"I had this script which, though I thought worked, would have been prohibitively expensive to execute, just because of the scale implications involved," said Le Blond. "Then as I started thinking of other ways to try to make it, I spotted a film by Shilo called 'The War,' which just took my fancy."

According to Tracy Chandler, Executive Producer for Shilo (shown here between co-founders, CDs and directors Jose Gomez (left) and Andre Stringer), things clicked quickly from there. "Everybody was in and everybody was excited, and we all knew that the film had to touch people so that they'd want to share it with others and get involved in the cause."

Since the film's imagery would have been impractical to obtain via live-action cinematography, Shilo chose a very multi-media approach. The visual content was created by Shilo's artists using Autodesk Maya for 3D, QUBE for managing renders, Mental Ray for rendering, Adobe Photoshop for texturing, Adobe After Effects for compositing, and Final Cut Pro for editing.

"We did a huge amount of work to bring the project to life, but in terms of getting ideas, it was a quick process," said Stringer. "I think our first cut was only a few days after we spoke with Carl. When we started getting calls telling us that it had moved some people to tears, we knew we were right on track."

"From the beginning, we felt very strongly that a piece of music that was broader and less culturally rooted was going to give us the universality and emotion we wanted in the piece," Stringer added. "When we landed on the Chopin pieces that we did, I couldn't let them go."

"An important goal for each of us, in every project we take on, is getting people to think," said Jose Gomez. "This project is the ultimate example of that. As directors, we generally regard ourselves as provocateurs, but in this case, we're actually activists, hoping that those who see this film will help us to make a positive difference for the people of Burma."

When asked about a favorite moment from the finished production, Stringer points to a scene near the end. "My favorite shot involves a really close-up shot of a flower fluttering in front of the camera, where the camera has a lot of shake on it," he said. "Seeing that scene made me realize that the flowers had already become characters for us, like they were paratroopers falling on D-Day."

"As Cyclone Nargis tore across Burma, the world witnessed one of the worst natural disasters in history," said Suki Dusanj, Founder of The Burma Arts Board. "It is our hope that this Burma Viral will circulate around the world and into Burma, and bring about the changes necessary to make the aid and rescue efforts effective – and to allow the Burmese people the freedom to enjoy the civil liberties they deserve."

The film debuted in May on MTV networks worldwide, via global video-sharing websites, and in New York's Times Square, and it can now be seen at www.wemakeitgood.com. In September, it earned the Best Animation Silver Shark Award at the 46th annual Kinsale Shark Awards, and it was recently awarded the 2008 London International Awards Gold Statue for Television/Cinema Animation.