Interview with Heather Colbert, Director of Stop Motion Music Video for Mark Nevin's "Dolly Said No To Elvis"

Dolly Said No To Elvis cover image. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

It’s a beautiful thing to see an artist – whether budding amateur or an experienced professional – stand up for themselves when in the face of a “business” decision. It’s the moment when an artist who knows their own worth and the worth of their work puts their foot down and stands by their own fortitude, even when they know that doing so could very well affect their reputation, at least in the short-run. Yet, such an display of resolve in quite a large number of artists is so often – sadly, too often – a rarity.

For one reason or another, the bane of many artists seems their willingness to bend to external “business” and financial demands when it comes between them and their art. The reasons for conceding are often complex and intertwined. For some, it might be a decision that’s made for financial reasons and the simple fact that an artistic career can so often be a hard thing to sustain and take “seriously.” Quite simply, it’s rare to see an artist with a businessman’s tenacity, often to the detriment of many artists. The price of art and the expertise of an artist’s hand can also be equally hard to relegate and quantify. Thus, many artists bend. Even still, there are stories of resilience, of times when artists have stood up for their art and believed in both themselves and their work in the face of such decisions, and, thus – especially because of their unfortunate scarcity – shine brightly, beacons of hope to artists of all kinds.

Final image from Dolly Said No To Elvis. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

Heather Colbert, in her most recent stop motion music video – acoustic pop/rock artist Mark Nevin’s Dolly Said No To Elvis – tells one of these incredible stories: The time when legendary country music star Dolly Parton, quite simply, told Elvis Presley – or, more precisely, Elvis’s manager, Thomas Andrew “Colonel Tom” Parker – “no” when it came to a particularly difficult “business” decision.

“Elvis Presley, years ago, wanted to record my song ‘I Will Always Love You,’” Parton begins, telling the story in this interview. “He had it worked up and had planned to do it and was in town to do the session and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker – who was a brilliant man, by the way – called to say, at the last minute, that they only recorded songs that they had half the publishing on. I wouldn’t give them half the publishing because I couldn’t because that’s just stuff that I planned to keep for my family and to keep in my own catalogue. That meant that Elvis didn’t get to sing the song. Hopefully he was as disappointed as I was because he loved the song and I wanted to hear him sing it,” Parton admits. “But that was just one of those business decisions that I had to make. I don’t blame Colonel Tom but I still wish I could have heard Elvis sing ‘I Will Always Love You.’”

"The Colonel" puppet in Dolly Said No To Elvis. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

“I admire a lot of people in the business – not just women but men as well. I appreciate anybody with true talent. I especially appreciate artists that also write and I appreciate people that are just bold enough to get out there and do what they do and do it without fear. It’s what I’ve always tried to do,” Parton elaborates in the interview. Although in the interview she was specifically referring to artists involved in the music industry, her words stand true for artists of every kind, working in any medium. There should be no exception for artists who work in the animation industry.

A brilliant exploration of the storytelling potential of Nevin’s charming tune, Dolly Said No To Elvis is set with the backdrop of a beautiful and idyllic wilderness of pinks and browns. Positioned snugly in the countryside is Parton’s farmhouse and a fence upon which Parton sits, composing songs until “The Colonel” pays her a visit.

A behind-the-scenes photo from the film displaying the moment when "The Colonel" first confronts Dolly Parton. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

Dolly Said No to Elvis has now gone viral and at the time of writhing this has reached over 134,000 views on Vimeo, all in the mere month since its release.

Dolly's shadow grows immensely large, overshadowing "The Colonel" as he grasps Dolly's firm decision not to sell the rights to her song. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

I have recently had the pleasure of interviewing Heather about her work on the project. (our second interview with Heather, the centerpiece of the first being her stop motion music video for jazz musician Ori Dagan’s tribute to Nat King Cole – Bibimbap – which you can read here). In our interview, Heather tells us about her creative process behind Dolly Said No To Elvis and how she came upon the revelation to re-tell Parton’s story using metaphor. She also tells us about how she dealt with the challenges of the film, both technical and story-wise. Furthermore, she tells us about the lessons she learned from Parton’s story and how she is going to plan to implement them into her philosophy for how to manage her artistic career. You can read our interview below in full.

A.H. Uriah: In our previous interview, when talking about your creative process behind Bibimbap, one of the things you said was that you started with Ori Dagan’s song and used it as your creative compass for brainstorming the visual side of that music video, saying that you “listened to the track over and over again, watching what happened in my head.” Can you tell us a little about your initial creative process on Dolly Said No to Elvis and where your work on the project began?

