Movie: Hot Air Hippo
Director: Nicholas Snyder
Hi Nicholas! Welcome to BCIFF
You have directed this film marvelously. We would love to know your journey
and what brought you this far!
Thank you, I could not have achieved such a result without the other crew members.
My journey started back when I was a child, and my father shared his passion for
films with me. Primarily horrors and “spaghetti westerns”, a perfect combo as I am
Italian/American. I studied film production in Norway, in a little town called
Kristiansand. I was fortunate enough to work on several Norwegian productions as a
set production assistant and as a script supervisor. When I moved to Brussels 10
years ago, I continued to make movies while acting in some international productions.
The turning point came when I directed and produced the medium-length movie
“The Astrology of Pandemics”, available on DVD and several platforms,
including Amazon Prime Video and Tubi.
What made you come up with such a concept?
My father, Mike Snyder, worked primarily on the story. He is an illustrator by
profession. Here’s what he says about this:
“The hot air hippo was inspired by an image.
Photographer unknown, from a random Reader’s Digest magazine, page torn out
and kept. The hippo is standing in long grass, perfectly symmetrical in shape, facing
us, seemingly impassive, but something in his eyes tells you a lot is going on inside.
Since his feet are hidden by the grass, the image immediately suggested a hot air balloon.
The idea of this silent sentinel gliding thru the skies, observing, sometimes intervening in
events, developed slowly over the years.”
As for the form of animation, we went for a 2.5D parallax technique as it conveys an
“eerie” yet elegant feel and texture to the film.
What was your source of inspiration for this film?
I love Studio Ghibli and Miyazaki’s animation style. The artistic surrealism abundantly
present in Brussels, where I currently live, has influenced me as well.
Who is your target audience for the film?
I hope everybody, regardless of age. Given the theme and storyline, I would say
people who like animation, animals, the environment, classical music and
symbolic/metaphorical films. A funny story is that the film was shown to a classroom
of young students in Italy, who were assigned to write a short essay about it. The resulting
essays were quite astonishing as they had different interpretations of the film.
There is a key storyline present in the movie, but I love seeing people interpret it
differently based on their life experiences and values.
Do you think this fantasy adventure movie will be able to intrigue the
audience?
I hope so! It is a dreamlike film that delves deep into themes of how we relate to non-
human animals and the environment, while highlighting the importance of music as a
universal language and a communicative bridge between humans and non-human
animals.
With experience in both documentary and fiction films, which one is your
favorite?
I like both. Each has its own unique way and techniques to tell a story. What I find
most appealing is the story itself and the audience’s reaction, whether it is emotional
or intellectual.
You have included music in this fantasy film too. Why so? Did it make a
difference to the short film?
Absolutely. As the story includes an opera singer and her orchestra, I found it
necessary to have her sing and have an ad hoc music composition for the film. This
is where Derrick Werlé became part of the team. He is a French music composer and
orchestrator based in Los Angeles, who has worked with Hans Zimmer and Cristopher
Nolan. He orchestrated the soundtrack for the movie “Dunkirk” by Nolan, which
I highly recommend.
It was a pleasure to have him onboard. I could sense his professionalism and
passion from the very first call I had with him. I look forward to working with him
in future projects.
Another key component for the music was Italian mezzo-soprano Valentina Volpe
Andreazza, who lent us her beautiful singing voice for the movie. We recorded at a
studio in Milan, Italy, and had Derrick on Zoom during the entire recording session.
Derrick’s professionalism is admirable; he had to wake up at 4 a.m. due to the time
difference between LA and Milan. Overall, the music enhances and is an essential
component of the film. You may have noticed that the animals in the story try to sing
along with the opera singer.
The film score Derrick composed for our film is called “Flodhestaheitaloftbelgurinn”,
an Icelandic title meaning “Hot Air Hippo”.
Are you fond of music? What kind of music do you like?
Yes, very much. I listen to a lot of types of music: jazz, blues, rock, country, classical,
folk, world music, flamenco and reggae. I enjoy singing and playing guitar as well.
I remember when I was in Norway, my Serbian friend Rade studied music and played
violin in the philharmonic orchestra. Whenever he invited me to his concerts at the
Krisitansand’s concert hall I would close my eyes and create a film in my head
inspired by the music. It was a relaxing and meditative experience.
Any plans for your next project?
I am currently writing my first feature film about two brothers and would like to include
some animation sequences. As for “Hot Air Hippo” who knows…the hippo might come
back for other adventures…
We loved your fantasy film. Did you enjoy working with us?
Thank you very much. I enjoyed working with you and I look forward to the following
editions of the BCIFF festival.
Last but not least, I would like to thank all the crew members in addition to Valentina,
Derrick and my father. The co-producer and animation team manager, Yannick
Mourcia, who formed an excellent team of animators, composed by: Shana Journo,
Andrey Brunkowski and Khyel Calanuga. Thanks also to our sound engineer,
Maxime Delobelle.
