Robota, started as a personal project for Doug Chiang, has grown into its own entity. All Robota images ©2002 Doug Chiang Studio•CGI by Sparx*

You see it every day -- a movie tied into a book, tied into action figures, tied into everything from beach towels to toys that you get with fast food. New merchandising empires begin as often as new movies do -- at least once a week. They are put together by people who want to maximize the amount of cash that a license generates. But what happens when you want to create something that, by its own nature, is so big that it needs to be presented in different ways? An idea that was so vast and deep that the only way to do it justice was to create its own empire?

And then, what if you were only one guy? How do you do it?

Before producing and directing the Robota trailers, Doug Chiang had amassed major Hollywood credits as well as an Oscar for his work. Photo: Giles Hancock

Talent helps. And Doug Chiang has a lot of talent. After studying film at UCLA, he began his career as a stop motion animator on Pee Wee's Playhouse, then went on to direct and design TV commercials for Rhythm and Hues, Digital Prods. and Robert Abel and Associates, winning a Clio Award along the way. He became a Visual Effects art director at Industrial Light & Magic in 1989, and worked on such films as Terminator 2, Death Becomes Her, Forrest Gump, Jumanji, Ghost, Back to the Future II, The Mask and The Doors. For his work at ILM, he won an Academy Award and two BAFTA Film Awards. Best known for his work as director of concept design for Star Wars Episodes I and II, he is now the co-production designer for The Polar Express.

The thing is, the idea for Robota didn't start out as an empire builder. It started out as a personal project that took on a life of its own. As the story got bigger, the world got bigger, and Doug needed more help. He went to science fiction author Orson Scott Card and the project became a book. The book generated a widely circulated animation test, then two teaser trailers, which can be seen on Doug's site.

I spoke to Doug about how this project began, and to Alan Portillo, head of international business development at Sparx*, about the creation of the trailer and where they see it going.