Heather Colbert: Mark Nevin initially approached Joseph Wallace after the launch of Edith Piaf Said it Better. Joseph was working on his new short film, so he passed the opportunity to pitch to Mark on to me. I talked to Mark over the phone about the true story and the incredible strength it must have taken Dolly to say no to ‘The King’ in that stage in her career. He told me he wanted the video to be a celebration of her confidence.

Conceptual drawings for the film. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

So it was a similar process to start the project - when I listened to the track on repeat, I began to see the moments in the conversation where the power shifted from one to the other. I heard the cockiness leaving Colonel’s voice as he realises he’s losing the argument, his arrogance gradually crumbling as he works out that Dolly is not going to budge! I saw Dolly standing tall over the Colonel – no longer naïve but confident and in control.

The song is a simplified version of the legend – in real life Dolly has said she wished she could have heard Elvis sing her song; just not on those terms.

Dolly puppet in the making. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

I started to research the two main characters, collecting reference images from that era, sketching both of them repeatedly until I found their defining characteristics that I could simplify and exaggerate in the puppets.

Props from the film set out on display. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

A.H.: In our previous interview, you mentioned that you “find some limitations useful, because it gives a foundation to build up from.” What kind of limitations did you either encounter or otherwise enforce upon yourself on Dolly Said No To Elvis and how did you work within and build on top of these restraints?

HC: At first the true story the song re-tells did seem like a constraint. I felt I could not stray too far away because the strength of the song comes from the fact that it’s true – it was a real decision Dolly made. But once I had worked out the metaphor of using size to symbolise confidence or control, it meant I had a bit more freedom to make the visual story more striking and imaginative.

Dolly's guitar in the midst of being constructed. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The nearly finished guitar prop from the film. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

Also, the tight time scale was a limitation on the techniques I could use. Having made Bibimbap in 3 months, I knew this project had the potential to be bigger in every sense, but this time I had 2 months! A discipline I learnt from working for and learning from Joseph was to always keep the big picture in mind while you work on the individual stages; to pace the tasks and not get lost in the detail (as I think my illustrator’s mind tends to do), so that the demanding workload remains realistic.

Dolly's armature in the midst of being constructed. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

An unpainted sculpt of Dolly's head in the making. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The armatures for Dolly's hands. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

A.H.: In many respects, Dolly Said No To Elvis seems a far more ambitious project than Bibimbap. One of the ways you really set the bar anew on this project was with the amount of expression and emotional range you were able to get out of your puppets with a very minimalist approach (the only changing facial elements that I could detect were a few blinks and the moment at 2:02 when the Colonel opens his mouth), which was something I was quite impressed with. What philosophy did you take in approaching the performances to display a range of emotions in your characters – namely Dolly and the Colonel – especially keeping in mind how few changes you used for your characters’ facial expressions? Furthermore, how did your approach to character animation on Dolly Said No To Elvis differ from your approach to the character animation on Bibimbap?

HC: Firstly, thank you so much! I really did try to push myself further with this opportunity to make another music video. It is an emotional story, her intellectual property is at stake, so improving my performance animation was vital. I had taken away so much from Petér and Joseph’s workshop at Primanima – but the idea of acting and performance being a skill an animator needs was a big change in my practice.

The scene where The Colonel blows a puff of smoke in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert. 

The scene where The Colonel blows a puff of smoke in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The time restraints meant I could not afford to make separate Sculpey faces for the different emotions. At one point I did consider using paper faces with the 3D puppets, to give the characters a range of expressions. However I decided against this, as it would have been too distracting. So I spent a lot more time in the story-boarding stage (acting it out in my room!), making sure there was enough body language and bigger gestures to express the different emotions. The armatures for Dolly and the Colonel were much more flexible than Ori in Bibimbap, so it was easier to animate them in a more realistic way.

Side view of Dolly's boot. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

Front view of Dolly's boot. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

It is still peculiar, I know her face doesn’t move, but – maybe because of her sassy posture while she drums her fingers - people have said they swear her expression is unimpressed and annoyed! I think I was just a lot less nervous of moving the puppets with Dolly. (This might be why she broke twice during filming!) Bibimbap allowed me to begin to learn about timing movements with the music, and Dolly is where I have really tried to put emotion and energy into the character animation.

The set from the film in the midst of being constructed. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

A.H.: Another way that Dolly Said No To Elvis proves to have been more ambitious a project than Bibimbap is in terms of scale. Throughout the entire film, you play with the scale of your puppets and sets. I should say that you really do a marvelous job at utilizing scale to tell the story in the best way it can be told. For example, you play with the scale of your characters at 1:01 by exemplifying a very tall Colonel and a very tiny Dolly. You reverse this at 2:03, where you have a very tiny Colonel and a very tall Dolly (I should mention that your animation of the Colonel in the scene where he is running amuck never ceases to make me laugh). In terms of scale, your sensibilities at these times remind me of the French stop motion series A Town Called Panic. Can you tell us about the decision-making that went into playing with the scale, as well as the technical specs of the scale you were working on? What kind of challenges did utilizing alternating scale present?

