Craft
Interview with multi-talented director Wendy McColm - The Scout
Director Wendy McColm talks to us about her latest quirky comedic spot for &OtherStories.
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Comedy sells, but, as any director who's tried to get the audience laughing will know, it's pretty much the hardest genre to get right. LA based, multi-hyphenated director-actress-comedian-writer Wendy McColm may be known for her funny stints front of camera in ‘How I Met Your Mother’ & ‘Community’ but has also developed a distinctly quirky directorial style behind it. Far from obvious, her humour is often found in the uncomfortable exchanges between people or in a surreal character quirk, leaving us laughing at the everyday absurdities we would usually try to squirm away from.
In her latest spot - a fashion film for &OtherStories - Wendy presents us with the slightly eccentric personality of French fashion blogger Jeanne Damas as she shows us around her Parisian apartment, giving us glimpses of her stylish wardrobe and peculiar (possibly self-indulgent) idiosyncrasies. It is this Godard-does-Cribs flair which turns McColm's short into something far more entertaining and memorable than your average fashion film's formula, with a nice twist waiting at the end!
We enjoyed this piece so much we decided to quiz the wit behind it and pick her brains to find out what her ideas were and what makes her laugh.
You've written, directed and stared in a number of your own shorts and have a distinctively quirky style and humour. How much creative freedom did you have and were you heavily involved in the concept and script for this spot? Was it entirely your idea or was it dreamt up by a creative?
Well, surprisingly &OtherStories gave me a lot of freedom. They actually approached me looking for a video with a twist at the end. That was the only requirement. So, I thought of a few concepts and they happened to like them.
Why do you think the brand decided to approach you as the director? Were they looking for something very specific in terms of style and end product, and were they hoping for more of a narrative driven project?
They did approach me because they had several directors that just weren't doing it for them. They wanted something that wasn't straight fashion, so after seeing my films they decided to give me a shot. &OtherStories wanted to make their first narrative so they reached out on a whim. I think it was a great fit for what I had to offer and what they wanted.
There's something distinctly feminine about this video but not in the typical male-gaze sense of women being primarily pretty objects. Did you try to create a sense of 'femininity from the point of view of women' and 'girls can be funny too,' or were you trying to turn the notion of a fashion film on its head?
I don't think I really ever want to have the mentality "Girls can be funny too". For me, it is more of a feeling and an extreme reality. In this case, the character played by Jeanne is a girl who loves her clothes, and she is beautiful and feminine, but what she hides behind closed doors and deep down is that she truly is sad. That to me is humorous.... maybe I'm sick, who knows.
Do you personally feel that female directors are underrepresented in the industry as there seems to be far fewer about? Have you encountered any everyday issues that make it more of a struggle breaking out as a woman-director?
You know, I really dislike the term 'woman-director', or a female editor. Or woman writer, because that segregates us all more than helping. If we said male-boom operator, male-editor, male-director Spike Jonze then I'll get behind woman-director questions. Elaine May, Penny Marshall... we've been around, and when we all start thinking that way it will become the norm. Using the word struggling, is a good way to keep women down, but if people really wanted it to be equal they wouldn't refer to anyone men or women as struggling.
Obviously you get to see the clothes in this spot but it still feels more like a short film than anything else as the fashion element doesn't take centre stage. How did you strike this balance and were you concerned with trying to sell the product while you were in the shooting process?
During the shooting process it was definitely something the client needed. We had set outfits, and they needed me to capture them head to toe in one frame or another. That was in the back of my head the whole time while creating the shot list. Even though I was happy to disguise to the advertisement itself, I wanted to make sure the client got what they wanted as well.
How did your experiences at The Upright Citizens Brigade influence your work and did you always see yourself going into comedy as both an actress and a director?
UCB really helped me work with people and try new things. Especially with the coaching of Neil Campbell, helping me see that the best things are usually done with full effort, 110%. At a young age I had already been a part of improv teams and competitions, but I have always loved dramatic plays and took part in those as well. I think that left me in a weird place in life, turning me to dark comedy.
There's something very "Amelie" about this spot and it has a distinctly Parisian look and central character. Was this French theme important to you and do you feel it turned out very differently than if you had been filming it back in the US?
At first, the film was supposed to be shot in New York. I had actually written several different scripts for another actress. That didn't work out, and next thing I knew it was to be shot in France, in French. I have to say, after writing so many different ideas, everything just molded together perfectly, and the feel was meant to be spoken by French lips. So yes, it would have been told a bit differently- probably darker, here in the states.
What drew you to working with Jeanne Damas, were you familiar with her blog beforehand?
Jeanne was introduced to me as the client's choice, and I am very very please, tickled even, by her performance and how it turned out. I was not familiar with her, but I must say looking up a lot of her previous work, or exploitations, as I saw it, really inspired me to want to see what else this human could do.
