At 21 he was nominated for the Short Film Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for Billy’s Balloon. At 23 his short film, Rejected, was nominated for an Academy Award. At 24 Filmmaker Magazine named him one of the “Top 25 Filmakers to Watch.” At 26, along with Beavis and Butt-head creator Mike Judge, he created the Animation Show, a touring animated short film festival. The Sundance Film Festival once noted that, "if cinephiles think shorts don't generate the same sort of hype and fanbase as feature films, they obviously haven't heard of Don Hertzfeldt."
By all accounts Hertzfeldt is a genius. His latest film, I am so Proud of You, is now on DVD and will do nothing but cause more accolades. At 22 minutes in length the film took just under two years to complete and continues Don’s proclivity for creating his animations without digital effects. I am so Proud of You was created using a sixty-year-old 35mm animation stand, one of the last remaining cameras of it’s kind in America. Using this camera allowed for composing images that would have been otherwise impossible. The rest of the film’s special effects were also created directly on film using traditional double exposures, in-camera mattes, and new experimental techniques.
As Chapter 2 in a planned three-chapter series, Proud continues to chronicle the life of protagonist Bill. Using the same narration style as Everything Will Be Okay (Chapter 1) the story progresses as we see Bill trying to recover from his mental disorder. The story of his recovery is intertwined with stories of Bill’s childhood and family heritage, including a great-grandpa who “once strangled a rock in a fit of religious excitement.”
The film is equal parts funny, sad, bizarre, and relatable. It is another work of pain-staking perfection by Hertzfeldt. Check out some of Don’s work that can be found online, grab the DVD of I Am so Proud of You, then check out our interview with him to get a tiny glimpse inside the head of Don Hertzfeldt.
TDS: You do the bulk of your work sans the computer. How do you think your creative process differs from someone who relies primarily on the computer?
HERTZFELDT: I like having complete control over editing and sound—we’re all digital there—but with picture I want to leave the door open a little. It is just a different way of getting something to the screen. A movie like I am so Proud of You has its roots in experimental film: multiple exposures, compositing within the camera, paint on film. Stan Brakhage type stuff. Happy accidents.
My camera lets me conjure things up as I go along, build things with my hands, throw together images in ways I wouldn't have otherwise thought of. Even if it's just a really pretty light leak I happen to spot. I like to be surprised when the film comes back. You can't really capture these things in a computer, there's rarely that element of surprise or improvisation. And it's just more fun to work this way.
TDS: How does patience play into your work?
HERTZFELDT: With tricky scenes I’ve had to spend a couple months on getting just a few seconds of finished movie. But, on average, a short will take me around a year and half to two years to finish.
Sometimes the most satisfying thing is coming up with the most minor of rewrites --something that both improves the story and saves you from maybe having to animate a few connecting scenes-and you sort of sit there and realize you just saved yourself a solid month at the art desk.
TDS: What has been the greatest sacrifice you have made in order to pursue your work?
HERTZFELDT: Sometimes I’m not sure where most of my 20's went. I’m 33 now and I’m sure one day I’ll wonder where most of my 30's went but, that's probably not a very unique thought.
Time moves pretty fast, you put your head down and get to work on a piece and when you look up again you realize it's two years later. I think I’m doing some of my strongest work right now and I still get really excited for each new project. But it still can get very dull and very lonely because of the nature of the work and it's hard to remember to have a life in the meantime.
I’ve been in non-stop production on something since I was 18. I’ve never had a job doing anything else. But honestly, I’m not sure how much you can chalk that all up as "sacrifice." I’m ridiculously lucky to be able to still do this for a living. I’m not going to be the idiot who complains about doing what he wants.
TDS: As you continue to mature, how do you see your work changing, progressing?
HERTZFELDT: I think I would be terrified to actually know that. I haven't got a clue. I don't often make the same sort of movie twice in a row. It’s always been whatever is next in my head. From a commercial standpoint I guess I’ve made some pretty inscrutable decisions, like following up Rejected with a sprawling abstract film about human evolution, but it's really just been whichever ideas won't go away at the time. There always a lot of new things I’d like to try and I’m happy to still feel like I’m learning a lot.
TDS: Why the stance not to use your work for advertising or other commercial means?
HERTZFELDT: It just has nothing to do with it. It would be like taking time off from the films to drive a cab or paint houses. I’m not rich but I don't need to take on random jobs that mean nothing to me. The goal isn’t to try and make as much money as I possibly can, the goal is to try and make good movies.
TDS: They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case, people seem to pay you a lot of compliments. Do you see it that way?
HERTZFELDT: I guess, maybe. Though I think I’d prefer to be complimented with a nice gift basket and a bottle of wine.
TDS: Just for fun … if you could form a death-metal band what would it be named and what would your first number one hit single be titled?
HERTZFELDT: Wow, you're really in luck. I actually keep a long list of album titles for all of my imaginary bands. I’m pretty excellent with album titles. I used to be pretty good at band names but for some reason lately it's all been about album titles.
If it were a death-metal band I think our number one single would be Bitches Asking for Ham Sandwiches, sort of a rap-death-metal genre blending thing there, off the best selling album Goat Yelling Like a Man.
TDS: Because of the artistic nature of your work, different people interpret your films in different ways. With this latest film series—Everything Will Be Ok, I Am So Proud of You —do you intend your audience to understand a specific message?
HERTZFELDT: No, god I hope not. Messages are dangerous territory. I think those films are more like sharing a specific feeling or a specific moment with people than plainly delivering sentences. They seem more like songs than essays. I think there's more content in a song.
Some of my favorite songs, I’ve listened to them maybe a thousand times and I still might not know what all the lyrics mean and maybe I’ve even misheard some of them, but I still get exactly what that artist was thinking and feeling in that moment in time and for a little while you're sharing that space—it's like a mood you can't really put into words.
I think whatever was being expressed with I am so Proud of You is in there and whatever you find or don't find is totally valid. As the writer you have to let it go. It’s sort of like giving somebody a nice gift. You sew them a nice coat and you enjoy watching them opening it and making them happy. But then you need to get the f**k out of there. It’s theirs now, let them try it on and walk around and live in it. Don’t keep coming over and saying, "how's it fit? Did you notice I put pockets on the inside? Those stitches were imported ... "
TDS: Your films are intricate and full of thought. Is the execution always as you plan or do things change during the process?
HERTZFELDT: I usually change things the whole way through. I’m probably more of a rewriter than a writer. It’s something that would be impossible to do if I were working with a big crew. It would drive everyone mad. But, working basically alone, I’m able to shape and change and improve things as I go very fluidly. I’ve got about 3/4 of Chapter 3 written now but I’m sure it will change quite a bit by the time I’m done. I’m ready to begin animating the first few scenes and the time I’ve gotten through them I’ll have had new ideas that will shape the next ones.
TDS: Are there any upcoming projects we should be looking out for?
HERTZFELDT: I’ve just finished a very silly five minute cartoon for something that I can't really talk about yet, but I may spring it on an unsuspecting audience or two just to test it out (Editor’s Note: This was shown in October 2009 at the Ottawa Animation Festival). It will be fun to see people driven from the theater. I needed do so something goofy between Proud and Chapter 3. I don't think I could have made three long Bill films in a row.
I’ve also been working on a graphic novel for the first time, which has been developing into something quite good. I keep changing it around and improving it and the only downside is every time I elevate one section, I have to go back and make everything else that much better. But the big albatross, Chapter 3, will be next; I’ll be animating it before the end of the year. I think 1 and 2 are some of the best things I’ve done and now I’ll be doing my very best not to screw this whole thing up.
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