Elk Grove Animator Behind Weird Al Yankovic's 'Word Crimes' Music Video
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — An Elk Grove man had a hand in one of a series of music videos released by Weird Al Yankovic to promote his new album.
Yankovic's parody of Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" called "Word Crimes features Jarrett Heather's animation.
"I guess I have to give up my amateur status," Heather said.
Earlier this year, the IT tech for the California Department of Food and Agriculture was contacted by Weird Al personally after the star saw some of his animations online.
Heather couldn't believe his childhood idol was actually asking for help. He's been a big fan for years and remembers "Eat It" when it came out when he was 7 years old.
"I've been a huge fan of Al's work ever since then," he said.
30 years later, Sony Records asked the self-taught animator to deliver for the single on Yankovic's first No. 1 album, Mandatory Fun.
"As soon as I said yes I went into panic mode that I might fail my childhood hero," Heather said.
The video was one of a series released last week to promote the album's release. "Word Crimes" has already cracked 11 million views on YouTube.
Heather collects royalty checks each time the video is played online, but he says he enjoys his work with the state.
"If Pixar were to call I would definitely listen to them," he said laughing.
He manages to stay busy restoring classic arcade games when he's not spending time with his 7-year-old son.
