Chase Olivera, an 18-year-old College of the Canyons student, began exploring the world of animation in 2019 when he was just 14 years old. Since then, he has created several short films and won awards at film festivals for his passion for storytelling through the unique art form.
On June 23, Olivera went to the TCL Chinese Theater with his family to watch the debut of his latest film, “The Chihuahua Shake,” on the famous big screen for the Dance with Films Festival.
“The Chihuahua Shake” is a musical comedy that takes place in Paris and tells the story of a famous Parisian dachshund who struggles to paint a portrait of a Chihuahua who won’t stop shaking, Olivera said.
The 15-minute short film takes the audience on an adventure as the two dogs tackle the challenge with colorful scenery, a captivating original soundtrack and visual gags.
Olivera grew up seeing his grandmother rescue and foster many dachshunds, while his other grandparents owned a Chihuahua, which is partially the inspiration behind the film, he said. “I noticed they had distinct personalities.”
Dachshunds are a bit prim and proper, Olivera observed, and often get angry at other dogs, while the Chihuahua would just sit in one place watching and shaking, he added.
His father, who is a composer, created a jingle with the same name as the short film for a friend who has since died.
“She wanted to write a story about a shaking Chihuahua and my dad wrote a few measures of a song for her,” he said. “It all grew from there and the song was fully fleshed out as the finale to the movie.”
Olivera began the film during his senior year of high school at Santa Clarita Valley International School and it took a full year and a half to complete, he said. The idea was originally meant to be just five minutes long but as he began laying out the scenes, he realized his characters were more important than he had initially thought.
“They needed more time to develop and bond with the audience for more of an impactful ending … I didn’t want this to just be another YouTube video, watched and forgotten, I wanted it to feel like a full theater experience meant to last,” he said.
He researched more about dogs, painting, Paris, and gained inspiration from MGM classics from the golden age of cinema such as “An American in Paris,” “The Young Girls of Rochefort,” “Gigi,” “La La Land,” and “Ratatouille.”
Olivera’s father helped him develop the score for the film with the assistance of numerous musicians. The soundtrack of the film is full of Parisian accordion, jazzy big bands, saxophone, solos and violins.
“It was just really fun lining up the music with the visuals,” he said.
Olivera’s hard work and dedication to his craft earned him multiple awards. He won Best Animation & Critic’s Choice at the Montecito Film Festival, Best International Animation at Fresh International Film Festival, Finalist at Our Culture (AMIK) – Short Film Festival, Official Selection at Dances With Films and Official Selection at Burbank International Film Festival.
After “The Chihuahua Shake” ended its screening at the TCL Chinese Theater, Olivera received a round of applause, he said.
“There was lots of laughter throughout the theater, sadness during the sad scenes and all the moments that I wanted to hit, I think got hit and I think everybody understood [what I was trying to portray],” he said.
Olivera is just getting started with his animation and directing career. He hopes to start his own independent animation studio and currently shares his work on social media platforms and YouTube under the name Blue Phoenix Filmworks. He is working on a web series titled “Cloud Racers” and has ideas to expand on “The Chihuahua Shake” as a series if the opportunity arises, he said.
As a young trailblazer in a unique art form Olivera does encounter moments of self-doubt like many young individuals.
“I’m young, I understand that my work isn’t the highest quality, but I hope to constantly improve and I hope people will see my improvement over the years. I spend so long working on these animations that I want to share it and even when I’m doubting myself, I just push through,” he said. “I like to share my progress and then just continue with the next one and try to make it better.”
