Grief And Gaming Combine In John Wikstrom's 'Player 2'

The ‘spec spot’ isn’t quite the thing it used to be. Back in the day, budding commercial filmmakers would create witty and inventive unofficial ads in order to prove their wares to prospective production employers. Nowadays, a content creator is much more likely to find a company home through a well-shared short, compelling pop-promo or subscriber-heavy web series than anything approximating classic advertising. However, with his new micro-documentary ‘Player 2’, unsigned director John Wikstrom has somehow managed to create the sort of hybrid agencies over the world clamour for – a touching, emotive piece of content that also happens to be an incredibly effective advert for a games console.

Emotional human interaction and video-games are two topics that the media rarely puts together, preferring instead to maintain the cliché of ‘gaming’ as a lonesome activity. In contrast, Wikstrom’s compelling short uses the medium of video-games as a platform for a young man’s account of how he managed to stay connected to his deceased father long after his death. Based on a touching true story found on a YouTube comment board, the film not only highlights a boy’s desire to feel as though his father is still with him, but also the unique place a particular gaming trope (the ‘ghost car’ in racing games) played in maintaining that connection.

We thought the film and its message was wonderful, so caught up with the director to discuss how he found the story in the first place and translated it to screen with such authenticity.

How did you come up for the concept for the project?

I had stumbled upon the YouTube comment a little over a year ago. I had been sitting on the idea for a while but I was always stuck before I had the idea to film the young man running on his own.  That really helped bring it to life for me, since in order for the film to work we really need to feel him stopping. Once that was nailed down, we moved quickly.

What was it about the post that particularly caught your eye?

I loved the way it dealt with loss and memory - both physical and digital. I felt like this film was the best representation of what I want to be doing, and more than a year after I read it, I still couldn’t shake it.

How did you make the decision to keep the text as written? There must have been a small urge to alter it in some way

Some friends suggested cutting lines so that it could be sixty seconds even, but it was really important to me to keep the text as written. I love what this person wrote and I wanted to be respectful of their story.

Were you able to speak to the original poster at all?

I wasn’t! Since this was originally a YouTube comment, there were no clues as to who this person was. I was never able to speak with them. However, about two weeks after the video was online, the original poster commented with a simple “thank you”. And then again with a “<3” a few hours later. His endorsement meant everything.

How did you go about putting together the shoot? Did you have to call in many favours?

I did have to call in a few favors. We needed to shoot this in one day, so finding a location that had it all (magic garage, dreamy house, and street) was the first big challenge. I really wanted to find an attic but there aren't many attics in Los Angeles. I'm really happy with the location we went with, and I think it really contributed to the final film.

How was the shoot itself? Did you encounter any problems?

This shoot was a blast. Idan Menin, the cinematographer is a wonderful collaborator and friend who I’ve been lucky enough to work with several times. Zac Pullam, the young man in the film (who also did the voice-over) is also a long-time friend. Recently he played one of the leads in MTV’s Finding Carter series, but years before that he was in all my student films. So the shoot was a pleasure.

The last shot of the day was the coverage of the actual video game. The actor had gone home by then, so it was just me playing Rallisport Challenge for fifteen minutes. Definitely an unorthodox way to end a shoot, but I recommend it.

When it came to the edit, did you consciously try and give it an ‘ad’ aesthetic or did you head towards more of a documentary feel? For us, it manages to marry the two really well.

Thank you! It’s such a simple story, I didn’t want to put too much makeup on it. I certainly wanted to make it elevated and beautiful (without making it ostentatious). In terms of the two looks, we tried to split the difference, and I think Idan did a great job.

How did you seed the film? Did you aim to attract communities like Reddit and the Vimeo staff or was that just a by-product of the film’s authenticity?

Reddit and Vimeo were definitely the first communities I wanted to share it with. In a way, this is very much a story about the internet, so it felt natural to distribute it that way. But the type of response was something I didn’t anticipate. The various comment sections became full of these amazing and heart-breaking stories of people finding digital traces of lost loved ones. It really seemed to hit an artery.

The video is proving immensely popular amongst gamers. Are you a gamer yourself? Did that attract you to the topic?

I certainly dabble, but I think what really drew me to the topic was that it was a contemporary take on loss. With a starting point of a YouTube comment and a dusty Xbox, it’s such an unlikely place for an emotional story, and that’s my favorite thing about it.

What’s up next for you?

As for what’s next, my main goal is to keep going! I just shot a new project this past weekend, and a few brands have reached out to me since Player Two has been making the rounds, so there are a few spots in the works that I’m very excited about. Also, considering that this all came from a random YouTube comment, I’m definitely keeping my eyes open for that next story.