent in Drawing, sketching and short animated movie making. i m really worried about his career.He really desperately willing  to work in these ANIMATION studios.Some people suggested that The National Institute of Design (NID) ahmedabad is right choice for his career.please help me and do give some very usefull suggestions. What should he do now along with his studies, i mean should he start working and practising on 3D animation softwares right from class 11th? Also what should he do after class 12th? any advice would be appreciated. Thnks :)

• Answer:

  The first thing he should figure out is what job he wants at these studios. There are many different jobs in animation that all go into the final product. I have been a storyboard artist and a designer. (For TV, not film.)  If he wants to animate, things have changed a bit since the guys I know at Pixar and Dreamworks got started there, but I believe the most important thing is having very very strong fundamentals. Whatever medium he animates in, The character should have realistic weight, and the timing and acting should feel spot on. So more than practicing software, he needs to practice animating. Capturing the "illusion of life." I borrowed the title from this book for a reason. http://www.amazon.com/The-ILLUSION-OF-LIFE-ANIMATION/dp/0786860707/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369370006&sr=8-1&keywords=The+illusion+of+life It is the animator's bible. This is the other:  http://www.amazon.com/The-Animators-Survival-Kit-Revised-Edition/dp/086547897X/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_y I had a few classmates go on to work at Dreamworks and Pixar, and they had a few things in common. They were extremely dedicated, they had a passion for animating. When they weren't drawing, they were watching movies. Animated movies, live action movies, everything. They talked about filmmaking all the time. If you are curious, here is one of their films from CalArts: Just to give you an idea of the level they were at in school. At the time, (early 2000s) you did not need to know how to use 3d animation programs to get in. Now I think you do, as they are much more available. But the skills necessary are the same. Part of what I'm getting at is your brother needs to be at the top of the top to be an animator at one of these studios. And he totally could, I hope I don't sound too discouraging. He should definitely study animation though, the whole process, because he could also be like me. I went into school thinking I wanted to animate on films, and found out there were a whole lot of interesting and fun disciplines under the animation umbrella. Now I hardly ever actually "animate," but I love my job. Conversely, I know a guy that went to school just knowing he had to work for one company, worked his butt off in school, got a job there, and hated it. Of course, there are the people that had a goal, worked for it, and loved it as well... but encourage him to be a little open minded about where he ends up.