The Directors: Federico Heller
Federico Heller is a director with a strong background in animation and VFX. He’s won multiple awards for creative storytelling as well as achievement in visual effects. In the last few years Federico has directed commercials for major brands like Google and Sony, and worked on television series for Fox and Universal. His debut short film Uncanny Valley became viral, winning multiple international awards and an option for a feature adaptation. His animated music video ‘Earth’ received over 350 Million views and earned a Cannes Lions award. He also co-created Eggscape, a mixed reality game that won the 2023 La Biennale di Venezia award and became a permanent attraction in multiple locations in China and Korea. Federico co-founded 3dar in 2004. The studio creates high end animation and visual effects serving as production arm to Federico's projects. The company is based in Buenos Aires Argentina with a branch in Los Angeles, CA where Federico resides.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to work on them?
Federico> The less desperate the script the better. When communication appeals to a sense of affinity and stimulates you rather than supplicating, the results are way better. I love this trend of companies taking the approach of “I’ll give the audience this short film for free and I get to sign it at the end”. I’m particularly fortunate coming from the animation background as it is happening more and more. I love the opportunity to create characters that are unique and hilarious, sometimes absurd and some others quirky and charming.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Federico> I take a generous amount of time trying to understand the brand, the client and the need. Then I take a few hours with my team researching and watching references. I try to connect something that I really like with the project that is in front of me. If it feels like homework it’s that I’m still not invested and I need to take more time or change the angle. I do this reverse engineering process of finding what emotion or reaction we are after, and how to craft it. “What do we want the audience to feel at the end?” is the question I ask the most. I work with art directors and illustrators that have been in my company for years, so we have a polished language for debating ideas and coming up with something that feels fresh, unique and adequate. And the rule is: If we don’t like it, we don’t pitch it.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Federico> My background is a strange mix of industries (I co-founded 3dar in 2003). So we’ve worked in industries such as architectural, experiential, AR, VFX, film, TV in all sorts of different roles. I try to understand what the goals are, and what the situation is asking for. And this seems super obvious but I’ve seen hundreds of cases where someone is approaching with some great added value here and there but failing to perceive these contextual scenarios. Some people take great pride in mentioning the things they will refuse to do. I’m always curious and ready to find the angle. I know that to get on board I have to find something I’m passionate about, and an element that my team will like to get their hands on. And once we’ve done that, it’s a process of sustained curiosity and discovery.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Federico> I would say the agency. Some of the projects we do have enormous complexity, technical, creative, etc. But the problems are always human. Our teams are already a unified body but in each project we come in contact with a different client and agency. Creativity is great when surrounded by a strong support system. And some of the challenges in creating an ad are a complex mixture of limitations and contradicting facts that are hard to navigate. As a director you are also a communicator of facts, processes and expectations, and I personally put a lot of effort in creating a dialogue that both parties enjoy and grow from. Achieving surprising results. But following a predictable process.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Federico> I love animation and comedy. It's my bread and butter. I love mixing animation with live action which I rarely see done well. And I have the most fun directing on set thinking of adding 3D characters to the footage. I love everything that has weird absurd characters and things that let me explore new venues of character design. And I won't lie, I like big projects, there’s great excitement in commanding a massive ship with hundreds of people on board. Give me a great script and a big challenge and I won’t care much about the rest.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Federico> Coming from animation we see a repetitive pattern: The idea that everything can be changed at any stage. And it’s not that you can’t. But it would be a little crazy to shoot a commercial just to replace the cast once you’re done. It’s possible… but you’ll have to film twice. We see that there’s a fear of showing unfinished material to the ultimate decision maker until it looks gorgeous, which is usually when it’s done and that is when the comments arrive. We learned to live with it and we are not surprised when it happens but we usually advise our clients in ways to avoid this.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Federico> No.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Federico> One week before releasing the Earth video, Dave Burd (AKA rapper Lil Dicky) decided to change the outfit of his character that appeared in about four minutes of the five minute video. We were already doing colour grading! Someone said the wardrobe was offensive so we had to replace it with a tabby loincloth. The Earth day was nine days away and Dave was adamant in his request. We worked with a special kind of tactical team of mad CG scientists analysing each shot and developing custom 3D patches. Patching like this is extra dangerous because no further change can be done. The shot looks perfect but it’s constructed in the most deceiving way. We call it cobweb shots. A team of about 45 digital artists spent the following seven days pulling all-nighters to fix it. In the end nobody noticed it (and the video had 350MM views so I consider it a success).
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Federico> I try not to be stubborn if I find myself alone liking an idea. Before proposing anything I really make sure it’s an idea they need. What excites me has to align with what they need. But even if my idea is great, someone might prefer going another way. That is why having personal projects is so important for me as a director. Projects in which I get to make all the decisions my way. And I don’t carry that frustration around when working for someone else’s project. I love bringing big and ambitious ideas to the table but when I see that it’s not a realistic pursuit I take some time to make a little duel and move on. If I see there’s a colossal mistake being made and that it’s hurting the project beyond personal preferences I can be way more persuasive. But even then I try to see the role I was brought in for. Companies are complicated beasts. Usually by the first time we talk I get a good sense of how much freedom I will get and set my expectations accordingly.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Federico> I love collaboration! And certainly everybody is welcome. It is a competitive world with an insanely high bar for results so mentorships and apprentices have to be somehow facilitated. As a company we often have to take down work because we have a team but not enough directors. Can you believe that? I used to think this was a dream job but in practice it is so much responsibility that it is very hard to find suitors. You have to be brave, eloquent, creative and humble all at the same time, and there’s very little room for mistakes. So any system that makes it an easier ladder is most welcomed.
LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time?
Federico> Animation projects are different from live action. I live in Los Angeles and my whole team is based in Buenos Aires, so my life was already remote before covid. I developed a whole toolkit that makes it very efficient. If you communicate well you can get great results regardless of where you are. If you communicate poorly you might be sitting next to someone and fail. But the reasons to gather are not practical but emotional. I like meeting people in person. And I think even large companies have already figured out that everyone apart from each other doesn’t work long term. Not talking for a year or two. Do you see everybody working from home for five or 10 years? It’s a lonely life. But that’s an opinion, I might be wrong. For the record, I like people.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Federico> It’s a good question. In an ideal world we would plan a release strategy for each format having an individual debate per release. But in practice what happens is that the most anxious formats, such as the TikToks or Instagrams require a quicker unfolding of the story. I try to think of them all when storyboarding but trying not to weaken the main piece because of the adaptation. It’s a delicate tugging. And brace yourself because a lot is going to change in the coming years.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?
Federico> We keep ourselves extra aware of everything that comes out as it comes out or even before. It happened with VR seven years ago and it’s now happening with mixed reality. We made the Fastcompany 2022 list of the 10 most innovative companies in virtual reality. And we are in the 2023 World’s 50 most innovative companies. AI is a revolution right now and we are implementing it in our daily tasks. As things evolve, the added value that you provide as a human is continuously changing, so it’s a call to be brave and to stay young. Every new technology has a hype period where a new tool is used mostly for its novelty and then it stabilises so you can know which added values are here to stay. We try to see one step ahead and not copy what is happening already but see a potential future use for creativity for the post hype period.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Federico> I think the Earth video summarises a lot of our capabilities in creating great characters, backgrounds and comedy. I also loved creating the Eggscape ad because it’s the first time I wrote an ad for a product that is ours. Creating an entire game was a fabulous challenge and making the ad for it was like the culmination of that. We got to be as absurd as we wanted, also knowing that the product allowed it.
