Live from SXSW Blueprints to create better stories
Find out highlights from the whole chat. Answers to questions from the interview were altered to make them more concise.
On writing great characters:
Mark: "Everything starts with writing. The premise behind the original story, four office workers talking during a keynote presentation wasn't exactly inspiring. However, creating great characters opened up the narrative. We spent a lot of time thinking about who these people were, their strengths and weaknesses, and complement each other and the best way to use them to make it fun and humorous.
We wanted to highlight the issue and every character's flaw to make them more accessible. The authenticity is where it comes in. My goal is to make everything imperfect and celebrate that, because it's the reason characters are charming. This is why you love it.
The key is to not treat these films as typical commercials. I like going deep into the background of each character. The more information, the better. Those individual backstories inform the characters right beginning, including production, design, wardrobe. This helps the viewers to know what each character's role is. This is why I created these characters to allow actors to come and inhabit You can sense this when you watch the film. If you decide to look at these three movies, you start to feel the ongoing effects."
For breaking the rules:
Mark: "My tip would be to speak to people who look like you. Make sure to be as authentic as possible. So much of the media world is manicured. You go through that advertising process where the edges of characters and stories are so sanded back. The best advice I can give you is to push back on that process and be brave enough to tell the world the way it is.
As an example, in my first movie I did in collaboration with Apple I had one of my actors licking the iPad. The kid was licking the tablet, and later when we were on set, everyone was thinking, "What the hell's he doing?" I'm always telling that they, "Oh, can we smash this? Do we have a plan? Could I make it a coaster?" Just make it real. Return to what's real in your writing, the stories that we are telling. That's what engages people and makes characters and stories endearing."
When integrating the product
Mark: "How you see the film's product is extremely thought-provoking. It all comes back to the story. I attempt to make the product a key ingredient in each scene. I write around the product, build scenes with the product. We need the product to get us from here there. When you integrate the product into a film in this way, then the product isn't just a distraction It's part of the story you're telling."
On taking risks:
It is essential to be willing to risk for good entertainment as well as establish a strong connection with your company. This is my opinion as the most important issue: you need to be prepared to take some risk, and also build strong relationships with the people who you are taking on risk with too. Advertising often gets shielded or protected from the work. If you take off some layers, you'll be able to talk to people just like them."