We loved this film but it was the twist at the end that really made it for us. Do you like surprising your audiences and making them wait for the comic reveal?
Ha, I don't know. I just like to do what excites me in the moment while writing it. I see humor in life and I hope that these shorts or this one in particular can let people in on that mentality for just a second.
What next? Do you have more directorial projects/spots coming up or will you be getting back to some acting for a bit, or both?
Hopefully all of the above. At the moment I have just finished writing my first feature, and looking for funding. It is called "The Film of James and Mae", we aim to start filming it by the end of the year.
You can see Wendy's profile page on the Scout section of the website here.
You've written, directed and stared in a number of your own shorts and have a distinctively quirky style and humour. How much creative freedom did you have and were you heavily involved in the concept and script for this spot? Was it entirely your idea or was it dreamt up by a creative?
Well, surprisingly &OtherStories gave me a lot of freedom. They actually approached me looking for a video with a twist at the end. That was the only requirement. So, I thought of a few concepts and they happened to like them.
Why do you think the brand decided to approach you as the director? Were they looking for something very specific in terms of style and end product, and were they hoping for more of a narrative driven project?
They did approach me because they had several directors that just weren't doing it for them. They wanted something that wasn't straight fashion, so after seeing my films they decided to give me a shot. &OtherStories wanted to make their first narrative so they reached out on a whim. I think it was a great fit for what I had to offer and what they wanted.
There's something distinctly feminine about this video but not in the typical male-gaze sense of women being primarily pretty objects. Did you try to create a sense of 'femininity from the point of view of women' and 'girls can be funny too,' or were you trying to turn the notion of a fashion film on its head?
I don't think I really ever want to have the mentality "Girls can be funny too". For me, it is more of a feeling and an extreme reality. In this case, the character played by Jeanne is a girl who loves her clothes, and she is beautiful and feminine, but what she hides behind closed doors and deep down is that she truly is sad. That to me is humorous.... maybe I'm sick, who knows.
Do you personally feel that female directors are underrepresented in the industry as there seems to be far fewer about? Have you encountered any everyday issues that make it more of a struggle breaking out as a woman-director?
You know, I really dislike the term 'woman-director', or a female editor. Or woman writer, because that segregates us all more than helping. If we said male-boom operator, male-editor, male-director Spike Jonze then I'll get behind woman-director questions. Elaine May, Penny Marshall... we've been around, and when we all start thinking that way it will become the norm. Using the word struggling, is a good way to keep women down, but if people really wanted it to be equal they wouldn't refer to anyone men or women as struggling.
Obviously you get to see the clothes in this spot but it still feels more like a short film than anything else as the fashion element doesn't take centre stage. How did you strike this balance and were you concerned with trying to sell the product while you were in the shooting process?
During the shooting process it was definitely something the client needed. We had set outfits, and they needed me to capture them head to toe in one frame or another. That was in the back of my head the whole time while creating the shot list. Even though I was happy to disguise to the advertisement itself, I wanted to make sure the client got what they wanted as well.
How did your experiences at The Upright Citizens Brigade influence your work and did you always see yourself going into comedy as both an actress and a director?
UCB really helped me work with people and try new things. Especially with the coaching of Neil Campbell, helping me see that the best things are usually done with full effort, 110%. At a young age I had already been a part of improv teams and competitions, but I have always loved dramatic plays and took part in those as well. I think that left me in a weird place in life, turning me to dark comedy.
There's something very "Amelie" about this spot and it has a distinctly Parisian look and central character. Was this French theme important to you and do you feel it turned out very differently than if you had been filming it back in the US?
At first, the film was supposed to be shot in New York. I had actually written several different scripts for another actress. That didn't work out, and next thing I knew it was to be shot in France, in French. I have to say, after writing so many different ideas, everything just molded together perfectly, and the feel was meant to be spoken by French lips. So yes, it would have been told a bit differently- probably darker, here in the states.
What drew you to working with Jeanne Damas, were you familiar with her blog beforehand?
Jeanne was introduced to me as the client's choice, and I am very very please, tickled even, by her performance and how it turned out. I was not familiar with her, but I must say looking up a lot of her previous work, or exploitations, as I saw it, really inspired me to want to see what else this human could do.
We loved this film but it was the twist at the end that really made it for us. Do you like surprising your audiences and making them wait for the comic reveal?
Ha, I don't know. I just like to do what excites me in the moment while writing it. I see humor in life and I hope that these shorts or this one in particular can let people in on that mentality for just a second.
What next? Do you have more directorial projects/spots coming up or will you be getting back to some acting for a bit, or both?
Hopefully all of the above. At the moment I have just finished writing my first feature, and looking for funding. It is called "The Film of James and Mae", we aim to start filming it by the end of the year.
You can see Wendy's profile page on the Scout section of the website here.
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