[2] The film is built around one second of animation (composed of 12 large collaborative paintings), and is followed by one hour of credits, listing everyone who signs up (regardless of whether a contribution is made or not).

[3] The project allows people around the world to participate online, and lists everyone who joins the crew as "Special Thanks" in the film credits.

The frames were painted by hundreds of people during a multi-disciplinary event on March 8, 2001 (International Women's Day) at California Institute of the Arts.

Each frame had an art director that engaged the audience as participants;[citation needed] color design for the animation was selected by Jules Engel.

[12] Seed funds for the animation painting event came from a $1,500 CalArts Grant, an additional $3,000 was raised by selling producer credits for donations of $1 or more.

After raising enough to buy a video camera, the director began to document the fundraising process to include as part of a documentary about the project.

In 2005, after getting several celebrities to donate, the director launched a petition drive along with the help of Stephen Colbert to get the credits of The 1 Second Film listed on the Internet Movie Database.

In May 2006, a video of several high-profile celebrities donating to The 1 Second Film was featured on the homepage of YouTube, helping the project raise over $7,000 in four days.

After being rejected, the director sent a link to a video of Stephen Colbert requesting his $11 producer credit be listed on IMDb.