First, I wanted to tell you that I’m very sorry I haven’t been able to post anything else on the Making Of series. It will take me longer that I thought, but it will get done.

The other news is that there’s been interest from Hollywood. Seems like all the effort is paying off to some degree.

So, I’m developing The Chase as a feature film.

That’s it. Stay tuned!

Call it an idea, story, concept. How you name it isn’t that relevant after all. The important thing is that you got it clear. To get there, there’s a few things you might want to know.

To start over, you will probably need inspiration such as Books or Films. I’d advice you get LOTS of them. Not that you shouldn’t trust your imagination, but good reference is bless.

BOOKS

The kind of stuff that got me started to some degree were books. I’m not a good reader, so half of the time I go with Audio books. The good part about them is that you can read them while you are doing other stuff, in my case, when I go riding my bike every day for a couple hours. So, at that ratio, I read about a book a week, which is a pretty good thing for a non reader.

If you want to learn how to make a film and you are clueless, its safe to say that you are most probably an amateur. Want to become a Pro? Here are some of my favorites, and what each one of them did for me. (click on image for link)

Linchpin: Told me why my emotional labor is unique and imperative, instead of aiming for perfection.

The War of Art: Thought me the difference between an amateur and a professional.

Steve Jobs: One of the most powerful Motivation and Ambition boosters I’ve digested so far.

If you had to pick one, go for Linchpin.

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OK. By now, you are half way there. I don’t mean to be an asshole, but there’s something you MUST understand. There is NO WAY in this world you are going to make a film if you don’t have the Pro mindset. Forget about it. Lucky for us we are in a google era where, if you want to get or become something, you can learn it.

FILMS

Top 250. You probably have been there before. Whether or not you have, I’d advice you to spin your wheels there over and over again, since it will be the most stimulating zone you will get for inspiration. After a while, that won’t be enough. Watching all that material will help you a lot on training your eye. I love that part actually, because you never get bored.

Inspiration is going to be crucial. You might want to come there as many times as you need while you are producing your film. It is going to answer you a lot of questions as you go by.

By popular demand, I’m writing a “Making Of, from A to Z” series. A lot of people have asked me what’s the path to make a 3D Animated Film. It gets a lot more interesting when you have the desire, but you don’t have the available resources to pay an expensive education. With no prior experience, you may start with something Short. It seems pretty doable after all. Good news is: It actually is a lot easier than you think. Some local guy makes a short film for close to nothing. In fact the budget could have been $0,00, but it would have taken me some extra months. (By the way, cost of living is not part of this budget, that’s pretty much up to you). Really, if I knew this stuff being a kid when I lived with my parents, I’d have done it back then.

There’s a thousand ways and combinations on how to do this, but I won’t elaborate on that. I will tell you the way it works for me. Believe me, I’ve tried most of them. A lot of people are going to tell you this or that, and they are probably right. The problem is: everyone is. With that in mind, opinions are so mixed that at the end of the day you don’t know which one should you follow. All of them together make no sense at all, and its so confusing and complicated that its not even worth it. Once you understand that, its a lot easier to move on.

To make this thing happen it will take hard work, though.

There are a few key elements you need to master before getting there. The following 2 weeks I WILL elaborate on each one of these steps, hopefully with a certain level of detail so you don’t get lost.

IDEA

• Inspiration
• Write a Story
• Sketch it out (or ask for help)

HARDWARE

• Do you need a Supercomputer?
• PC or Mac?

3D

• Learn Maya
• Characters
• Environment
• Learn to Rig Characters
• Learn to Animate
• Learn Vray

FINAL STAGE

• Learn After Effects.
• Premiere / Final Cut (for mac). In this case, its the same thing.
• Sound / Music (Foley / Soundsnap.com / Vimeo Music Store)

THE PLAN

By now, you probably haven’t mastered any of the things you were supposed to. That’s fine. Even though I had the theory, I learned to Animate and Rig Characters when I was actually producing The Chase. So, we are going to need to outline every aspect of the production before starting it. We are getting into that too.

You will eventually need to digg a lot, and some times get your hands and clothes dirty. Some people you like and respect might even get angry. Like your mom, when you were a kid, and she spanked you. But when they see what you’ve learned from it, they will most probably embrace it. You can take a shower later.

On Monday 20 I sent TPB team an email, a shot in the dark. When I had a reply saying that they liked it and I’d have a worldwide display on The Pirate Bay homepage, I pulled off my hair. I think its been a while since I’ve opened my eyes that wide.

Now The Chase is having massive exposure. They gave me the opportunity to be part of this amazing project called The Promo Bay, in which emerging artists and their work are shown to the people. I’m so damn happy. This is the kind of things you were not expecting in life, I guess. And people seem to love the short film. That was unexpected too.

Thank you, TPB