New Director: John Wikstrom

Some directors will strive for their entire careers and still not manage to achieve the same sentiment and sense of nostalgia that’s generated by John Wikstrom’s spec spot. Inspired by a heartfelt YouTube comment left under a video entitled Can Video Games Be A Spiritual Experience?, the ad tells the story of a young man who dusts off his old Xbox to find his late father’s ‘ghost’ still in the game RalliSport Challenge.

Fronted by actor Zac Pullam, who previously featured in Wikstrom’s student films at school in Florida, the touching piece is about loss and memory, both in the physical and digital worlds, and is proof that a powerful story can come from anywhere.

“The user told their own story, which word for word became the basis of the spot,” says the US-based director. “I read the comment more than a year ago, but the story has stuck with me ever since.”

Wikstrom has always wanted to direct films, but initially found it hard to see past long-form projects. It was spending a year as a treatment designer for commercial directors and a production company that opened his eyes to advertising and the possibility of telling a great story in under two minutes.

“It was very important that every decision was in service of the tone: the way the locations felt, the way the camera moved, the way the voiceover sounded. Video games aren’t normally put into an emotional context, so we needed to be very intentional with how we presented it,” says the director, who also edited and produced the piece. “Switching between gameplay and live-action was a tough balance in the editing room. I wanted to be on the actor’s face as much as possible so it felt human, but I needed to leave in enough gameplay for viewers to ‘get’ the idea of a ghost car, even if they’ve never played a video game in their life.”

The reality is that most young boys have played video games and will harbour fond memories of fun with their fathers over the years. The challenge for Wikstrom was to try and capture the essence of that nostalgia and emotion onscreen.

“In concert with the voiceover, so much of the actor’s performance needed to be visual, almost like a silent film,” he muses. “I knew I needed someone who could convey an enormous amount of information in just a look. From working with Zac in the past, I knew he could deliver.”

Wikstrom hoped the film would get back to the person it was inspired by, and two weeks after the video went online, a new comment was left by 00WARTHERAPY00, saying a simple “thank you” followed by a “

Wikstrom has since finished another spot and says a few brands have been in contact since Player Two: “My immediate plan is to get working on another project like this, whether that’s client direct or through finding representation.”