Matthew Salton animates the remarkable story of musician Richard Atkins

Richard Twice by Portland-based filmmaker Matthew Salton tells the story of “shoulda-been” Richard Atkins that is equal parts heartwarming and heart-aching. It showcases animation and live action, depicting Richard’s remarkable story of learning the guitar after being involved in a motorbike accident that left him an amputee. Within two years, Richard was releasing his debut psychedelic folk album, however, a disastrous gig led him to quit the music industry, become a woodworker and stop listening to music altogether for a while.

Matthew, and editor Andy Berner, spent two-and-a-half years working weekends and nights on the piece editing down over six hours of interview footage. Adamant that the film should remain around the ten-minute mark, it took Matthew a while to find the essence of the tale and he was forced to leave out many of Richard’s anecdotes. “For instance, Richard met the woman who ran him over many years later. He had moved to a town in California with his family and his neighbour ended up being this same lady. They discovered this after some time and ended up being important people in each other’s lives,” Matthew told us.

The film is narrated by Richard and largely depicted in Matthew’s unique style of hand-drawn animation. It’s exclusively black and white, featuring fluid transitions that add lightness and humour to the, at times, sad story. The combination of animation and live action can be hard to balance, however, Matthew “knew that making a movie with just a talking head wouldn’t feel inspiring for what I wanted to achieve.” As Richard had almost no photos or film from that era, he would have had to recreate everything. “I’ve always drawn throughout my life and figured this might be a good opportunity to try animation,” says Matthew. Although, setting the tone of the character design and completing a lot of the drawings, Matthew worked with friends who contributed different segments to the film.

The use of live action towards the end of the film introduces an altogether different tone. It presents an epilogue with Richard in the present day acting as a stark reminder that the story is real – it’s Richard’s life. Despite this, the story does ultimately have a happy ending. You’ll have to watch it to find out…