Squarespace’s Wes Falik Believes Humour is Key to Reaching Audiences
The nature of production as the industry knows is evolving and fast, ushered in by challenges around sustainability, diversity, budgets, and the drive for more content at scale. To discuss all this and more, Remote Filming - the leading remote streaming service technology - is asking the industry’s top production experts about their best practices and the way they’re utilising technology to help overcome the challenges at hand in an ongoing series for LBB.
Anthony Barry, co-founder of Remote Filming says: “We’re all seeing the industry change, and I believe that when it comes to tackling the myriad of production issues, especially sustainability, technology is key. Bringing together the right people and the right technology is how we can make a real difference to production.”
Today LBB is speaking to Squarespace’s Wes Falik whose path to production was routed through copywriting first. The marketing graduate thought it was the career path for him before learning, in his own words, that he “wasn't nearly succinct enough to write ads”; after a few years on the account management side, he tried production and hasn’t looked back since. Squarespace’s Adam Driver-led Super Bowl spot, ‘The Singularity’, is an example of the kind of work that keeps Wes excited about what he does on the daily. It satirises Squarespace’s origins and the idea that it’s a website that makes websites. The spot avoids any obvious comedic tropes in favour of weirdness and specificity resulting in an off-beat piece of work that capitalises on the star’s persona and delivers a deliberately strange, entertaining tone.
Technology is essential in helping Wes to achieve Squarespace’s production goals and when time or budget is an issue, he relies on remote production to make an idea happen. Producing remotely is also a way to ensure that the US-based team continues to deliver authentic narratives without limiting itself to one location or travelling extensively when local directors and crews are best suited for the task.
LBB spoke to Wes about why humour is essential to his work, the benefits and drawbacks of remote production, and the magic behind how ‘The Singularity’ came to life.
[Above: The Singularity]
LBB> Wes, thank you for agreeing to be a part of this series! Before we talk about all things production, we’d like to know whether you’ve always thought of yourself as a creative person? What did you want to be when you were growing up?
Wes> When I was younger, I don’t think I ever consciously thought of myself as a creative person, but I always seemed to be attracted to creative outlets. In high school, I fell in love with writing and eventually became a writer and editor for the school paper. So my earliest thought was that I would get into journalism, speechwriting, or, when I was feeling really idealistic, I thought I might write fiction.
LBB> And what was your path to production and advertising? When did you know it was the right path for you?
Wes> I went to university to study marketing. Somewhere along the way, I learned about advertising agencies and was specifically attracted to copywriting. After a couple internships and some pretty abysmal spec work, I realised I wasn’t nearly succinct enough to write ads, but I loved the business. So I ended up working in account management for the first few years of my career before someone encouraged me to switch to production.
I tried my hand at digital and experiential production and found I liked it, but it wasn’t until I produced my first video that I knew I had landed on the right path. Since then, I’ve considered myself a film-first producer, but I continue to work in a fully integrated capacity because I do believe the days of specialisation in production are behind us and there’s always something to be gained by staying multidisciplinary.
LBB> You’re one of the executive producers for Squarespace. How did you start working at the company and what appealed to you about the role?
Wes> I built my first portfolio site on an early version of Squarespace, so I immediately saw the power of the platform. I was really impressed by how much emphasis it put on making good design accessible to those of us that don’t have a knack for it.
Some years later, I ended up shooting a small campaign for Squarespace as my client. It was a scrappy job, but I really loved how much energy the SQSP team put into making sure we achieved a high level of craft. I always saw myself as an agency lifer, but coming off that job I identified Squarespace as one of the few brands I would make the switch for. I continued to work at agencies for the next five years, but I kept tabs on all the work the brand was doing. Everything I saw was consistently well-produced, made with great directors, and featured collaborations with unexpected celebrity talent. There is always something artful to Squarespace work, which is rare to find on the brand side, so when the call finally came, I jumped at it.
LBB> On your website, you say that you “still get excessively excited when a good concept comes” your way. What’s your definition of a good concept? And what’s a bad one?
Wes> I tend to know a concept has potential when I read through it once and immediately want to start making it. I then ask myself a series of questions. Have I seen anything like it before? Is it complicated or bogged down with multiple messaging mandates? Does it over-explain or talk down to the audience? If the answer to all—or at least most—of those questions is no, I know we’ve got something that has a decent chance of appealing to great production partners. In my mind, the key to making anything good requires getting the right people on board, so if it’s something I can confidently sell to directors, it’s a good concept.
As a producer, you’re only as good as the source material you’re given. The best producers can take something decently good and make it better. But no producer can take something bad and make it great. Bad concepts tend to be expected, redundant, overly-complicated, or disconnected from the business objectives in the brief. In many ways, it’s better to have a simple, under-developed concept than to have a bad one because at least you can leave room for a good director to come in and help you craft something raw into something worthwhile.
LBB> Judging by the ‘How Do I Pronounce Falik’ section on your website, you have a great sense of humour. What kind of role does humour play in your approach to production, at Squarespace and generally?
Wes> I became attracted to advertising when I saw what Gerry Graf’s team was doing back at TBWA Chiat Day. The humour was so dark and refreshing—especially in their work for Skittles—that I remember showing the spots to my college roommates who had no interest in ads. They loved them so much, they would often ask me to show them more. So it was clear to me from day one that humour is probably the most effective way for a brand to communicate to everyday people.
