5 Questions with Whitley Watson
1) Can you talk briefly about your background, and how you first got interested in filmmaking?
I'm originally from just outside Atlanta, Georgia and studied Illustration and painting. After college I moved to New York with no real ambitions or plans. A friend asked me to help with their very low budget web series. It was a fairly chaotic production and I ended up writing, producing and acting. I also got to see some talented UCB performers at work which led me to take a class. From there I got more involved in alt-comedy and started making videos for local video showcases like Red Hot Video Funtime and QuickieFest.
2) What was the initial idea for these shorts, and how did they evolve from there?
"Love and other Drugs" was for a one-minute movie festival. Many of the videos typically submitted were focused around a singular joke. I wanted to see how much story and character I could pack into a minute.
In "Poly Cat" I wanted to show a polyamorous "throuple" experiencing the same mundane problems as any monogamous couple. Non-traditional relationships as no more or less ideal than anything else.
"Wayne's Been a Real Good Influence" comes out a certain gender and relationship anxiety. The idea of losing yourself to gain acceptance, love and family.
3) What was the biggest challenge in making them? And the easiest part?
The biggest challenge is definitely wearing a lot of hats. To be doing logistics with the cast and crew, while doing, props and directing and acting is a lot. It's exhilarating but there is a limit. With longer projects I've realized I have to hand some things off. Also little details, getting a cat to walk and barf props.
The easiest part I would say is stealing locations. So far I found If you're polite and fairly quiet no one minds.
4) What’s a film you’ve seen recently, new or old, that you really loved and why?
The Color of Money. The first half has this really interesting psycho-sexual drama and layers of manipulation. It moves from this rocky style grimey pool hall vibe to this 80's geometric, space odyssey hellscape. As a lover of the 70's I enjoyed it's utter disdain for the 80's.
5) What’s next for you?
I am currently editing a 10 minute short horror film I shot last year. I'm planning to shoot a music video in the next few months.
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IG: @wkwatson