The Directors: Amber Mealing
Amber Mealing (she/they) is a Melbourne-based emerging director who found her footing on television and film sets in NYC. After completing a filmmaking program at NYU, Amber slid into various departments on a range of projects, working with brands like Estée Lauder, Samsung, Movado, and Chase Bank.
In 2016, Amber was a part of the art team that won an Emmy for their work on historical crime show A Crime To Remember, and she had the absolute pleasure of working alongside Olivia Wilde in a feature film in 2017. The film set was Amber’s classroom and skilled film crew, her teachers. Returning to Melbourne in 2017, Amber has since carved a reputation as a director known for popping themes and stunning visuals.
Her attention to detail and prioritisation of visuals has awarded her appreciation in the ever-growing world of short content - in 2020 her fashion film ‘GUNSHY’ won Best Direction and Best Styling at VAMFF.
Since then Amber has broken out into the commercial world, spreading camp visuals everywhere and garnering long-term clients such as Vodka Cruiser and Squealing Pig Wines.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Amber> Briefs that allow the director to be liberal and unique with visuals, as though Art Directors are open to collaborating with a Director, this always gets me excited and eager to put my spin on it. Also any projects that have a satirical comedic edge or a brand that has a sense of playfulness. That is a dream!
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Amber> I find creating the treatment is such a crucial stage to the entire project, for me it is counting out frames, it’s thinking of transitions, it’s developing a strong representation of your voice while mixing in the brand’s voice. It’s selling your idea as if you have had this idea, in absolute clarity, for years. So first and foremost I need to be in control of creating the treatment, it’s got to be me. I often try to streamline the concept in a few lines, and map out what will be featured, page by page. And then I begin the image search, I’m inspired by loud camp imagery of the 70-90s so finding examples of these images in a similar context or theme as the brief, always pushes my ideas further. I see it all as this self-fulfilling puzzle that is somehow complete before you place the first puzzle piece down. You just have to find a starting point somewhere in the middle and work your way out to the beginning… or the end.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Amber> It’s hard to pinpoint just one, all relationships are really important. A project needs to run like a well-oiled machine, all the moving parts need to be smooth and moving! But I suppose one solid relationship that I couldn’t live without is the relationship between director and producer. A supportive and savvy producer that has your back, is always going to provide the support needed for me to do the best I can!
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Amber> Honestly, the list could go on forever - I think you can find something interesting in anything! I always think of film as being an art practice first, even in the world of advertising. So I appreciate an attempt of treating every frame like a composed and crafted single image.
I love taking something to its extreme. If you’re gonna go ham, throw the entire pig in! So visually I tend to like maximalist, era-specific work, anything from the 70s. I get excited by things I haven’t seen on film before, but perhaps I have in real life. I think that gives a weird sensation; a feeling of familiarity in a context of notoriety.
I am also passionate about contrast. We’re a world obsessed by beauty, but I love highlighting what some might consider as ‘ugly’ and treating that as the definition of beauty. Old ladies with too much makeup and long manicured nails, saggy skin and fat rolls, angry outspoken women. I suppose it’s a love of the under-dog; awkward characters that have confidence despite being socially 'undesirable'. You can ask my therapist why that is.
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Amber> That I am a ‘rainbow queen’ or that I constantly lean on bright colours. I don’t really have a problem with that, it certainly fits in with my ‘going ham’ approach. It’s more that I don’t want to be limited to colourful imagery. I’d like to explore a grittier expression of camp. I’d like to play more within the intersection of my masculine and feminine tastes, rather than one or the other.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Amber> I think you have to be an open person in general to strike that balance. You have to be open in film, while you can plan and structure a production right down to the milk in your tea, something will come up on the day that you weren’t expecting and you have to be open to that and remain solution-driven. I’ve tried to teach myself to lean into that, someone may present a ‘problem’ or a conflicting position, but the nature of that friction could be the thing that takes your project to the next level. You have to be open to everyone and everything. That’s important in any collaborative dynamic I believe - be fluid, leave your ego at the door, and remember that every team member’s goal is
essentially the same, you’re all working to do the best job you can and make the project successful in the eyes of the client, the creatives, the director, and really anyone who has a hand in the project.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Amber> It is absolutely essential that we do this. Australia has finally started to catch on to diversity within on-camera talent, but we need to be reflecting diversity through roles behind the camera and especially in above the line roles. If we want to be providing a genuine attempt at equality through diversity, and not settling for tokenism, we need to have more diverse voices in the writing and conception phases. We need diversity in the voices and creators of a project, not just the faces appearing in the project. I’d like to shout out to a fantastic company called ‘HUE: Colour the Conversation’. Founded and run by women of colour, they are an initiative devoted to breaking down concepts such as race and culture and providing education on such matters within different industries with the aim of preventing micro and macro aggressions in the workplace. I was able to learn a lot from HUE in a workshop I organised last year for independent filmmakers, and it has since inspired me to provide on-set mentoring to any POC filmmakers who need it. I am by no means a senior director, I have a long way to go and lots to learn, but anything I have already learned and any opportunity to provide experience, I want to share with other filmmakers who might not have access to the opportunities I have had.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you’re working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Amber> The format with the biggest influence on my work has been the progression into the social media “story” portrait ratio of 9:16. When you’re used to framing everything in a 16:9 ratio, reframing for a vertical frame with a narrow width, cuts away a lot of my favourite things - production design, wardrobe, movement. I find that we are having to intentionally shoot 9:16 and 16:9 separately, instead of cropping into the 16:9 in post. This means in pre-production you need to create a concept for set that can easily be converted between both ratios. It is best when the client is aware of what it takes to create multiple ratios, that they understand what that means for production hours, and also how the ratio affects the concept and its visualisation. With enough time and budget, anything can be made, but considering that budgets are getting smaller and ads are becoming smaller (both in dimensions and screen time), being aware of final formats is absolutely necessary.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Amber> I feel like the work chosen displays my love of retro imagery as well as my artful approach to film. GUNSHY shows what happens when I do a ‘simple’ concept - I focus on styling and great casting. I love working with non-actors, or people that aren’t trained to hold themselves in ways we expect. I like to break past that, try to get to a point where we can see something unique about each person. I often cast people I know so that there is a natural connection between myself and the talent.
This is definitely the case in the Squealing Pig spot. That was basically a love letter from me to my friends I know from within the LGBTQIA+ community. I feel I am doing my best work when I am highlighting something beautiful or interesting about a person, place or product.
Inch Bikini is a great example of how I love being funny and cheeky with ads. Inch Bikini is a brand that uses swimwear off cuts to create micro bikini’s. I came up with the phrase 'every inch counts' and tied this into the clip as a double entendre.
