Porsche Awards 2015 Winners: Jacqueline Dow

The 2015 Porsche International Student Advertising Film Awards have once again highlighted fresh new commercial directing talent, garlanding spots as varied as the personalities behind them: from hardhitting charity films to sexy car shoots via comedic choreographed capers. Take a trip with us into the creative minds of these stars of spots to come

Tell us about your route into directing.

My route into filmmaking was fairly classical. I majored in English Literature and Film Studies in college because I always loved film and I was interested in characters. I’m an avid people watcher and I often find myself trying to pull stories out of situations as I watch them. That sort of naturally transitioned into wanting to tell my own stories.

Tell us about the idea for your film.

My goal with the ad was to tell a very New York story incorporating music. I thought of the idea when I more or less experienced it myself walking into the Subway station at Union Square and a band was playing on the platform. I wanted to dance but I didn’t so instead I made an actor do it.

How did you decide on the locations that featured?

I live in New York and part of what I love about it is that nothing is weird because everything is weird. I chose the Staten Island ferry, Soho and Wall Street because they are iconic New York locations. I wanted the commercial to have a real New York flavour.

How did you find the band?

When I was initially casting, I had sent out a general call for a band on various lists and social media platforms with very little luck. I needed upbeat, funky music with a “be yourself” message. I’d just about given up when Minka found me. It was a friend of a friend sort of deal but they reached out and I was ecstatic after listening to their music. Then I saw them and was even more excited.

Why did you choose the lead actor?

He’s a New York comedian, a performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Improv Theater and a member of a comedy dance troupe, so he knows what it is to “dance funny”. I wanted a guy that people would look at and think “What a nice young man!” just before he breaks into a pole dance on the Subway. He’s also my boyfriend so I had seen him dance at quite a few weddings, which was exactly what I was going for with the choreography.

How hard was it to shoot the Subway scene with all the commuters?

I settled on that Subway station and train mainly for aesthetic reasons – I liked the yellow tiles and turnstiles. We shot at 7am on a Saturday and placed a few of our own people in the shot to have some sense of control. Everyone else was told that it was OK to look at the camera if they didn’t mind being filmed and not to if they did.