Wookie And His Match Made In Hel

Being in a relationship means sharing, understanding and, above all, compromise. It’s with this insight in mind that we look at Finnair’s ‘East and West Side Story’, the latest in their Match Made In Hel campaign, the tale of love between two people on opposite sides of the world. However, it’s not the protagonists of the film to which the factors of a relationship really apply, but more the two directors tasked with bringing the project to life...

Celebrating the fact that Finnair and Helsinki Airport have been connecting the east and west for 35 years, agency Mirum commissioned and developed a short to bring the two worlds together in a unique way – splitting the story between East and West and having a director from each region take on that side of the story. Written by Danny Sangra, the film landed a pair of directors at the peak of their powers, the West being represented by B-Reel’s Johan Storm and the East by MassMessAge’s Wookie (Young-wook Paik).

We caught up with Wookie to chat about the difficulties in putting such a project together, just how the shoot was divided and to hear about the swanky premiere at Helsinki Airport, where an aircraft hangar was turned into a movie theater for one night.

Tell us a little about the concept for ‘East and West Side Story’, as it’s a pretty ambitious pitch!

It's part of the MATCH MADE IN HEL campaign which is the result of a partnership between Finnair and Finavia that started back in 2014 - a creative concept that celebrates Helsinki’s unique Nordic position as the midway point between Asia and Europe. Finnair and Helsinki Airport have been connecting east and west for 35 years. To celebrate this, TBWA and Mirum Agency Helsinki (each representing 'Helsinki Airport (Finavia)' and 'Finnair' respectively) proposed to both clients that they create a short film that brings these two worlds together in a unique and interesting way. But instead of having one Director, they decided to have two. One from the East and one from the West. Each Director would be in charge of their characters giving their perspective on the same story. The film would eventually be about cultural similarities and differences, surprises, unexpected moments and meaningful encounters at Helsinki.

How did you get involved with the project?

B-Reel Films Sweden reached out to me early this year about my availability. At the time they were pitching for the project to the agencies. To my understanding several production companies, including themselves, were involved in the pitch. If selected, it would be an iconic project to work on creatively. Nothing like this had ever been done before in marketing and advertising. I would make up their team representing their eastern Director. It was only in April that I got confirmation that we had won the pitch. Fortunately the client liked my work. They especially liked the fact that I had worked on both short films and commercials.

The film is unique as the directing duties were split between two people, yourself and Johan Storm. How much communication was needed from the get-go to ensure that the finished piece had a consistent tone?

I think what's important on a special project like this, especially when you have two Directors, is you need to stay true to the script as a guide. We had a wonderful script from the get-go. It was written by Danny Sangra, a writer/director who had worked on several commercials and films. There was a nice contrast between the two main characters. We had a lot of conference calls discussing the story and characters. Both Johan and I shared ideas and provided our own visions of our characters. Johan's treatment mainly pertained to what would make up the world of 'S.P. Novak,' and how it would be shown visually. My treatment dealt with how I would show 'Johnny's' world in Seoul, and who he was. Both TBWA and Mirum Agency went out of their way to provide us with the creative freedom to do our own thing. They actually encouraged us to shoot in our own style. That was the whole purpose of the project.

How was the shoot? Without wanting to give away spoilers, the film does contain scenes where the two central characters meet. How did you balance the directing of these moments?

Each Director was responsible for each of their own respective characters. Johan would shoot Annie (the actor playing 'S.P. Novak') in Helsinki, and I would shoot Jae-hoon (the actor playing 'Johnny') in Seoul. I had a one or two-day head start. The tricky part was when the two characters meet in Helsinki. I flew in to Helsinki for those shots. Obviously it's difficult to have two Directors with different visions to direct a scene together. So we split directing duties. Johan directed the forest cabin sequence with both Novak and Johnny, and I shot the ending airport scene when both characters finally meet. Each Director was present during the other's shoot as an advisor. That's how we maintained consistency. I think the hardest part was shooting in Helsinki Airport. We had no control. We had to go in at a certain time, lock the sections off, shoot, and get out of there before real passengers and planes came flooding in. I tried to make the best of the situation, framing real planes in the background. Using real passengers as background action while avoiding their face. It was hectic but fun.

How involved were you in the post-production/edit? Was there a time limit in place before shooting started or did the film find its duration during the edit?

There wasn't an exact time limit in place. But I think the client was thinking no more than 15 minutes. I was involved in post-production to the point where I would edit Johnny's story, as well as the ending scene I shot in Helsinki airport. However, the script had gone through several changes while we were shooting, and I wasn't sure if certain dialogue or sequences would work. I would only know for certain when it was put together with the other scenes that Director Johan had shot. I gave my thoughts on how Johnny's scenes should look. The final finishing edit was done by Johan and B-Reel Films under the supervision of TBWA and Mirum Agency.

How was the release of the short? We hear there was a red-carpet!!

Yes. Finnair and Finavia flew us in for the premiere at Helsinki Airport on September 6th. With over 300 VIP guests attending from all over the world, they took an entire aircraft hangar and turned it into a movie theatre for one night. The ceremony was hosted by none other than Finnish Director Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Deep Blue Sea, etc.). It was glorious. The official release was the next day on September 7th.

How pleased are you with the response to the film?

I'm more than pleased. Quite proud actually. We were featured on 'Adweek' and Clio's 'Muse' magazine during the first week the film was released. We ranked No.1 in the Best Travel and Tourism Ads of the Month on 'AdForum':

There's even request for a sequel! Quite a response for a Branded Entertainment film.