donhertzfeldt_vanityfair

The year isn’t half over yet, and Don Hertzfeldt has already racked up major awards at Sundance and SXSW for his new short World of Tomorrow. Now, he’s got an interview in Vanity Fair.

Don’s response to why he doesn’t do advertising work is remarkable, as is his plea to artists to take control of their films and not allow mega-billion corporations like Google-owned YouTube to exploit their work:

Well, I don’t avoid commercial work, I avoid advertising work. Maybe that gets confused sometimes. But you’re right that many people in our industry would see advertising work as “the ultimate goal,” which really illustrates the sad state of affairs that’s set up for many young animators. They’re basically being taught that their work has no value. Their personal projects, even when Oscar-nominated and whatnot, are perceived as just a way to attract some empty corporate advertising gig where they can maybe make enough money to fund another personal project that’s again maybe dropped on YouTube, loses money, and forgotten about. It’s a terrible cycle. Artists shouldn’t be making art on the side, it should be their job. We need to re-train audiences who’ve grown used to the free YouTube model that shorts are worth paying for. I keep telling my animator friends, “Please sell your work. Even if you put it online and just charge 50 cents, sell it.” “Everything is free” has been doing genuine damage to young artists. Many great short films have been disappearing altogether after a film-festival run, because if they can’t monetize it online, why even bother posting it? If I can make a living off of independent shorts for this long, there’s no reason others shouldn’t be able to. But my old ways of audience-building and making those sales—theatrical tours, DVDs, TV, et cetera—are disappearing and nothing much has been taking its place.

Hertzfeldt’s new short World of Tomorrow is available to rent on Vimeo for $3.99:

Read More:

Amid Amidi

Amid Amidi is Cartoon Brew's Publisher and Editor-at-large.

Latest News from Cartoon Brew