In January 1935, Hecht and his friend Josef Berne were given the go ahead to direct their own Technicolor (using the three-strip process) short at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The color process was still considered a novelty at the time, making this deal, for a new director, quite a generous one. "Gypsy Night" (known under the working title "Song of the Gypsies") was produced by Harry Rapf from a story by Richard Goldstone. The short was filmed throughout March and April. Through cinematography and lighting Hecht and Berne "emphasized on particular colors which most effectively carried out the moods of the music in each scene", a concept that Disney somewhat recreated half a decade later in "Fantasia".