Tell us a bit about Eighty Four Films
At its core Eighty Four Films is me, Jim Dirschberger, an editor/director/animator making weird films for my own sanity and entertainment.

I originally formed my company as a platform for my friends and I to release our short films. Since then it’s slowly evolved into a site that is 100% me.

What is Eighty Four Films currently working on?
We’re currently wrapping post-production on our first feature documentary, currently entitled Honest Man: The Life of R.Budd Dwyer. Honest Man chronicles the rise and fall of R.Budd Dwyer, a Pennsylvania state treasure who infamously took his own life on live television.

We’re also developing a children’s cartoon series for television and launching a few animated web series via www.ForestCityRockers.com

Where is the company located?
We’re located in San Francisco but we’ve also done quite a few projects out of Buffalo, NY. Go Bills!

Tell us about this movie you made, titled “The Seafarers – Sea of Love”. What was the message behind it?
When you watch the film you’ll notice that the main characters, The Seafarers, fail their mission. They don’t get their reward but they walk away feeling good because they’ve attained something greater than any tangible reward. This message resonates with me because it’s one I’m very familiar with.

I’ve never won anything and I’ve rarely gotten the reward but I believe that as long as you can learn something you’ll always progress and be successful. I know that’s a very “Sesame Street” way of looking at it, I mean, who doesn’t want to win? Who doesn’t want the reward? But at some point you have to look beyond those things at the bigger picture. I think everyone needs to lose sometimes. Frequent success is one the worst things that could happen to you because you end up denying yourself a proper gestation period. That can be dangerous; everyone needs time to grow into their own.

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The Seafarers – Sea of Love from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

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What were the challenges during the project and how you went around it?
My number one enemy has been and will always be deadlines. Since Sea of Love was to premiere at the artist’s gallery opening we only had so much time to burn. This left little room for mistakes so everything had to be a home run. Luckily we finished early and were able to do some revisions but it was still a grueling 2 weeks. That said, I would totally do it again…and I have!

What would be your strangest assignment you have done? Why so?
I think everything I’ve done is pretty weird but I’d have to say that Skinner’s Hell Dream was the most odd project I’ve ever done. Animating homo-erotic warriors, a demon’s green penis and the fetus zombie was some of the weirder encounters I had on the project.

When the animation premiered at Skinner’s art show I remember watching a woman walk up to the video just as the naked green demon came on the screen. As soon as she saw the demon’s gross green wiener she turned and walked away quickly. That shocked me. I had never experienced that kind of reaction before. When I post things online I really have no idea how people are reacting. I’m totally isolated from that. But her reaction was swift and precise and I was crushed.

Later that night I noticed a small group of women watching the cartoon. My stomach sank. I was scared to death but I couldn’t help studying their reactions. I kept imagining them throwing up, smashing the tv and then walking away, totally disgusted. But they didn’t! They were laughing and clapping and it was one of the best things I’ve ever experience. I later introduced myself to them and they told me how much they liked it. How rad is that? I’m very grateful to have worked with Skinner on that cartoon. I can’t wait until we can team up again.

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Skinner’s Hell Dream from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

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How do you envision Eighty Four Films 5 years from now?
Well if all of our current plans pan out we’ll have a cartoon or two on television, a few features under our belts and hot and cold running chicks all the time. I’d also like to setup a small studio with Jay Howell and produce collaborative animations all day, everyday. Anything is possible, right?

A great creative person is…..
Everyone I’ve worked with! Jay Howell, Skinner, Ferris Plock, Kelly Tunstall, Porous Walker, Paul Schilens, Adam Wroblewski. They all possess a drive and sense of humor that pushes me to work harder and never throw in the towel. They’re supportive and, more importantly, they know what they want. There’s no bullshit.

Could you share any insight for people just entering the field?
Practice. Always get/give feedback. Collaborate. Experiment. Make mistakes.

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The Forest City Rockers – Episode 3 from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

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Who is the person you look up to in this industry? Why so?
I’ve been influenced and inspired by too many people to name but if I had to pick one at random I would choose Tom Bunk.

Tom’s a fantastic artist who does regular work for Mad Magazine. His style and sense of humor had a huge impact on my aesthetic sensibilities while I was growing up. His drawings are epic sprawling scenes, littered in trash, rendered with a level of detail that I had rarely seen anywhere else.

I used to spend hours looking over his artwork. It fueled my creativity, inspired me to start drawing and eventually start animating. He’s one of the reasons I still, at the age of 25, buy Mad Magazine.

If you have online portfolio (website/awards/credits/client’s showcase), what is the URL?
www.eightyfourfilms.com

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Land of the Crabapples from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

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The Seafarers – Island of Horrors from Eighty Four Films on Vimeo.

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