THE TEAM
I'm Olan Rogers, the creator, Executive Producer, Writer, and Star of the international hit animated show Final Space. I've been in Los Angeles for over six years, developing many animated projects. I have worked with almost every network and streaming service (adultswim/Disney/Amazon/HBO Max/DC Comics/Netflix).
I got my start by making videos online, everything from gut-busting stories to completely insane low-budget video series. I was lucky enough and fortunate enough to gain a bit of a following from over 15 years of being in that creative space.
Final Space was my first TV show and having it end over a merger between two companies after three seasons was heartbreaking.
BEN BJELAJAC
Director + Executive Producer
After over 15 years in the animation industry, if you’ve heard the name Ben Bjelajac, it is because of Final Space. All the years of storyboarding, background painting, post compositing, character designing, and even a little editing led to directing on Final Space.Final Space was the show that let Ben share his vision with the world. Ben has just wanted to make stuff, inspired by the live-action directors that accompanied him through those late nights watching movies as a kid, going to film school, and creating his own films. Maybe it was growing up in Los Angeles. The neighborhood characters. The million stories left untold. He always thought he could be the one to tell them. To show them visually and (hopefully) make you feel them viscerally.After being a part of over a dozen animated series, films, and commercial projects, Ben still just wants to make stuff that makes you laugh, cry, and thrill an audience. And the rules to do so are simple. Tell a good story. And don’t be boring.
ROSA TRAN
Executive Producer
Rosa Tran is an Academy Award-nominated producer behind Adult Swim’s ROBOT CHICKEN, BEFOREL OREL, and FRANKENHOLE, as well as ANOMOLISA, which was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, and was one of the very few animated films to be nominated in the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Most recently, Rosa Executive Produced FINAL SPACE for TBS and currently has a series in development with Olan at Amazon, Disney+, and she’s working on something at HBOMax that she can’t talk about.
WHAT'S THE MISSION?
This is a sci-fi animated short, taking the six-plusyears of experience from hungry Final Space alum to make something truly jaw-dropping. We never got to show the world what we could really do; we were always stopped short, whether it be because of budget or notes. Now the goal of this project is to not only make a short animated film but to document the journey into a nine-episode making animation series,documenting the entire process of developing, writing, boarding, animating, and even pitching.
EPISODE 1: THE IDEA
EPISODE 2: TIME TO WRITE
EPISODE 3: BOARDING
EPISODE 4: DESIGN
EPISODE 5: EDITING & EDITING & EDITING
EPISODE 6: ANIMATION
EPISODE 7: THE ZAZZ PASS
EPISODE 8: SCORING & SOUND DESIGN
EPISODE 9: PITCH IT!
WHO'S GOING TO WRITE IT?
I can't believe you asked this question! ME, OF COURSE! I would wrestle fourteen full-size grizzly bears to write this thing! I would bring on one or two writers on boards to help map the story and bounce ideas off.
WHAT'S IT GOING TO LOOK LIKE?
We didn't have a huge budget with Final Space, but we put every dollar on screen and pushed it as far as possible. As of now, the official look it's unknown, it's a part of the journey we're going to document, but I would love to find a new look. I would also bring Ben Bejelajac, the Supervising Director from Final Space, onto the project to direct it.
WHO'S GOING TO ANIMATE IT?
Over the past six years, I have met with many fantastic animation houses in the US, Canada, and Australia, and we will document that part of the process. This is a big decision, and I want everyone to see what goes into the process of selecting the right animation house.
WHERE DOES ADDITION FUNDS GO?
Right now after Kickstarter took their fee from the campaign, taxes and rewards we have enough to get between 6-8min of animation.
It gets poured into making this animated short even better, but I already know your next question is, if it REALLY blows past it, can you make an episode?
Let's explore it hypnotically;
I was able to look at the budget for Season 1 and Season 3 of Final Space.
For one Episode during Season 3 of Final Space, it cost:
900k (21 mins)
The overhead made that number higher; I am pretty positive it can be done cheaper if it's lean and mean.