UPA: 1942–1948 After being fired from Disney Studios, Hubley briefly worked at Columbia's Screen Gems under Dave Fleischer. Hubley called Flesicher one of "one of the world's intellectual lightweights". Hubley disliked his work at Screen Gems, but Flesicher's detachment from the employees allowed Hubley a creative freedom he had not found at the Disney Studio. On November 23, 1942, Hubley enlisted in the United States Armed Forces to work in the First Motion Picture Unit, an independent film production unit in the Air Force. Here, Hubley directed animated training films related to flight safety and firearm equipment. Though uncredited, Old Blackout Joe (1942) was Hubley's first time directing. Hubley's time in the Air Force was leisurely, and he "got to go home every night" and "spent half [his] time drawing [gags] and passing them around". The Air Force had few expectations for how the films should aesthetically look or feel, allowing Hubley and his team near-complete creative control. Hubley, who had grown increasingly more interested in the works of modern artists like Paul Klee, pushed his films to have flat, abstract visuals. Since the films were often uncredited, it is unknown how many films Hubley directed for the First Motion Picture Unit, but Flight Safety: Landing Accidents (1946) was likely his last. In 1943, Hubley was contacted by the United Automobile Workers (UAW), who were looking to hire Hubley to produce a short film endorsing Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1944 Presidential Election. Hubley took the project to the newly-formed Industrial Film and Poster Service, which was soon renamed to United Productions of America (UPA). The film, Hell-Bent for Election (1944), was storyboarded by Hubley and directed by Chuck Jones. At UPA, Hubley found the creative freedom he had yearned for his entire career. The UAW was pleased with Hell-Bent for Election and hired UPA for The Brotherhood of Man (1946), a film on race relations. Hubley co-wrote the film and led the production design. With both UAW films, Hubley pushed for a modernist aesthetic of sleek lines, flat shapes, and bold colors that were completely unique to UPA's films. By 1947, Hubley had been promoted to vice president and creative head of UPA. That same year, UPA founder Stephen Bosustow struck a distribution deal with Columbia: UPA would produce several "trial" films for the studio using Columbia's cartoon stars The Fox and The Crow. If the films were a