Whetstone & Gendron's passion to succeed

Tell us about The Way To What's Ahead and what the inspiration behind it was? 

DW: At [production company] FWENS, we are always chasing the feeling that the world has hidden layers just beneath the surface. We love creating films that make audiences lean in and wonder what would happen if the world worked a little differently. When we heard the pitch for The Way To What's Ahead, we immediately gravitated toward it because it was an opportunity to build an entirely new reality with its own rules. 

It because it was an opportunity to build an entirely new reality with its own rules. 

MG: Exactly. The original student boards were deceptively simple: a girl jumping headfirst into a moving box, falling through space like Alice down a rabbit hole, and popping out in a new room with a guy. We wanted to help the students expand that canvas into a cinematic adventure. We worked to build out an actual relationship arc with tactile details, like moments of them first meeting on game night, to push them through the box as a tunnel of shared history. They brought the core spark. We just helped construct the vehicle.

Above: Whetstone and Gendron's Gold-winning film for U-Haul. 

You both attended film school; what was the biggest lesson you learned while studying? 

MG: I originally went through the film program at Columbia College Chicago before heading to the VCU Brandcenter. Traditional film school teaches you how to chase features or documentaries, but advertising forces a different gear. Condensing a narrative into thirty-or sixty-seconds without losing its emotional punch ended up being a much harder, faster game, and that challenge is what pulled us into commercial work. 

We had incredibly limited resources and time, so creating a set piece that large was a puzzle.

DW: But looking back, I don't think the value of film or advertising school comes from the classes alone. The biggest draw is being around other people who are just as passionate about making things. The students who get the most out of it are the ones who treat every assignment as an excuse to push beyond what's required. That is exactly what impressed us about the VCU Brandcenter team on this project. They didn't approach it like a class assignment. They treated it like a real film and pushed the idea as far as we could take it.

The different set-ups are beautifully done; how complicated were they to achieve, and which was the hardest? 

DW: The most challenging piece was definitely the large tunnel build. We had incredibly limited resources and time, so creating a set piece that large was a puzzle. Our incredible art team, led by Benny Perkins and Sonny Fleming, somehow managed to pull it off. We were building all the way up until the camera was rolling. Honestly, sometimes we were still building while the camera was rolling! 

MG: That set was crucial because it gave physical depth to the film. Without it, the memories and flashbacks wouldn't have been grounded, so it truly became the glue holding everything together.

Above: YDA-winning directors Devin Whetstone [left] and Micah Gendron.

The two main characters are great; where did you find them and why were they right for the project? 

MG: We worked with Anne Chapman for casting to help us find the right talent locally. When things didn't quite click early in the process, we pivoted, dug around a bit, and found Pete Peterson and Julia Majerscak. They carried the exact quiet emotional weight we needed to make you believe their history together without needing a ton of exposition. 

Their physical commitment was unbelievable. 

DW: And their physical commitment was unbelievable. The body work necessary to do some of these gags was part dancer, part stunt person and part contortionist. Every time we asked Julia if she could contort her body to disappear inside of our prop couch, she found a way. She pulled off the physical stunt while still nailing the emotional acting. We were blown away.

It looks like editing was an important part of the success of the film; who did you work with and how complex was the edit? 

MG: We worked with Adam Henderson at Cut & Run, and he did an amazing job. At FWENS, we always try to shoot for the edit. We made sure everything was captured practically and in-camera so that the structure was already there. Adam didn't have to spend weeks cleaning up or repositioning; it was mostly about finding the exact rhythm and timing. That is a massive luxury when you are working fast and lean, and it was made possible entirely by a killer crew.

Above: The U-Haul creative team [from left] Nithya Charles, Erin Kang, Henry Coffey, and Elio Conroy.

The music adds to the nostalgic, homely feel of the spot; why did you decide on that track? 

DW: Finding the right track took some exploration. We looked into a few custom options, but timing-wise, they didn't quite pan out. When the creatives played this specific track against the cut and we saw it on a big screen, it was an absolute no-brainer. Working under strict constraints often frees you up to lean into tracks that have an organic, textural quality without getting bogged down by massive licensing hurdles.

Why did you decide to work as a co-directing duo, how does that partnership work, and will you continue to direct together? 

MG: Devin and I have always been a team, long before co-founding FWENS. We both started out with a shared foundation in cinematography, but our paths branched out naturally over time. I moved through advertising strategy, creative direction and creative production before coming back to directing.

Because we speak the exact same visual language but bring totally different skill sets to the floor, our partnership just clicks.

DW: And I stayed fully locked into visual engineering and camera craft. Because we speak the exact same visual language but bring totally different skill sets to the floor, our partnership just clicks. On set, we divide and conquer without ever losing a unified vision. We will definitely keep directing together. It is the engine of everything we do.

What was the most challenging aspect in making The Way To What's Ahead? 

MG: Without question, managing the scale of the production against our limitations. When you have strict constraints, every single creative solution has to be earned through pure grit and favour. A script is only ever as good as the team that forces it across the finish line. But that challenge is exactly what made it rewarding. We brought a lot of new folks onto the project, and being able to collaborate tightly and instantly gel with a crew is what makes working in a vibrant market like Richmond so exciting.