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Rejected


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REJECTED (2000)
2001 Academy Award Nominee - Best Animated Short Film
Technique: Traditional 2D Animation combined with Stop-Motion and Experimental Animation
Country: USA
A collision between art, commercial culture, and madness.

While Hertzfeldt typically prefers not to be tied to a script during production (in favor of using newer ideas and improvisation along the way), this film underwent even more creative evolution than was usual. The finished piece bears little resemblance to the original concept and was continuously changing on its own terms, making the process much more experimental and difficult than expected.

The finale sequence wasn't conceived until midway through production, while individual scenes were redesigned and significantly altered up to the very last day of sound mixing. As a result, all of the characters' lip synchs were actually animated before any dialogue was recorded (and in many places, written), requiring the actors to perform all of their lines against the finished cartoon, a very backwards method but one which allowed for fresh improvisation. In some scenes, dialogue was determined to be funnier when it was played backwards; other scenes contain countless layers of backwards music and voices, bizarre effects, and random noises.

Over eighty hours were spent mixing and recording sound for the 9 1/2 minute cartoon. The experimental, improvisational nature of the project left the door wide open for a countless number of creative choices, and trial and error required many extra days to rework certain scenes again and again until they seemed right. It was the job of the sound mix to make sure all of the experiments still fit together.

Like all of Hertzfeldt's films, no computers were used in the animation production. All of the special effects in the finale were achieved in-camera and traditionally. Major experiments were performed with the animation camera's frame motor to achieve the desired camera and motion blurs, whereas the crumple and paper effects are a blend of stop-motion-animated paper and traditional animation.

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Camera, Writing, Animation, Sound, Production, and Direction by Don Hertzfeldt
Editing by Rebecca Moline
Voices by Robert May with additional voices by Jennifer Nyholm and Don Hertzfeldt
Sound Production by Tim Kehl
A Bitter Films Production

Official Site: www.bitterfilms.com

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