At Squarespace, we use humour relatively often, but it’s not necessarily the de facto tone of the brand. We allow ourselves the freedom to use it when it's appropriate for the goals of the campaign and when we feel it will appeal to the market we’re speaking to. What I enjoy most about this approach is that it allows us to produce different flavours of humour from the more clever to the more absurd, but nothing feels out-of-place because it’s rooted in a visual style that we keep consistent across all of our work.
LBB> The Super Bowl ad starring Adam Driver was amazing - dry, funny, existential. Tell us a little bit about the production process and the way that Squarespace is showing up in the marketplace?
Wes> ‘The Singularity’ was one of those scripts I got excited about the first time the team presented it. It was silly but also smart at the same time - which is a really hard line to walk. That script was part of the first round of the Super Bowl reviews, which isn’t always beneficial for an idea like that. But after several additional rounds discussing totally different ideas, it became clear that nothing was going to beat it. When Adam Driver came onboard, we knew we had something special. But we also had the huge challenge of working around his ever-changing schedule, the need for a visually striking location, and a ton of post work that needed to be done in a small amount of time. We were speaking with a number of great production partners before we ultimately decided that the prep was too complicated for a triple bid. So we set out to find production and VFX partners we respected and who shared our passion for the project. This ultimately led us to director Aiofe McArdle at Smuggler and Black Kite VFX.
We ended up casting dozens of Adam Driver lookalikes and capturing hundreds of plates from dawn until well after dusk at the Trona Pinnacles in California. We then composited those plates with hundreds of performances by our leading man back in New York City. It was such a puzzle, with Adam delivering the same line on so many different marks, that we started to wonder if we hadn’t gone a little too far with this one. We didn’t really know how it was going to come together or if it would make sense to anyone else until we started showing trusted friends and family in post. The most rewarding jobs often confront you with the most doubts - and this one was no exception.
LBB> Which industry trends do you find affect what you do most, i.e. sustainability, diversity, different platforms, demand for high volume of content, etc. How are you addressing these?
Wes> At this juncture, I’m not sure we can even call diversity a trend, but getting diverse perspectives incorporated into every step of the creative process is hugely important for us. When you have a platform like Squarespace, where nearly any individual or business can take advantage of our tools, it gives our creative team the freedom to look at what people are doing all over the world and concept from there. So when you start with more diverse concepts, the rest comes naturally. You find yourself looking for partners from differing backgrounds that can tell those stories in new ways, you’re now building a cast that’s representative of a more diverse audience, and you’re ultimately telling more interesting stories. It doesn’t just lead to better business, it leads to better work.
LBB> What role does technology play, like remote streaming or AI for example, in helping to address the trends shaping the creative industry?
Wes> Technology plays a huge role in what’s possible in the creative industry. If we look at volume stages, for example, we are already seeing that it opens up the possibility of telling bigger stories in a much more economical way. You can shoot half a dozen locations in a single day on that same stage without having to worry about your keying looking fake or eating up your days with company moves.
LBB> Why do you think as an industry we’re still doing so much travelling for shoots and productions? Is it really necessary?
Wes> At Squarespace, we use remote production as an option when we’re short on budget or time. When we’re shooting something for an international market, for example, we often endeavour to find a director from that market and shoot the spots in that country, so we can cast local crew and talent. It’s the only way our US-based team can ensure that we’re creating something authentic. In a situation like this, we might opt in to keep the team in the states and shoot remotely, so we can maximise the dollars we’re putting on the screen.
We’ve learned that it’s not always necessary for us to physically be on set to get a great final product. Some of the best work I’ve been a part of was shot remotely during the pandemic. But I will say that some amount of opportunity is lost when we’re not all there together, because we’re really only evaluating what we can see on the monitor. We don’t know what’s six feet to the right of the frame, we don’t know what we didn't see on the prop table, and we do lose the opportunity to connect with the crew on set. All of these things can lead to that unexpected magic that often isn’t found until we’re there in the moment.
Having said all that, remote shooting should always be an option producers and creatives keep in our toolbox, because productions very rarely operate within an ideal set of circumstances and resources.
LBB> Some brands are mandating a maximum number of people to attend shoots to improve the sustainability of their work. What do you think about this?
Wes> From a sustainability perspective, headcount is an essential thing to consider. Everyone on set should have a reason for being there. When deciding who will attend, we do need to remember that it’s in our best interest to teach less experienced creatives and clients how production works to get to great work. Until you’ve been on set, you can’t fully understand the implications of certain requests, changes, etc.
LBB> Which pieces of work/projects that you’ve worked on stand out to you most and why?
Wes> ‘The Singularity’ is my favourite piece of work I have been a part of because it managed to take the Super Bowl celebrity formula while avoiding the broad comedic tropes often seen during the game. That’s a credit to the leadership at Squarespace who have the courage to accept that we’re not always going to appeal to everyone. The audience we’re going after gets it, and that is ultimately what’s most important.
LBB> The ‘noisy content landscape’ has become a cliché and yet it remains true. What do you think is the key to creating work that cuts through the noise?
Wes> Whenever we’re creating anything, whether it’s a massive broadcast campaign or a six second social spot, we have to start by asking would I watch this if I wasn’t working on it? If it’s not interesting or surprising or funny or moving, you might as well just centre up your logo on white and run that for the duration of the spot. We have so many tools that give us helpful insights and data to guide our thinking and approach, but we can’t distract ourselves from our ultimate goal which is to entertain and inform the audience we’re speaking to.