HC: That’s brilliant, thank you! I’m glad he makes you chuckle! Yes, the idea of scale came very early on – I was keen to add something to the narrative – rather than have a straight retelling of the story in the song. I had so many ideas about how to create the effect, but eventually I had to be realistic and use simple methods of changing the scale.

A large-scale Dolly picking up the small-scale Colonel in the film. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

A large-scale Colonel looking down at a small-scale Dolly. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

I think the combination of methods works; changing the scale of the environment, two sizes of puppets and having them ‘grow’ off camera – using hints like the shadow was the most practical and realistic way – but I would have loved to try other methods. If I had access to a camera rig, it would have been great to have some slow ominous tilts of the puppets, starting from their shoes.

The Colonel's small-scale armature in the midst of being made. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The Dolly and Colonel armatures next to each other. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The Colonel puppet in the midst of being made. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The full size puppets were around 20cm tall and the mini versions were between 5 and 6cm. The tiny puppets were so fun to animate with, especially the Colonel, who was just a wire ‘Starfish’ skeleton sewn into a suit made of tights material, so he was really flexible and I could make him wriggle and writhe very satisfyingly.

The scene where Dolly's large-scale hand picks up the small-scale Colonel in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The face for the Colonel on such a small scale was tricky, though. He needed a bit of patching up later on, but this meant I could give his face more expression during the final ‘hide and seek’ scenes, using TVPaint in post-production.

Large-scale Dolly winding up to throw The Colonel far away. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

A.H.: I see that Joseph Wallace is credited on Dolly Said No To Elvis as a mentor. What kind of involvement did Joseph have in the project and what lessons did you learn from him?

HC: On top of introducing me to Mark Nevin, Joseph, along with my friend Roos Mattaar, were both really helpful during the shoot; for example if I had a technical question about file formats or reducing flicker. Roos actually lent me her manual lenses for the project! It was just so valuable – working on my own – to know there was someone to ask outside my little animation cave! As well as the technical help, and the ‘big picture’ mantra I mentioned earlier, what was equally important was the confidence in my abilities I gained from working under his direction in the Edith Piaf video and at the Primanima workshop.

The Colonel puppet. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

Scene where The Colonel is looking through bushes in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

Separate pieces of The Colonel's body. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

A.H.: Dolly Said No To Elvis is based on quite an amazing and important true story about confidence, nonconformity, and self-belief. It also displays principals that are sadly uncommon in creative industries, as creatives, while very, very good at their craft, too often undervalue and undersell their work and talent without ever really “knowing” what their talent is really worth. What did you learn from Dolly’s story and are there any lessons that you learned from it that you plan on implementing in your career in the animation industry?

HC: That is such a lovely question! The idea that this song was a celebration of female confidence and self-belief was really what made me want to do this project. Researching her I was in awe of her creative spirit and the fact she doesn’t take herself too seriously!

The Dolly puppet in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The Dolly puppet in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

I tried to keep her philosophy in mind throughout the project; when things weren’t going well, or I was doubting my ability to create this film on my own. It really helped to remind myself of the story I was trying to tell.

The Colonel's contract prop. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

The scene where Dolly rips The Colonel's contract in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

I have tried to ‘channel’ Dolly after making this video. I’ve been much bolder with the promotion of the film; in sending it out to people I have not approached before, turning the question of ‘Why would they want to see it’, to ‘Why not’! What would Dolly do? It has given me such a boost to see it get a Staff Pick on Vimeo and for it to be featured on blogs like yours, and Directors Notes – never in my wildest imaginings did I think I would make it to one hundred thousand views!

The scene where Dolly play a tune on her guitar in the midst of being animated. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.

You can learn more about Heather and explore more of her work by visiting her website, Vimeo, and Instagram.

You can stream and buy “Dolly Said No To Elvis” and you can explore more of Nevin’s work on iHeartRadio, YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, and TuneIn.

It should also be noted that Stop Motion Geek has also interviewed two of the stop motion artists who Heather mentioned in our interview – Roos Mattaar and Joseph Wallace – about their work on various projects. If you’re interested, you can read our interview with Joseph Wallace about his work on the stop motion music video for Spark’s Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me) by going here. You can read our first interview with Roos Mattaar about her work on Father John Misty’s Things It Would Have Been Helpful To Know Before The Revolution by going here and our second interview with her – the focal point of which was her work on Edith Piaf (Said It Better Than Me) – by going here. You can read our previous interview with Heather Colbert by going here.

You can watch Dolly Said No to Elvis by going here.

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Finished still from Dolly Said No To Elvis. Photo courtesy of Heather Colbert.