Issam Zejly:
The idea for the short movie is inspired by the life of somebody I loved more than anything in the world: my grandfather. A few months after graduating from Animation Mentor, I visited him and was shocked and devastated to see how a once strong and able man was now broken down and confined to a wheelchair due to his age. We sat down and talked about his youth and how he used to take care of his land, how he would ride his horse and how much he missed these things.

His story made me realize that there are kids all over the world who will never have the chance to walk, run and jump...and eventually tell such stories. At a tender age, these kids were already in wheelchairs and all they had left were dreams. At that time, I needed to make something that mattered to me – something with more depth than a gag.

My grandfather passed away last September, but all the stories he told me will undoubtedly inspire me in my animation.

Issam Zejly:
Making a short film is definitely not an easy task. Patience and determination are essential in the process of movie-making. Furthermore, I will have to echo what many of my fellow animators preach: Planning is (almost) everything. One needs to have a clear idea of what is to be done and HOW it is going to be achieved.

One major lesson I learned in the process is that a short film is primarily about story. In my opinion, the story needs to make sense, more so than being well animated. I kept looking for ways to impact people.

Another lesson that I learned from this process is that properly testing rigs is crucial. In my case, it almost proved "fatal" (see answer below)! It is essential to take the time to test your rig(s) before embarking on a short movie. Think about all the steps you need to take in order to complete your film, and if needed, have friends help you with the non-animation parts. This could get many of the frustrations out of the way. I personally got two of my friends (thanks Hai & Donald Phan!) to do the UV layouts for me as I was literally pulling my hair out trying to do it!

Issam Zejly:
I roughly spent three months on animation and two more months texturing, rendering and on post production.

Animation Mentor:
How much planning was put into your short film? Did planning help make the process easier?

Issam Zejly:
The planning was decent in the beginning (never enough!) but as usual, I kept implementing new ideas to tighten the story. I relied on video reference a lot as it was impossible for me to act out all of the moves I had in mind.

It goes without saying that planning makes any process easier. The more you plan, the more confident you are down the road. Doubt does eventually kick in every now and then, but the more prepared you are, the better armed you will be!

Issam Zejly:

Rough Pass
This is my rough blocking. The entire film (minus the wheelchair scene) was done this way, which really allowed me to get the timing down from an early stage. I kept going back to certain poses to exaggerate them (or tone them down) to achieve the desired look.

By going back and forth, I realized that I was instinctively working on animation in an almost sculptural way.

Polish Pass
Here is the Polish Pass. It has come a long way from the rough blocking! I later tweaked a couple of things before texturing it.

Issam Zejly:
As mentioned above, one thing that almost made me give up production is when the first rig I used (a non-AnimationMentor rig) literally broke down. I had the whole film completely blocked out except for the wheelchair scene. I had done a clean blocking with careful attention to posing and facial expressions – a month's worth of work.

The first thing that came to mind was to scour the internet for any (Maya) scripts that could help me transfer the animation to a working rig. That eventually proved useless as the rig I used was totally different.

After a few (depressing) days, I decided to get back to the short movie but this time using Bishop (an Animation Mentor rig).

The story was dear to me and I couldn't just let it go because of technicalities. Considering the overwhelming feedback I have been getting from people, I think I made the right decision. :)

Issam Zejly:
Where do I start!? Animation Mentor literally opened me up to a new world. It has been a life-changing experience for me, but also for the entire community. Speaking of which, this community has been nothing short of amazing. The mentors I had the chance to learn from (Charles Alleneck, Tony Smeed, Doug Dooley, Victor Navone, Mark Behm, and Matthew Russell) and all those I was privileged to meet have inspired me through their work and advice to pursue my dreams. I will forever be grateful to them.